Oktoberfest and Other Awesome Adventures!

Well, loved ones, I made it to Oktoberfest.  I didn't think I would this year...  I wasn't sure if I would have the time or the funds, but the opportunity presented itself and I went.  It was wicked fun!  We didn't have reservations, as it was sort of a last minute decision, but thanks to my charm we still managed to participate.

 We were allowed to sit on the porch of a 'beer tent', but were told it was impossible for us to sit inside without reservations, as it was the last week of the year.  So we sat at the wooden bench and table, ordered beer and chicken, and watched the craziness around us.  The chicken, kraut, and potato dumplings were delicious, and the beer was epic. I do not believe I have EVER consumed a beer quite as large as this one, but my goal was to finish it, and I succeeded.  It was as big as my face!

While we were enjoying our food and beverage, a couple sat down at our table.  We started speaking in German, but quickly realized we were all from the USA, and quickly switched to English!  The husband had recently retired from the army and was teaching at a military school near Stuttgart.  They had lived in Germany for several years and gave us many great suggestions of places to go and things to do!  By the time I finally finished my beer, I decided to visit the toiltte, so I wandered nonchalantly into the beer garden.  When I came back out, Israel had gone in to do the same, so when he returned, we just decided to join the party inside!

I may have consumed another beer while inside the tent...  And made quite a few friends!  Since we didn't have reservations, we did not have seats at tables. However, lots of people mill about, and we just wandered up to a table at a corner near the music.  Me, being the outgoing person that I am, introduced myself and met a group that were there for a work function - how cool is that?! They were all IT types, so much of what they did was difficult for me to understand, but we all enjoyed singing 'Sweet Caroline' at the top of our lungs, and the language barrier was only a minor inconvenience!

But Oktoberfest hasn't been my only adventure this month!  Last weekend I traveled with my flat-mates Suzanne & Greg, along with their two children to Speyer, where our colleague Catherine lives.  She plays professional basketball and is one of the star players for the Speyer Towers.  She was fantastic!  She made a three point shot in the last 13 seconds of the game to make the score 100 to 58!  Before her game, she 

showed us around her town and took us to a super cool museum of automotive history and technology! There were submarines, motorcycles, a space shuttle, helicopters, and jets - even a nifty lego StarWars model. Several of the airplanes were suspended in the air with giant tubes to slide down.  So fun!

Oh and a park, where the jungle gym was a spider, so children can climb up and wander through, learning about what happens on the inside - so neat!!!  The buildings in the town were beautiful, too!  I am excited to visit Speyer again!  Well, I need to get back to lesson planning.  Stay in touch - I miss you!