Adult Oktoberfest 2019

September 28, 2019, a day that will live in infamy.



First though, I need to preface it with the happenings of the day before, after we got back from Pilsen.  First... it was Friday, so I had to do recycling (since Todd, Brian, Mikey and I were going to Munich early Saturday morning and wouldn't be able to do it then.)  So of course, I dragged the guys along to help me.  You know you've been indoctrinated into German culture when you're doing work at the Wertstoffhof.  Here is Brian recycling the dosen (aluminum cans.)



And now that my mom was here, we naturally had to have some beers.  And with that, Mikey discovered Grant's Soviet hat.



And then, in a weird ironic twist, he also discovered one of Grant's mega Nerf guns.



But THEN!  Then there was a war.  It was Brian vs. Grant with a couple of crazy Nerf guns.  And Brian, despite not having any sons of his own, was really good at this game.  He even took a hostage!



It's a pretty good start.  These crazy guys kept saying they had been training for this.  I'm not sure they could handle all this German beer.  It's stronger than what they have in the States!



My mom is not amused at all.  But there was sausage and Kartoffelsalat.  I'm not gonna go any further than this, because we later watched BeerFest and drank out of Das Boot.  These moments aren't fit for a family blog like this.

We had to get up pretty early, much to everyone's chagrin.   All I know at this point is that the train is coming and I took a really blurry pic.  I think it was a sign of things to come.



We had to stop at the hotel first to drop off our bags, but then we took the U Bahn back to the Oktoberfest grounds.  These guys aren't excited at all.

After switching trains in Nuremberg and getting on the fast ICE train to Munich and going to the hotel and taking the U Bahn back to the fest grounds, we finally arrived for the main event.  Oktoberfest: this way.

When we arrived, we went into the Ochsenbrateri tent - which was already full, but Brian and Mikey asked a waiter if there was any space and they MADE SPACE FOR US!  So we were able to sit down at a table and of course, immediately order a Maß!



Prost!  Let the fun begin!



This is when we were all sober and hadn't made friends with our tablemates yet.



The tent we were in was the Ochsenbrateri - which is known for (you guessed it...) ox tail!  And of course, that is what Todd got.  Brian and I got a half a chicken and Mikey... well, Mikey decided he wasn't going to eat right now and would "order something later."  Rookie mistake!



This ain't our first rodeo.  We know it's a marathon and not a sprint.



I titled this one, "Raise your hand if you've had five Maß" - only I never had anywhere near that.  But this guy did.  I had to move across the table because some of our butts were too big for the picnic tables in this tent.  In the end, it was musical chairs here - but this way, everyone had a real seat for their butt!



This was a series of pictures that Todd took of me and Brian with surprised, sad, excited and happy faces.

Row 1 of Table 2 at the Ochsenbraterei was the best row and the best table at all of Oktoberfest.

We arrived at the Ochsenbraterei at around 11:30 (and as I mentioned, it was already mostly full.)  This is what the app looked like around 12:30!

We met some guys from Hungary at our table and one of them took a bunch of pictures of us.  (Also: Best Oktoberfest waiter EVER right behind me and Todd!)

This guy at our table from Hungary took honestly, like 30 pictures of all of us, but this was my particular favorite of Brian.

We also liked this guys luxurious locks.  You never know what you will see at Oktoberfest!



This entire picture is the very best.  Mikey is pondering what is going on behind him as this kid is really close to passing out at the table.



Extreme close up!  Night night, termite.



Mikey didn't eat any lunch, something we definitely advised against.  Instead he waited a bit, and then he had a giant pretzel that was bigger than his head!



There's always lots of great music playing in the tents. It's a mix of oompa music and pop music.  And at some point, I noticed Brian and Todd were dancing together.



The very best part of our day was meeting this Hungarian guy at our table who looked like Rob Gronkowski (formerly) of the Patriots!  We kept calling him Hungarian Gronk!



There was a lot of prosting going on with the Hungarian Gronk.



By about 2:30 pm, things were getting a little wild with the Hungarians.

At this point, one of the Hungarians started to tie my shoelaces together.

Legit the best and most patient waiter at all of Oktoberfest!



And now a selfie with my new Hungarian friends.

Well, you'll be glad to know it wasn't one of us.  Or the Hungarians.

Finally some of the Hungarians left our table and these nice American au pairs who are living in Germany joined us.

And then... Bri got the hiccups.  And he had the hiccups for what seemed like an hour.  I really felt for him cause they seemed to last FOREVER.

Brian decided to drink more beer in order to get rid of his hiccups.  At this point, I think he's trying to make a plan for what we are going to do next.

But first... the rest of this beer.



And then Mikey started to fall asleep at the table.  And that's when we got kicked out of the tent at Oktoberfest.

Of course after we got kicked out, we had to take a picture (into the sun) out in front of our big tent!  I'm not sure Mikey ever opened his eyes after this!

