Spring Fest

We headed out this morning on a mission to find the Schloss Nymphenburg, the summer palace of the Royal German family. Finding the S-Bahn stop was easy enough, finding the actual castle was another story. There were no signs at the exit of the S-Bahn station. So we picked a direction, looked at a map, and then picked another direction and started walking. Soon I saw a sign that said "Nymphenburg" and really hoped that meant the place we were trying to go. After about an hour of following signs, we arrived the castle. Stephanie had said it was very reminiscent of Versailles and as soon as it came into view I could see why. It is not very tall and castle-like, but very, very wide. There was the main castle part, and then other houses built on to the main part that formed almost a complete circle (with an opening in the circle for the river and people to pass through). There was also a fountain that was on out front. This may sound arrogant, but I've seen a lot of palaces and castles and I wasn't that impressed with this one. We weren't planning on spending any money to go inside the castle, but there was a large (free) garden out back (like Versailles). We went into the garden and it was pretty, just kind of how all large gardens with old statues and fountain are. Lucky with another sunny day, we decided to just sit on a bench for a while. We had some snacks and took some naps and enjoyed being warm.

We were planning on going to the BMW Museum and the Olympic Park, but we were a little later than our intended schedule. We're also not that into cars and had been in pretty parks a lot lately, so we went back to Marienplatz to look for souvenirs. Laura really wanted her shot glass, I would get a plate if I found one I liked (otherwise I'd get my plate in Northern Germany). But most of all, we both REALLY wanted a pretty beer stein. The options and prices were overwhelming and it took us at least an hour and a half to make all of our decisions. I did in fact end up buying a plate, which was the easy part. I was having a much tougher time with the beer stein decision. As if I don't already have enough fragile stuff to carry around for the next 9 weeks. The problem was that most of the beer steins either had Oktoberfest stuff on them or a bunch of stuff for other cities in Germany. Since we're only going to three cities, and aren't here for Oktoberfest, I didn't want to get a mug representing anything I didn't do. So that ruled out quite a few. Most of the other mugs had collages of different Munich sites on it. There were very few that seemed more classic and/or slightly less touristy. Then, of course, not all of them were pretty, some had paint that looked faded, etc. Then there were a ton of different sizes. Even the small ones were around 30 Euros. Then...I found one that I really loved. It was big, probably a little taller than a foot. The paint was bright and clean. The left side had two guys in lederhosen sitting at a table drinking beer, the middle had a sign for a beer garden with a menu underneath advertising beer and pretzels, and the left side had a girl in a drindl carrying a load of liters of beer. That was my Munich: beer, pretzels, beer gardens, and drindls. I loved it. But it cost 85 Euros. I knew that I probably wouldn't drink out of it, it would just sit somewhere and look pretty. And I knew that whoever came over and saw it would go, "oh, that's so cool!" no matter if it was big or small. But, I REALLY liked the beer garden one, and I figured no matter what size I got I would have to be equally careful carrying it around. Then I used my famous justification: "This costs about what X nights in a hostel would cost." And then I bought it. That was my big splurge. I don't part with money easily, but I did really want a nice German beer stein, so I got the one I loved. The busy clerk wrapped it quasi-carelessly in a handful of paper and put it in a bag for me. No bubble wrap or box or anything...awesome. This will be an adventure.

Souvenirs bought, we went back to Stephanie's place to drop everything off and so that I could change into her drindl. We had a restful hour or so there and then got read for Spring Fest. I checked with Stephanie to make sure wearing black leggings was acceptable since I was worried I would be cold. The only shoes I had that wouldn't look absolutely ridiculous with the outfit were my gold flats. All dolled up, we went to Stephanie's favorite ice cream place for dinner (yes) where I tried lemon-basil gelatto and hazelnut gelatto. The lemon-basil was interesting, the hazelnut was downright delicious. Not filling at all though.

At the stop for Spring Fest, we weren't quite sure which direction to head (this has been our theme of Munich). Then I saw the huge Lady Bavaria statue so we started walking towards that. It was so weird because Spring Fest occurs at the same huge green park that Oktoberfest is held at, called Theresienplatz I think. Most of the park was completely EMPTY, and it was strange knowing that for Oktoberfest every inch of the place must just be crawling with festive locals and tourists. In the distance at the other end of the park, we saw some tents and carnival rides. Once inside, we checked out all the food booths and walked around looking at the rides. They had this terrible ride called "Break Dancer". It was terrible because it was covered in American flags and really corny "American" symbols. And they were playing terrible American music. It was an embarrassment...

