Month: September 2017

Inserted 12/03/17:

Since the food wasn’t great and we couldn’t go to the tents one more day, it was time to fly to Iceland.  Once we finally got a taxi (the first Uber that showed up to was the smallest 4 door car I’ve ever seen which wasn’t going to work for the 4 of us and our luggage), we were off to the airport.  Watching the meter tick away, we had a few moments of panic about not having enough Euros on hand to pay our driver (especially since he didn’t ask which airline we were using until after he took us to the wrong terminal), but Dad found an extra bill in his pocket and we had just enough.

Once we located our airline (finally) and went through security, we realized we were hungry there was only one place to get something to eat.  Dad and I got in line at the deli counter while Chris and Carl watched our bags and we got food over 30 minutes later (this is where I learned that my need to not be hungry trumps my lack of patience).  Although the man working the counter was very helpful and friendly, he would chat with every person who ordered not to mention that two people in front of us ordered enough food to feed 10 people and would order each item one at a time.  By the time we were handed our food, it was time to board the plane.

Once on board, we each had a few bites of sandwich and soft pretzel.  By the time we landed in Iceland several hours later, Carl was curled up in his seat saying he didn’t feel well and the food poisoning episode began.  Although Carl was the only one who got sick, it took him down pretty hard and, as a result, if you ask him about Iceland, he’s not a fan (even though the food came from Germany, it wiped out his entire Iceland experience).

We had already purchased tickets for the Blue Lagoon (natural hot springs) that night which were non-refundable so Carl insisted that we go even though he wasn’t going to make it.  I was really torn because I wanted to help him, but he insisted so we took him to the airbnb and I got him settled on the couch with water, blankets, and a garbage can before we headed out.

With Carl all settled in, Dad, Chris, and I headed to the Blue Lagoon.  It is super commercialized now so when you’re standing in line with a thousand other people even though you bought a ticket to be let in at a specific time, it doesn’t seem as exciting, but once you’re in it’s pretty cool.  The spring is big so you don’t feel like there’s people everywhere.  Once in the water, we got a drink and headed for the silica mud mask area where you have free access to put mud all over your face that’s supposed to be good for your skin.  Regardless of the health benefits, it’s worth it for the laughs.

As our time at the lagoon wrapped up, we headed back to Carl who was luckily still alive and were in for the night.

Inserted 11/14/17:

We had one more full day in Munich and decided not to go to the Oktoberfest tents right away so we headed for the Marienplatz (square) downtown.  We meandered slowly and visited the actual Hofbrauhaus and saw the glockenspiel (a big clock tower that has dancing figurines).

To complete our night we decided to go the festival grounds one more time to actually walk around since there is so much going on besides the beer tents.  (Germany clearly doesn’t have as many safety regulations as the U.S. based on the insane rides you can go on there.  I’ve never seen so much spinning and that is exactly why we did not go on any rides.)

Inserted 11/12/17:

Today was originally supposed to be our first true Oktoberfest tent experience, but last night surprised us all, haha.  No worries, we were going to do it again anyway.

First item on the docket: dirndl and lederhosen purchasing.  The employees in the shop we went to were very helpful and Chris was able to find an outfit that looked awesome pretty quickly.  I had been looking forward to getting a dirndl for a while leading up to this trip and was overwhelmed at the options.  The frustration built as I tried on several different sizes of shirts and dresses and found the options this store had did not fit me well.  I didn’t want to buy something that wasn’t right since they weren’t cheap so I had to pass.  I didn’t feel like trying to find another store so I didn’t end up with a dirndl (sad).  Carl decided not to get anything before he even tried one on and we couldn’t sell Dad on the idea so Chris was the lone member of the group to look like a native.  (I can’t find a picture of him in them right now, unfortunately.)

Regardless of our lack of special attire, it was on to the tents!  Carl and I weren’t feeling as jolly and social as the night before, but it was still quite the experience.

