I arrived in Munich on Thursday evening after a two hour flight, half hour train ride through cornfields, another half hour trolley ride, and a long, absent minded walk. Although it's safe to say we were definitely lost, we did get a pretty good tour of the city. That night we explored the city a bit more, went to an authentic German restaurant, and started to get a feel for Munich, which is so different from Madrid. It felt much more modern, clean, and European than Madrid. Granted, it was probably the area we were in, but I loved how I truly felt like I was in a foreign city.
We tried walking to plaza Marienplatz but the street was completely blocked off with hoards of these policemen. We were a little concerned that something dangerous was going on, but we finally asked an officer who told us there was a big crowd of kids waiting for a rapper to come sign autographs. The rapper, who the policeman didn't know, was late and the kids were getting anxious. Definitely did not expect that answer....
Me and Alex in Marienplatz.
Beautiful sky in Munich.
Marienplatz plaza at night.
The next morning we woke up at 6:45 (ouch) to grab coffee and get in line at the tents. There are about a dozen different tents at the festival, each filled with long tables and each with their own crowd. In order to get a spot at a table (especially with a group of 20), you have to wait in line until the tent opens. So we got in line at about 8am and waited until the doors opened around 9:30.
Me and Lucy waiting in line at Hofbrau.
Marni, me, and Acker inside the tent. One liter beers was all they served...
Best pretzels in the world! Literally every pretzel sold there was this size or bigger. And so fresh.
The chaos inside the tent. The Hofbrau tent was full of a lot of Americans, and this picture is mainly of the dozens of kids from Penn who were at the table next to us. Throughout the day, people would cheer others on to finish their beers and sing these German drinking songs that are still stuck in my head today. The waitresses would all carry about 10 beers on their arms and walk around with armfuls of pretzels for sale or plates of roasted chicken.
Me and Maddie inside the tent. She's a friend of mine from Northwestern and is studying in Florence. This weekend was especially fun because a lot of friends from school who are studying all over Europe came to Oktoberfest for a mini reunion. 
Me and Danielle at the beginning of our adventure. After spending a few hours in the tents, Danielle, Alki, and I explored the amusement park, playing games and going on rides.
Danielle on the swings ride. Not the best idea to take out my camera on the ride (sorry Dad), let alone go on spinny rides after consuming a ton of pretzels and beer...
Still, so much fun!
Roller coaster!
Post rides and games.
The park at 8am. It was so desolate, it looked like a scene from a scary movie.
The park at noon. So crowded!
Day 2. At the Hippodrom tent (German is such a strange language). This tent looked like a circus tent with red, yellow, and blue draped flags everywhere, but it was a little more lowkey than Hofbrau. In the background you can see one of the waitresses, wearing her traditional German costume, and the stage where the band played later in the day.
Lucy, Rivkin, Emily, Catherine, and me after I won this amazing duck prize (in my hand) at the balloon-dart stand.
Catherine, Lucy, and Rivkin in a sea of people. Note the lederhosen on the left and the dirndl (dress) on the right. Sooo many people were wearing them!
Lizzie, me, and our new German friends at the Hacker Biergarten. The group that we met at this table had studied abroad in San Francisco and were all meeting up at Oktoberfest for a reunion.
Maddie, me, and Lizzie at Hacker
Later that night, we went back to the amusement park, which was even more lively than it was during the day! The cookies in the photo above were everywhere in Munich. They look absolutely delicious and have funny sayings on them in German (apparently they're funny). On the first day, however, we opened one up and tried eating it. When we opened the wrapper, we noticed people laughing at us but didn't understand why until we bit into it. It tasted like cardboard and sour milk. Someone described it as poison. Never again!!
Me and Elizabeth with our garlic corn. Yum
Yes, we went on the swings again at night. The park looked incredible from above.
Danielle, Lizzie, Marni, and me.
Just thought they looked hilarious. I still have no idea what they were selling; I think it might have been whistles?
Danielle, me, and Lizzie
Successful, fun, one-of-a-kind weekend. Really nothing can compare. Now back to Madrid...
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