Oktoberfest

Things I want come to me.

What goes around, comes around.

Ich liebe Oktoberfest.

Four years ago, September 2011, I got it in my head that I wanted to go to Oktoberfest.  Having jumped at every chance to go to Munich since my airline started flying there, I had to make this happen.  A colleague of mine, S, said she would join me and wanted to go along for the ride.

And what a ride it was.

We got first class both ways, met wild Aussie / Texan ex-pat boys, drank our fill in the Hofbrau tent, rode the beer carousel, did the Mike's Bikes tour, and just had the most amazing adventure to date of my 27 years.

And of course going into 2012, K wanted nothing more than to experience the nonsense.  And we did it all - chicken sandwich from the stand next to Hofbrau, and after the pork place, currywurst, drinking beers in the real Hofbrauhaus in the old city, seeing Der Fliegerlied all over the place.  I was told we could not find the beer carousel, but we did find a set of pilots in the beer tents who ended up non-reving home with us.

2013, I had to take care of my grandmother.  Even if I would have had vacation in that month, sometimes you have to be an adult.  All of these stories are previously documented, and if you're a loyal reader, things you already know... here's the part you don't.

I kept trying to get Boyfriend to see how going to Europe for the weekend is a reasonable thing to do.  He doesn't disagree as much as he used to, but with his schedule, I knew going to Germany was not in the cards for us just yet.  I said in passing to a non-airline friend of mine (JMC)  that was I was considering going to Oktoberfest and she asked me at which bar... My response was in Munich.  She's still coming to terms with while she owns a fine piece of German auto-engineering, I have access to all the Boeings.

October had begun, and with my lenient schedule at my desk job (which is coming to an end SOON!), a flight attendant friend of mine, MM, had asked the people of the book if anyone was willing to go to Oktoberfest with her.  So I responded and posted on the book, which is something I haven't done since I got back from Peru, a simple "I'm game."  And after that, it was game on.  That was Thursday morning.  We were sitting in first class the next night, and eating the infamous chicken sandwich, and sneaking into the Hofbrau tent Saturday afternoon.

AND IT WAS AWESOME.

MM invested in a drindl, which I still haven't done myself.  As two pretty American girls, it was quite easy to make new drinking friends and we did all over the place - the Norwegians, the two Scotsmen in their kilts and all their Scottish glory (oh yes - this is fact), the cute nerdy German who would loosely translate different lyrics for us.  At one point, MM went to the toilet, and came back with another flight attendant friend of ours!  That happened two nights in a row - she kept coming back with him!  What was so exciting about this experience was making it all the way to the end of the night on the very last night, struggling to understand the words but feeling the sentiment of how wonderful celebrating Oktoberfest was this year and til next year my friend!  MM is also in the process of completing a list of things to do before she turns 30, and I was honored to help her and share one of my favorite places and experiences with her.  It was a blast.

I can't fully express my love for Bavaria, for Oktoberfest, for beer.  For that stupid chicken sandwich!  But to be there, and to be given the opportunity to go again and again?  I'm just the luckiest girl in the world, full of nothing but gratitude and thankfulness.

Oktoberfest 2015!  Who's with me???