Prost!
Visiting Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland with our friends, Curtis and Christine was an absolute blast! Shoutout to Christine for planning this whole trip and inviting us to (guten) tag along! (Pictures at bottom)
BADEN-BADEN, GERMANY
We flew into Frankfurt, Germany on Sept 14th and took the train to Baden-Baden, which translates to Bath Bath. As you may have guessed, Baden-Baden is known for their (nude, Roman-style) bath houses, which was a very unique experience and much needed after our 15-mile scenic hike around the city the day before. As a devout cow-lover, my favorite part was finding some Scottish Highland Cows on our long hike and coercing them to me for some pets!
In addition to exploring the local mountains, restaurants, bars, and hotspots, we went to Casino Baden Baden – an experience much different than Vegas: no free drinks, one green on roulette (and if it hits you keep half your bet!), the dealer only takes one card initially in blackjack (so don’t double-down against an ace!), players often wandered, playing multiple tables at once, and the dealers even tried to dissuade us from gambling – telling us that we could spend the money at the bar! Even still, we had a great time and managed to keep (most) of our ‘investment’.
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
We drove together to Strasbourg, where we walked the city, exploring the gorgeous architecture (such as the Notre Dame Cathedral) and eating the delicious (non-German) food. Side note: Germany food consists entirely of meat, potato, pretzel, and two kinds of beer (weis and pils). We took a ‘Batorama’ boat tour through the city and up/down various locks (like a tiny wooden Panama canal).
Another highlight was squeezing through a pillar at Le Bushmesser, a tradition indicating that I am not yet too fat. In doing so, I garnished the attention of an enthusiastic local, Bruno, who entertained us for a while, sharing local information and thanking us (Americans) for helping during WWII.
We had our fill of bread, wine, and cheese, and drove back into Germany, the land of meat and potatoes.
FREIBURG, GERMANY
On our drive back into Germany, we visited the Schatzle Farm, who likely share ancestry with Christine. They were very kind and informative and we left after a few Prost’s with some fresh schnaps and an energized spirit. We took the Schatzle’s advice and hiked the area to a gorgeous 360 degree viewing tower, Urenkopfturm (so worth the hike and climb!).
As we continued to Freiburg Germany, we visited some towns known for their Cukoo Clocks, including The World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock, and enjoyed the scenic drive. We visited the Kastaniengarten-Greiffenegg-Schlössle beer garden (with an amazing view) and the Hausbrauerei Feierling microbrewery, as recommended by my buddy Simon (Stevie).
AUSTRIA & SWITZERLAND
On Friday, Sept 20th, we drove to Bregenz, Austria and biked between Austria and Switzerland, where we found a gorgeous winery/restaurant on top of the largest hill in the area (Google lied and told us it would be a ‘moderate hill’). The view from the top the hill was indescribably gorgeous. We biked down the other side into the idyllic countryside of Switzerland. It’s hard to describe how ‘nice’ everything was there… Just gorgeous, peaceful, and happy – like a still-life painting.
OKTOBERFEST
Finally the real meat and potatoes of the trip: Oktoberfest, the biggest party on the planet! The lore of Oktoberfest has been built up into something larger than life, but somehow the real thing still managed to exceed expectations. It was awesome. First of all, all around Munich, people are celebrating and wearing the traditional attire – just good vibes to be had everywhere. But once you got into the fairgrounds, it was like a huge state fair, shoulder-to shoulder for at least a square mile – there must have been a million people there in the opening days.
There are fair rides and fair food for the whole family and then there are the infamous beer tents for those looking for a more debaucherous experience. We had a reservation at a more laid back tent (Poschner) before making new friends at at the Hofbrau tent and the Hacker Tent – both unbelievably lively parties.
The scene in the beer halls was unlike anything I had ever experienced. A huge warehouse-sized building filled to the brim with drunkards in silly clothing, prosting (cheers) and singing to the live band. Beers were only sold by the liter and there were (of course) only two options of beer everywhere (Weis – like Blue Moon mixed with Budweiser; and Pils – basically Budweiser). Everyone was friendly and everyone contributed to the friendly party vibe. We partied with the best of them until the festival shut down that night and drunkenly took a bike taxi back to our place, a mile and a half away. Even Stacey, who prioritizes ‘new’ experiences above all else, said that she would go back!
We spent Sunday shaking off the hangover at the Oktoberfest fair grounds, watching the Trachten-und Schützenzug 2024 parade and trying all the fair foods and flew back to NC early the next day to prepare for bachelor party in Asheville… which will be a story for another day.
Amazing!!