Soon it was 7 and we went to our meeting place by the ferris wheel to meet Stephanie who had just gotten off work. She was there - which was great because she didn't know if she'd be able to get off work in time to meet us at 7. We also soon found her friend Betty and the four of us went on a German-carnival-food mission. Laura, Stephanie, and Betty all got the equivalent of elephant ears. I tried Betty's, which wasn't the typical cinnamon sugar. It had tomato sauce, cheese, and sour cream on it, and was surprisingly delicious! Yay for trying new things. I held out for a schnitzel and split another bratwurst with Laura. Both were edible but not that great. I can say I ate them though. Maybe the quality of carnival food is world-wide...?

Once our group was fed, we went into the "best" beer tent as per our lovely guides. We sat at a table and ordered 2 liters for the four of us to share. Soon it was 8, and Stephanie went to our ferris wheel meeting place to see if Zack was there. He was! Amazing what planning ahead and not having cell phones can accomplish. Zack joined our table and fit in to the chaos immediately. He is a 19 year old who went to college for a year, took a semester off to work, and is now traveling solo this semester. He is from Reno and has bright red hair. He has already been tons of places and will keep moving around until his money runs out.

We soon moved closer to where there was a live band playing because Betty's flatmate was there with some friends. The five of us sat at a table with an older German couple. From then on, the night was a total blast. The band played covers of American songs that we knew all the words to and European songs that Stephanie and Betty made fun of. We had already been told that this Tuesday night Spring Fest turnout was "lame" compared to Oktoberfest (no doubt), but as it got later, more and more people started dancing on the benches and singing along and doing other weird things. There was one guy wearing a Scream mask that was going around kissing people and dancing with them, including the poor servers trying to do their jobs. I figure by this point in their careers (they were all middle aged) they had seen every type of drunk person on the planet and a guy in a Scream mask was probably no big deal. They all handled it very well. After a few more liters and lots of laughing we were all dancing and singing on the benches too. I was having a total blast being dressed up like a traditional Bavarian girl! It was a very fun evening; I really enjoy hanging out with our CS hosts, their friends, and other random people we meet along the way. Funny how quickly and how well we all get along!

Spring Fest shuts down at 11 PM, so that's when we left. On our way out, I saw Laura do a somersault on the pavement. She claims Zack tripped her. Either way she tore a hole in her leggings and scraped her knee, which she was very upset about. We parted ways with Betty and Zack and were on the subway when Laura announced she had to go to the bathroom. Stephanie asked if she could just hold it a few more minutes (the subway stop is really close to Stephanie's flat). Laura said no and we told her to try. Then we suggested that Laura go ahead by herself (bad idea). She said she didn't have keys, but then I reminded her that she did in fact have the keys. Thrilled, Laura ran away. Minutes later, Stephanie arrived at her flat...to find it empty....no Laura. Ut oh. By now it was probably close to midnight and I had no idea how we would find her. She must be close though? I changed into my sweatpants and wandered out front of Stephanie's building calling her name. That didn't work and I was in my slippers so I figured I'd wait for Stephanie to come help. When Stephanie and I came back downstairs a few minutes later, Stephanie goes, "there she is!" Laura was down the street talking to some random people...She saw us but made no effort to come towards us, so we went to her and cattle-herded her back to Stephanie's flat. So that was exciting...losing Laura in Munich! Awesome...

Quotes:
"Don't be jealous, just do it!" - Zack, to people that are jealous of him traveling

Guy at Spring Fest: "Um excuse me, can I get a beer for you?" (What I heard - not what he actually said)
Me: "Yeah sure."
Guy at Spring Fest: "Ok great, I'd like to get one for my mom..."
Me: "Oh, wait, sorry! I don't work here!"
Guy at Spring Fest: "What? What are you doing dressed like that speaking perfect English NOT working here?!"
(This was the highlight of my night.)

Laura: "I met this couple, and I talked to them for a while, and they were soooo nice! And then I kept walking, and I found this person, and I talked to them for a while, and they were soooo nice! And then I kept walking, and I found somebody else -- "
Hilary: "And let me guess, they were soooo nice?"
Laura: "YEAH!!"

"Turkenstrasse! Turkenstrasse!" - Laura, once we found her this is most of what she said (Stephanie lives on Turkenstrasse)

Accomplishments:
Bought a beer stein! (And my plate.)
Went to Spring Fest.
Found Laura!

Travel Tip:
Do not let your friends go running off by themselves after they've had a few liters and it's midnight in a foreign city...even if they really have to go to the bathroom!


Munich was short but sweet; tomorrow we want to go to Salzburg but I don't think we will wake up in time for that...