People passed out on the grassy hill at Oktoberfest.  SO FUNNY.  So glad none of this happened to any of us!

Does anyone know who this poor guy is???  Geez people, get it together!

This literally was happening EVERYWHERE.  Wake up, dude!  At around 4:30, we decided to send Mikey back to the hotel in an Uber.  We really didn't know if he was going to make it, but he did just fine.  Then as soon as I walked Mikey to his Uber like... 2 miles away... Bri decided he wanted to go home too, so we sent him over to the cab stand and Todd and I stayed and partied some more!  Ok ... maybe we didn't party. But we did get to ride coasters and have some dinner!

And we got to enjoy the beautiful sunset!

I swear I didn't filter these.  The sky was literally this color!

 After riding a couple of coasters, Todd and I found yet another Hofbräuhaus mini tent.  Of course, it ONLY served Weißbier, which Todd doesn't like at all.  But he hung in there while I enjoyed it (it's one of my favorites!)

And it was decorated so pretty with fake grass and flowers!  Don't forget the hops!

The funniest part of the evening was that as we were heading back to the hotel on the U Bahn, Mikey was texting me and telling me he was ready to rally!  HECK YES.  So Todd and I met him at the hotel bar, where they were still (oh so sweetly and generously) serving.  You know me and how underwhelmed I am by beer.  Thus, I naturally made the switch over to my favorite drink, bourbon!

We really had a blast at our adult Oktoberfest!  In fact, Mikey and Bri tackled TWO MORE DAYS at the worlds biggest beer festival. Gotta pat them on the back for that, as I was pretty much done for after one day (although I'm very proud of myself for knowing when to say when!)

What do you say guys... next stop, a bourbon tour of north central Kentucky in 2021?  That should give us enough time to recover...

Until next time, Oktoberfest!

Pilsen, Czech Republic

My friends Bri and Mikey from America came to visit with the sole purpose of drinking beer.  A lot of it.  So that's just what we did!

In fact, they weren't here a whole five minutes before we were already down in downtown Auerbach having beers and lunch.

My town is super cute.  Especially so with a delicious Kulmbacher.  Brian took this picture, and it was so pretty with the reflection in the glass table.

I know a beer post isn't really about fall or an eyeful of ivy on a building, but since this is my last fall in Auerbach, I needed to document that this is still my favorite building with it's beautiful chameleon ivy.  Since we walked down to the downtown area (and back) I was able to get some good pictures of it.  I think this building might be in the top five things of what I will miss most about Auerbach.

We wanted so much beer that we wanted to be able to bathe in it.  Thus, we made a trip to Pilsen to the Purkmistr beer spa.  I think the guys were kind of hesitant to do this... because, nakedness.  And you know how it is in Europe... nudity isn't something anyone really cares about.  But this spa was really nice and very private.  If you're uncomfortable with it, you can just close the doors between the tubs.  We all just turned around while the other two got in!  The best part is... you get a beer while you relax in the beer tub!  And you have a little tap where you can just refill it whenever you'd like!

The only downside of this spa is that the beer tubs only lasted 25 minutes.  I would have liked at least 45 minutes!  Plus, our kegs were super foamy.

After your 25 minutes in the tub, you get to go to a warm room where they serve you beer.  Is this heaven?

At this point... I'm like, there's no way I should be driving back to the hotel.  So I ran into THIS hotel and asked if I could just keep my car here because I didn't want to drink and drive.  They said it was fine! Since I had read that this restaurant is one of the top rated in Pilsen, we decided to stay and try a flight and have some lunch.  That's seriously the biggest flight I've ever seen.  It's like baby Maß sized beers!

Naturally, everyone had to take a pic with their flight of beers.

Mikey looks a little hesitant.  Has he trained enough for this?  Only time would tell.

After a couple of baby beers, Bri and I decided we wanted to take a selfie feeding beer to this wooden bear that was in the courtyard.  Because... beer.

Mikey took this pic of us with this silly bear from across the courtyard!

Before the rain set in, but also before we got our late lunch, it was time to get serious about beer.

The rain indeed set in... so we moved underneath the overhang to protect our beers.  I think Bri wasn't sure about this strawberry flavored beer.  But it turned out to be pretty good!

After a delicious lunch, but before we left, I had to go to the bathroom... and this is how I was greeted in my stall.  A creeper.

With the car situation settled, we had our super cool waiter call us a cab so we could get back to the hotel in time to walk to the Pilsner Urquell factory for our 4:30 pm tour.

Upon arrival at the Pilsner Urquell factory, Brian took this cool pic of their logo lit up from behind beer bottles.  Kind of reminds me of an adult Lite Brite.

 Ok, let's just admit Brian is a better photographer than me.  Here we go!

Perhaps those flights of beer and large mugs in the spa were a bit much for us at this point.  I kid!  Brian and Mikey were ready for the tour!  I think these are their, "Leen, stop taking pictures of us" faces.  Or perhaps I just caught them off guard.

