Just a little Oktoberfest-Munich style

After leaving our family and friends in September, we met Joe's brother, Pete, and his wife, Sandy, in Munich, Germany.  Pete and Sandy celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on September 14.  Our 31st anniversary was on September 15 so we all decided it was a good time to take a trip together.  It had been a long time since Joe and I had traveled with Pete and Sandy and we were looking forward to our time with them.  Since moving to China time spent with them was very limited on our trips home.

2010 marked the 200th anniversary for Oktoberfest so we were excited to be a part of the celebration.  We spent several hours at the celebration and consumed more than our share of German beer.  There are beer houses for the major German beers and you can go in and have their beer and enjoy the food and German music.  Many of the Germans come dressed in native dress and it's a treat to be a part of this special event.  It's comparable to our State Fair of Texas with MUCH MORE BEER!  Those Germans know how to throw a party!

We spent most of our day in the Lowenbrau tent enjoying the beer and music.  We met some young men from Venice that were Gondoliers.  Joe was wearing his Texas Rangers Playoffs T-shirt and we met a young couple, Kelly and Jason, who were from Irving, Texas.  Small world.

Kelly is working for the Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan and Jason flew over to meet her for R&R in Germany.  We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and into the evening with them at another beer hall.  Tables were hard to come by but some local guys and their friends agreed to share their table with us.  It was a pleasant afternoon, nice weather and we consumed more wonderful German beer.  To top it off we had an amazing dinner of schnitzel and schweinhaze (port knuckle).  We met another couple from the US.  He was in the Air Force on leave from Iraq.  It was so special to spend time with young people who are serving our country so selflessly.

Our table companions were another story altogether.  There was Fuzzy Bear and his "friend" from Vienna (we just called her Vienna), and Rudy with his "friend" Biggie.  Each of these guys had wives elsewhere and boy were they a treat to talk to.   Were they ever characters!  Oktoberfest is certainly a great place to get to know the German people.

We rented a car the next day and drove to the town of Garmisch about an hour outside of Munich.  Joe and Pete lived in Munich for four years before coming to Texas and this is where they would come to snow ski.  It's a quaint little German town with cute shops and it was a treat to walk around.  There's also an amazing US military R&R facility here for the military and their families to relax and unwind.  You can take a ride up on a cable car to the Zugspitze and on a clear day see some of the most beautiful views of Germany and Austria and the Alps.

Later in the day we drove to the former base area where American military and civil service serving in Munich once lived.  Joe and Pete were able to see their old stomping grounds and relive some old memories of their time in Munich.  We saw their old apartment, their high school and even the baseball field where they once played on the Munich team.  It is now turned over to the German government but many of the old buildings were still there and it was good trip down memory for them.

Next up:  We drive to Venice, Italy!