Welcome to Munich

Day 1: Fri 23rd - Leaving Paris!!!!!!!!! On a 7 am train to Munich (can you tell I can't wait to get outta there?!). My friend Chris picked me up at the station, met our other friends Simon and Lukas (brothers) in the subway, and went to Chris' dorm where we all were staying. He's studying electrical engineering in Munich. I've known all these guys since I was about 3 years old so it's really great to see them all together. First thing we did was go shopping for my Dirndl, which is the traditional outfit all the girls wear to the Oktoberfest. (Note: dirndls are not short--if you buy one that Americans would wear on halloween, you'll look like a slutty tourist! And Germans will look at you with disdain. Good thing I had some local perspective!) I found one in the first shop we went into, how lucky is that? The whole thing cost me a whopping 65 Euros, but considering they normally start at minimum 100, I got a pretty good deal. And I did not come here to stand out (and be a slutty tourist), I came to jump headfirst into the GERMAN Oktoberfest experience! So it was a necessary purchase.

After trying Laberkase (a traditional Bavarian food, but don't ask, you're better off not knowing what's in it) we went to Johannes (Simon and Lukas' brother) and his wife Julia's to celebrate her birthday. We had cake and champagne, then went to a restaurant with a big group of people including Meenakshi, Markus and Tanya, (all of which I also know since childhood) and had some drinks. Okay a lot of drinks. The new hot drink in Germany right now is an Apfelspritz (I think that's what it's called?) which is Apple juice, white wine, and soda I believe. Whatever it is, it's delicious. Tomorrow is the big day...I'm so excited.