Another great shot by Brian of the Pilsner Urquell factory that he took just after we started the tour.

The first stop is in the bottling factory where you get a Laverne and Shirley vibe as the bottles pass down the conveyor belts at break neck speed.  You can see them washed, judged (pass or fail), bottled and stickered.

This is their serious, "We love beer" faces.

Only... I'm certain Bri and I don't know how to be serious about anything.

Also along the tour we get to ride the LARGEST (superlative, check!) elevator in all of the the Czech Republic!   I'm sure the guys weren't as excited about this as I was.

I've had enough beer at this point to steal hops and barley from the Pilsner Urquell factory and put it in my pocket, only to declare 10,000 times over the weekend that, "Guys! I've got a beer in my pocket!"

One of my favorite rooms along the tour is the 400 degree (ok, I exaggerate) triple decoction room where they boil the mash.  Pilsner Urquell is one of my favorite European beers because of this.  This is actually a somewhat new room for the factory - the old room couldn't handle the amount of beer that they needed to produce for sale based on demand.

Everyone's favorite stop on the tour though is the super cool (literally) underground where the beer is barreled (or in this case... not really here... this is just for show.)  But you get a delicious glass of the unfiltered goodness that is Pilsner Urquell.

Brian took this wicked cool pic of my beer on the wooden barrel table.

Me. Mikey. Massachusetts. Beer.

Not long after this pic of Mikey and Bri was taken while they were deep in conversation, our tour guide said, "Would anyone like another glass?  He is offering to pour another glass!"  Um.  Yes.  Because our beers are low.

Of course, I'm not normal, so I told the guy who was pouring the beer out of the tap, "Ich liebe dich" and then he decided he loved me too, so I had to tell him that Brian was my husband so he didn't think I was gonna go love on him. I mean, he was like 65 years old, but still.  Beer.  As I turned around to point to "my husband" Brian with his newly poured glass of beer, I thought the lighting was really cool and needed to immediately snap this picture.

Many barrels, lots of beer, low lighting and shiny shadows.

Lastly, before we went back up out of the basement we hit up the former ice storage room.  Ice was dumped through the hole in the "ceiling" (at ground level) and stored here.  Those creature shadows on the wall there are Brian and Mikey!

To continue on with the "we suck at selfies" theme that Brian and Mikey had going on in Massachusetts, we took this.  And unfortunately I'm too short for all the fun.

Upon leaving (oh man... maybe it was when we arrived?), Mikey took this pic of Bri and I.  I never had a big brother, so Brian is as close as I will ever get!

We stumbled back through the city heading back to the hotel - and I was loving this pic at the lake in the area known as the Mlýnská Strouha.  There are bodies in the river doing handstands!

And then there was this.

We made our way back to our hotel to take a quick break before heading out to dinner.  On the same block as our hotel was this.  Because that's appropriate.  Also, where's the comma?

We finally ventured into the main square in Pilsen, which was very close to our hotel and is one of my favorites in all of Europe. The architecture is so beautiful and everything is super quirky.  After we looked around the square, we went to Comix Kitchen and Bar for some dinner.  It was a series of bars and a restaurant just off the square.

The best part of this dinner wasn't these two beers.  Instead, it was the fact that Mikey unknowingly ordered a Birell non alcoholic beer!

Bri and me and the kitchen where our awesome meal came from.

No one could believe that our total bill was 65 Euro.  For three people.  With multiple drinks.  This meal easily could have been 65 Euro EACH in Boston.

But wait, we just want ONE MORE BEER.  Good thing they sold them at the hotel check-in desk.  And do I make this face in every photo?

We slept poorly because our hotel was on the same street as a SUPER LOUD tram car and Brian had to close the window when a drunk guy was yelling on the street in the middle of the night.  But in the morning, we took a cab back down to the Purkmistr to retrieve my car which I was praying was still there - and it was!  After the retrieval, we took a quick stroll around the main square in the daylight to get some better pictures.

Brian thinks these buildings are the bees knees.  (Also... who ever says bees knees?  This girl. That's who.)

If you only really knew how many of these pictures I took on a daily basis.

The architecture in Pilsen is really something I can't even describe.  It's just so pretty.

Remember a couple of summers ago when we went to Pilsen and it was so hot when we were here at the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew?  It was founded in 1295 and it has the tallest church tower in the Czech Republic (superlative, check!)

These buildings are just so incredible, from top to bottom.

This picture is kind of out of order because I just wanted a picture of the comfortable Hotel Continental, with it's easy listening early morning breakfast tunes (Franki Valli's song - You're just too good to be true... Can't take my eyes off of you... I love you baby!  And if it's quite alright, I need you baby....)  This song was literally in our heads all weekend - and even followed us to Oktoberfest!

But this is really the epitome of the weekend.  Pilsen.  Good friends.  Good food.  Good beer.  This is one of those epic trips that goes down in history as one of the best ever!

Until next time, Pilsen!  Next up... Oktoberfest!