October 4, 2006 by zankbennett.

Wow. This place is like that one time, when I went with a girl, also her first time, to IKEA, and we got lost, because it’s really hard to find the way out of IKEA the first time you go there. There’s like that laminate flooring that I put in my last house…pretty much everywhere. I keep expecting the people in the red shirts to jump out of nowhere and hand me the little golf-pencil and a shopping list pad so I can mark down the furniture that I want and pick it up near the exit.
The next thing I notice is that the currency is really different. There’s like 7 of theirs to 1 of ours. Not 10 or 5 or 2 or something easier…and whatever you want, well, sorry, you can’t afford it! It was cheaper to use my USA cell phone than to use a pay phone for a local #. So, obviously, I’m on the bus ($13) to town rather than the express train($30).
And if I understood correctly, the hotel room I blindly reserved costs a measly $70 and doesn’t come with sheets. But all is not lost; if I clean it myself there’s like some sort of refund I qualify for. What I want to know is who the hell is this person? I mean, am I going to get the white-glove test on the underside of the bed frame? I mean, isn’t the whole reason for paying so you don’t have to mop the floors? Do I get my own spray bottle of Lysol? What about those nifty little wipe-rags the maids always use? I bet some of those could come in handy.

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October 4, 2006 by zankbennett.

After a week in San Diego and LA for the wedding, it was off to Munich and Göttingen for the last night of Oktoberfest and Andre’s wedding reception.

Andre and Z.  Then, Aly with the greeeeeeen dress, giving dance lessons…!

Arrived in Munich a bit after noon on Monday, the last day of Oktoberfest. Called Judi, the girl I met in Barcelona, and arranged to meet later.
Went to the festival with Andre in liederhosen, his wife in the typical German wonen’s equivalent, Martin and his girlfriend. This thing is huge! So much bigger than I remember it from 11 years ago when last I was there. There are rides and games as far as the eye can see and food and beer tents and people wearing the craziest outfits. Too many men in leather shorts for me, but that’s cool….

We met another of Andre’s friends at one of the giant tents and managed to lie or bribe or something I couldn’t understand to get our way into the tent. The place was packed and apparently you can’t just walk in without knowing someone, especially on the last night.

When attacked by gaping-mouthed Oktoberfesters in white, use middle finger under arm pit to effectively remove the threat!  Who the!?  What the!!?

Once inside, we found a place to stand and spent about 30 minutes trying to talk one of the beer maids, read Hulk Hogans, to give us a few beers…and it was on! An hour later and we’re singing traditional Bavarian drinking songs and carrying on with the rest of the idiots in typical fashion. It’s amazing how all the words just come back like I sing them every night before bed. Or something like that.

After standing there eating 2-foot round pretzels and getting hip-checked in all directions 85 times as Helga and her beer-maid cohorts made their fly-by’s, growling and carrying 15 beers in each hand, we left the tent to meet up with Judi, Astrid and their friends at another tent.
We were too late for the last round and so stayed until they kicked is out…around 11 pm. Judi kindly let me stay at her house, just a short walk from the festival so a bunch of us went there and stayed up half the night talking, taking ridiculous pictures and carrying on.

 
Waffles with cream and cherries…a Bavarian treat.  Notice the drool…LOL.

Judi the German, me.

 
Astrid, in true form!

The next day, it was off to an old castle in Göttingen for the German version of the wedding reception with family from Andre’s mom’s and dad’s side. We ate and drank for about 5 hours in the dungeon of this castle.

Now it’s off to Stockholm, the place it seemed I would never reach. I have made five changes to my original plan and ticket to go there on the 23rd of September directly from Barcelona. Now, finally, it’s off to the cold. No jacket. No umbrella. One long-sleeve shirt with any warmth whatsoever. It’s time to get some local clothing for the cold weather. Maybe I’ll actually look like I fit in…for a HUGE change!

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