Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Bier, Weiners, and a Dirndl

It feels like I have been on a whirlwind of a tour through Germany these past couple of months. For a country I thought I would see very little of, we have become pretty tight. Hamburg, Berlin, and now I can add Munich to the list.

When Mom was visiting we decided to take a mother/daughter trip to Munich. We bought a couple semi-cheap (cheap shouldn't even be in my vocabulary anymore) train tickets (about $120 roundtrip) and set off on our German adventure. Mom had never been to Germany before...and NO, the Frankfurt airport doesn't count.

My first impressions of Munich weren't much. I don't know what I was expecting, but with all the hype built up around Octoberfest and my previous trips to Germany, I thought Munich was going to be one of those cities to write home about. Think again. I hate to be so negative about a place, but let's just say I am not holding breath til we can go back.

Instead of focusing on the negatives, let's put a positive spin on this city. There are definitely highlights to this trip. I just wouldn't chalk it up with some of the other cities we have been to so far. Am I turning into a Euro-traveling snob? Back to the positives.

 
Bier. Oh, how I love you. There is a reason Munich has become synonymous with Octoberfest. How could I be in Munich and not have lunch at the Hofbrauhaus? and get a liter of bier? with a weiner sampler plate? on top of a mound of sauerkraut? This seems like a must-do. I swear the bier was bigger than my head. The best was the look on peoples' faces not just when I was drinking the bier, but when I finished it. Most women were drinking the half-liters. All I gotta say...don't judge a book by its cover.


You aren't going to believe it, but I actually bought my very own dirndl while we were there. I know, for a girl that hates wearing dresses, who would have thought? And, I did it even before the liter of bier. I will never again worry about a Halloween costume.

We were wondering through the streets with all the fancy stores on them when we rounded a corner and saw all of these amazing dirndls and lederhosen in the window. It wasn't like one of those cheesy costume stores back home where the outfits look all thrown together and are barely hanging on by a thread. These were the real deal. MUST TRY ONE ON, my head kept saying. The girls working in the store were so helpful. I didn't even know which pieces I needed. They got me squared away and showed me to the dressing room. After a few minutes, they must have realized I was having some technical difficulties. There was no way this size was going to fit me. The girl just looked at me like I was crazy. She said, "Of course this will fit you. You don't want to go up a size". Ah. Ok. And, just how do you...and before I could finish my thought, there I was all zipped up and ready for the ball.

I have a feeling we will be heading back to Munich one of these days. Now that I've got the dirndl and know I can at least finish one stein of bier, I think a trip to Octoberfest is warranted. Next year in Munich. Isn't that the saying?

2 comments:

  1. I am so jealous! I really want one of those dirndls!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's pretty sweet. Every girl should have one of these in her closet.

    ReplyDelete

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