Oktoberfest and Ettlingen
Why is Oktoberfest in September? Why don't they just call it "Septemberfest?" Beats me, and who in their right mind would really question the name of a festival entirely based on drinking beer, anyway?
Oktoberfest was a blast! We started our day on a 6am train and got to the festival grounds to wait until the gates opened at 9am. The fair grounds were filled with food, beer halls, and rides. We found a tent, and order HUGE beers. The beer was actually very good, and we had a blast chatting and enjoying the atmosphere of the tent. It was a lot of fun to wear our Dirndls and Lederhosen, too!
A few weeks ago, I decided to go back to Ettlingen, Germany where my family and I lived for three months in 2011. I contacted our German friends, the Schabacks, and booked my trains! I left the morning after Oktoberfest, and got to Ettlingen that afternoon. Bridgette Schaback was on the platform waiting for me! Jurgen was in the car, and it was a beautiful drive to their home while we caught up and laughed about how goofy my brothers were (and still are). Bridgette made the most incredible chocolate chip muffins that I loved when we were here, and a roast with potatoes for dinner. Jurgen attempted to fill me with schnapps and beer, but I was so exhausted from Oktoberfest and the journey there, that I went to bed long before he would've wanted me to. The next morning, Bridgette and I visited all of the churches my family used to go to for Mass, as well as the bakery and the river in the center of town. The whole trip was a whirlwind, but it was so nostalgic to see it all. I had an incredible sense of peace and and "at home" feeling that instilled in me a desire to go back, or live there in the future. It really is the perfect, quiet European town with touches of history on every corner.