Inserted 11/12/17:

“We’ll just check out the tents” they said…

We took a train from Mainz to Munich and after drinking some wine on the balcony of our Airbnb,

we thought we might as well scope out the Oktoberfest tent situation so we knew what to expect the next couple of days.  Pretty much immediately upon entering the Hofbrauhaus tent a waitress asked if we wanted beer and the obvious answer was yes!  Four steins appeared quickly and we were immediately wrapped up in the excitement.

Singing was done, temporary friends were made, and benches were tipped over (not by us) and before we knew it we’d been in four tents and it was time to call it a night.  Prost!

To set-up the story for why today was such a big deal…My dad has been buying wine from the same import company for decades because his dad bought from them as well and now Carl and I do, too.  Most of the wines that we buy are from a winery in Germany called Pieroth.  Last year I happened to ask my dad what he wanted to do for his 60th birthday (which was 08/29/17) while we were drinking some of our favorite wines at a warehouse wine tasting held by the wine import company.  His answer was “Go to this winery” as he pointed to the name Pieroth on a bottle he was holding.  Since Carl and I don’t take talking about traveling lightly and because taking Dad on his first trip out of the country ever seemed like an epic birthday present, the idea of a European adventure was born.

Since the winery is not open to the public, it took weeks of discussion with the import company and the winery to get a visit scheduled, but it happened and September 26th was the day!

The private tour and tasting we were given could not have gone any better!  Our host, Dieter, took us through the wine making process while walking us through the facility.  We got to try six different specialty wines made from grapes specifically grown in the vineyards around the winery and each of us got to take home a bottle of our favorite.  In addition Dieter took us to the winery’s off-site cellar where we got to view bottles of wine dating back to the 1700s.  It was awesome!!!

After the Pieroth experience we decided to wander the streets to see if we could find any other open wineries and the rest of the day turned out amazingly!!  We ended up getting a first-hand look at grape picking and wine making at Forester where the owners let us climb in a grape picking machine, eat a grape off the vine, and try fresh grape juice as grapes were being pressed.  Such a cool experience!

Lastly, we wandered to Dr. Hofer where the doctor himself told us he was too busy to do a tasting, but that we could sit and drink some bottles on the cute patio.  The only other person there was a German tour guide/performer who sang us Frank Sinatra songs and told us all about different areas of Germany and what to expect at Oktoberfest.

So glad Dad mentioned visiting Pieroth for his birthday as the beginning of this day turned out to be incredible!

P.s. Others have better pictures than I do from this day so maybe I’ll update this later.

On our first full day in Germany we took a river cruise on the Rhine from Bingen to Boppard.  The landscape is beautiful and there were castles everywhere!

We got off at Boppard to take the sesselbahn (chair lift) to the top of a large hill overlooking a bend in the river.

We took a train from Boppard to St. Goar because I insisted on touring the ruins of Rheinfels castle.  That seemed easy enough until we couldn’t find the walking path up to the castle and basically had to scale a mountain to make it there.  All survived.

To bring our Paris time to a close we picked up bread, meat, cheese, grapes, olives, and wine at an outdoor market and had a picnic by the river.  So cool!

Then, just as we had finally learned 7 French words, it was time to move countries.  We arrived in Mainz, Germany, via train and had some German beer in an Irish pub (doesn’t make much sense, I know).  Excited to check out somewhere new!

Although none of us truly love or appreciate art as much as some, we visited the Louvre on our third day in Paris.  Our trip there included an unplanned walk through the annual techno parade where tens of thousands of teenagers jumped up and down, smoked, and drank in front of bus after bus of blaring music.  Not exactly the scene we were expecting on our way to a world famous museum, but it was an experience.

In true tourist fashion we walked along the Champs Elysees, saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower at night.  Loved all of it!

Helluva day

 

 

 

 

 

It’s almost 2 am local time.  So far, so good.

 

 

We’ve been awake for over 30 hours now, but we did it.  Day 1 in Europe is in the books!  Dad got his first passport stamp on our layover in Iceland, we walked approximately one million miles, and got to see the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.  Now it’s time to get some much needed sleep.  Looking forward to touring some champagne houses tomorrow!