Getting to Oktoberfest

One of the first things I looked up when I decided I was going to do this program were the dates for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. I’m not sure why, but I’ve wanted to go to this festival ever since I can remember. A few of my classmates decided they wanted to go too, so the eight of us chose the closing weekend to go to Munich and see just exactly what Oktoberfest is all about. Don’t ask me why Oktoberfest is mainly in September, but it is.

Four of us planned to fly to Munich on Thursday night, and the other four were going to meet us here on Friday as they were taking the train. We got to the airport and went to the desk to check in, and all four of us were at different stands being checked in simultaneously. I handed the airline lady my passport, and she typed and hit enter a few times, then proceeded to tell me I wasn’t on the passenger list. I asked her how I could possibly not be on the list considering I had printed out my itinerary complete with purchase ID number, and I had gotten a “check in online” email earlier that day. She just looked at me again and told me I wasn’t on the list. About the same time the other three girls I was with were being told the same thing. Finally someone figured out that we had been moved to a different flight—and not one of us had been sent an email or received any word from the airline about this! Luckily the flight was an hour later than our original flight, rather than sometime before our original flight, and it put us directly into Munich instead of having a layover in Zurich.

Upon arrival in Munich, we made way to our hotel which was located in a Disney-movie-set like suburb outside the city center called Garshing. It was sleepy little town, and considering it was a Thursday night at about 10:00pm, there was only one restaurant open—a Mexican place. I had a dinner of sangria and chips and guacamole. I would have to say it was the best German Mexican food I have ever had.