Tonight It's Chinese!

OK, I know I said a while ago, "No more sausages!" but when you're surrounded by them, and everyone is eating them, what can you do?

Today we went to the kickoff of Oktoberfest; us, that is, and about 500,000 other people. The parade was very neat: lots of of beautiful carriages, very nicely decorated with flowers and people in traditional German costumes, pulled by gorgrous horses, and, of course, the carriages were stacked with beer barrels. It lasted about 45 minutes. There was lots of traditional German music, and all in all, it was very memorable.

The actual Oktoberfest itself was amazing. It is the world largest carnival, seriously. All the beer companies have these huge buildings they call "tents", but really are houses, with huge backyards, and the yards are covered with tents. They were all packed with 1,000's of people sitting at long tables, drinking. It was virtually impossibe to move through any of them, and the noise between the people and the German band was deafening.

Outside the tents there were also kiosks selling beer and sausages and pretzels. Dozens. It was all very festive, but just so crowded that we didn't stay very long. Now I can say I've been there.

Then we took the train to the center of Munich, which is very beautiful. We walked around for a while, and had lunch at the Ratskeller, another famous place. Guess what I had? Additionally, we got 4 pretzels with our meal and could only eat 2, so I brought 2 home. They are so good.

I went to the same shirt store I bought Mitch a very nice shirt from the last time I was here and got him another. I also, totally by random, walked by a stamp shop, which I went into. I ended up buying some German stamps and an album and catalog. I hadn't planned on doing that, but it was fun. The shop was started before the war by a man who only recently died. He fled to NYC during the war, but came back and re-opened the shop. The current owner bought it from that guy's wife when he died. He didn't speak a word of English, but he had a younger employee who did and I learned it from him. They ship internationally, so now I have another international stamp dealer I can correspond wtih and buy stamps from. I think that's neat!

So, like I said, tonight I'm eating at the Chinese restaurant down the street, and tomorrow I head home.

It was a wonderful trip!! I love travelling in Germany. Everyone is so polite, everything is clean and works so well. I guess most of it was rebuilt in the last 60 years, so that helps, but it's still nice.

A Day in the Alps

Just came back from a beautiful day in the German and Austrian Alps.

First we went to an alpine lake called Konigsee in Bergetsgarden, about an hour out of Munich, way high up in the Alps It is a glacial lake, very clear, deep, blue, and calm, surrounded by mountains. We took about a 30 minute boat ride down the lake and stopped at a church that was built in the 1100's. Then we continued on the lake to the end, where there was about a 15 minute talk to a second lake that is smaller, but reflects the mountains around it like a mirror. It was really amazing. We stayed there for maybe an hour, and then took the boat back. It was the smoothest boat ride I've ever been on; it felt more like being on a monorail than a boat - absolutely no rocking back and forth. I wish all boats were like that!

Then we drove further up the mountains to a nearby "Summer Tobaggon" where you get in this small "car" and go down the mountain on a curvy track, where you can control the speed of your decent with a lever in the car. It was really neat, a little scary, but very beuatiful. When you get to the bottom of the mountain, there is this machine that hooks onto the car and takes you back up. A very unique experience.

Then we drove about another hour to Salzburg, in Austria. It is a beautiful little, old town. We walked around for a while and then ate at the oldest restaurant in the world (supposedly), built in 803. They claim that it is referred to in writings of that time, but who really knows. Anyway, it was very good, and certainly memorable......and there were no sausages on the menu!!! Of course, there were dozens of pretzel vendors in town, but they are so good, and one can rationalize that they aren't that bad for you either.

Then we drove back to Munich on the autobahn. We were going about 90, and there were cars zooming past us. They must have been going 120!!!

Tomorrow we are going to go into Munich for Oktoberfest. We've been warned several times to expect large crowds and a lot of drunk people, so I'm not so sure how long we'll stay.

Anyway, time for bed.

Enough Sausages Already!

How many sausages can you eat in one day? Let's see, I split 3 with Ty for lunch, and had 2 as an appetizer for dinner. If I never see another one, that will be fine. They ARE delicious, but you just have to not think about how they're actually made.

My impressions of the "famous" Hofbrauhaus in Munich this afternoon: a bunch of drunk people sitting around in a huge hall getting drunker. Of course the beer IS good, and the pretzels are amazing, but still, again, enough for a long, long time.

Tomorrow is demo day. I have to remember to speak clearly and slowly - not an easy job for me. Oh, and I was told to make sure I do not offer to share my food with them at lunch (as I did with my colleagues at dinner tonight, and always enjoy doing). They would find that offensive. Isn't that half the fun of eating with a bunch of people, getting to try lots of foods? Sometimes I just don't get other countries. First, no bagels with the cream cheese and lox for breakfast, and now this. How much can I be expected to put up with?

Time for bed.

Oink

Well, now I know I'm in Europe. I just finished my first breakfast here - definitely my favorite part of any trip to Europe. Why is it that even a Holiday Inn in Europe has a better breakfast than the Four Seasons in the US? The buffet was amazing - including the requisite assortment of delicious pig products: salami, ham, bacon, sausages, etc. Of course, there was the token platter of lox (or "smoked salmon" as they call it), which was nice, but without a bagel (there are no bagels in Europe) it loses a lot of its tastiness. It doesn't quite taste the same on a roll.

And what's with the yogurt here? They have like 5 different kinds, including something I've only had in Europe which is a delicious thick, creamy, sweet yogurt blended with small pieces of soft fruit (raisins, dates, other unidentifiable stuff), that I can't stop eating. I've never seen that in the US.

Of course, there were 10 different kinds of breads and rolls, each more delicious than the other, and 6 (get that, SIX) types of fresh jellies and jams. Nothing like a huge slab of fresh bread spread with butter and jam. Oy!

Anyway, time for a nap as I'm slipping into a post-breakfast stupor. I suppose I'll have to do some work in a little bit.

Guter Tag!

Hello from Munich. The flight here was fine, despite the odd woman who was sitting next to me and couldn't stop talking...until I finally put on my Bose headphones. That finally shut her up.

I heard all about her 3 kids, her husband in Afghanistan (as an ex-military contractor, not a soldier), her love of shopping, etc. What pushed me over the edge was when she said to me, "Why didn't you bring your wife on this trip?" and before I could say anything, she answered her own question by saying, "Right. I guess with the kids starting back in school someone had to stay home and take care of them." Excuse me, wife? kids? school? I guess we're all odd in some way. All I can say is thank god for Bose headphones, and iPod's!

Sorry to say that even though I'm technically in Munich, I really could be anywhere. I'm in a nice but bland hotel in the middle of nowhere. I'm listening to "The Big 80's" on Sirius, and working on my laptop. I could just as easily be in Munich, North Dakota, as Munich Germany. Oh well, hopefully things will improve on Friday and Saturday when I have a chance to actually see something.

Time for some beer and sausages for dinner and then I'll try to stay up at least 9.

Andy on the Road To Resume

Andy's blog will resume on Monday, Sept 15, 2008, as I travel to Munich for Oktoberfest.....and to do a little work.