Ihr Weicheier!

Friday was exhausting. I was with Two from 8am to 5pm. We went on a few walks, played, and had lunch with M and L. I had trouble with putting him down for his nap. He ended up screaming bloody murder for awhile before he fell asleep on my chest while we were laying on the couch. I was too afraid to move him (plus I ended up falling asleep too). I knew HD would be getting home soon, so I waited for him to get home to lift Two off me and put him in bed. Just 10 minutes after HD got home, he had to head back out to get One from school. HM was at a team building event for work and didn't get home until much later. When HD got back with One, I heard him ask where HM and I were. It was a sweet moment. HD, the kids and I went over to the neighbors for dinner. Afterwards, Fabio and I went into the city. When I was grabbing my things to head out, One asked why I was going and informed me that he wanted me to put him to sleep. It was adorable, but I was ready for a break. I was exhausted, but I wanted to get out and do something. We didn't really do much, just kinda walked around and stopped at a bar for a drink.

Saturday turned out to be more activity than I anticipated. I slept in, skyped with my mom, went for a run and then went for a bike ride. Shortly after I got back from my bike ride I got a text from Fabio informing me that they (the neighbors) would all be going to Munich for Oktoberfest the next day and they wanted to know if I was interested in going along with them. Shortly after I accepted the invitation, M, L, and Fabio came over with one of M's Dirndl's for me to try on. I think we were all surprised to see that it mostly fit. I even learned proper Dirndl etiquette, like which side the bow must be tied on to show if you're single or not. So that was settled! I would be wearing her Dirndl the next day. While she was over, M invited me along to dinner with them that night, as they were planning on going to a "fränkisch" restaurant. Though Nürnberg is in Bayern (Bavaria), it's in the "Franken" region of Bayern. So, as you have probably realized by now, the five of us went to a restaurant serving fränkisch food. On the drive home, M and T asked if Fabio and I wanted to be dropped off in the city. I didn't really care either way. Fabio made the executive decision and before I knew it, we found ourselves in the city. We spent some time at a festival (no idea what exactly what it was for) before I got a call from an old Kwaj friend, Eddie, who lives in the area and was heading into town to go out. Eddie made it into town and Fabio and I went to meet up with him. Eddie had brought a friend with him and the 4 of us spent a few hours hanging out. Eddie took us to a couple of local bars. I was excited about that. I think I finally crawled in my bed at 3am.

Sunday was OKTOBERFEST!! I made my way over to the neighbors (wearing the Dirndl) at 10 and we left from there, the five of us in their car. There was traffic on the Autobahn due to a car accident. We had to take some smaller roads, which extended the drive by about an hour or so. I think we walked into the fair grounds around 1pm. We got lucky and got a table in one of the beer halls for the 6 of us (M's other nephew who lives in Munich joined us). We all ate and had a beer. We couldn't stay long, as the table had been reserved. We spent the rest of the time walking around. I didn't expect for there to be so many rides there. I guess I had always pictured Oktoberfest as beer drinking and nothing else. Alas, I was wrong. There were endless food stands, souvenir stands, rides, and other games. I would say about half the people were dressed up in Dirndl and Lederhosen. It's definitely an experience I won't forget. We made it back to Nürnberg right around 9:30pm. I think my experience would have been different if I had spent the whole time drinking in a beer hall instead of walking around. I guess that's what I'll be doing whenever I make it back!

Me wearing the Dirndl (it's a little big).