On Friday May 3^rd, I left at 1:45 am to head to Dublin to embark on my final travels of the semester in Europe. My best friend from high school, Lizzie, and I have been trying to plan a trip together all semester. She has been studying abroad in London since January. We finally figured that it would be a good weekend after exams to go to Munich for ‘Fruhlingfest’, the beer fest of the spring! And then after a weekend getaway to Munich, we could together fly back to London and she could show me around where she has lived. The trip worked out perfectly and we were so excited!!! What two great places to be in a row!!

Friday night was a long night because I did not go to bed. If you recall, I did the same thing when I traveled to Rome, so I figured ‘what the heck’ because now that school is over, I can afford to be tired. I arrived in Munich at 12pm on Friday and found Lizzie in the central train station. We found our bed and breakfast which was in a PERFECT location! Right outside the fruhlingsfest and we didn’t even know it when we booked it. Fruhlingsfest is a large carnival with many German beer tents and homemade German food.

A great thing about Germany is that the Germans frequently wear their historic dresses and pants/overalls all over town! And especially to the festival! This was fun to see people get dressed up. Germany had it all, the food, the look, and the fun!!! The festival itself was crazy. Live music and partying ‘German’ style. On Friday, the two of us were tired but enjoyed walking around town and figuring out the metro station. We went to the festival and then out for a nice dinner. Anxious to get to bed early, we went back to the bed and breakfast and slept well for a full Saturday of sightseeing.

Saturday, Lizzie and I woke up and got on our feet to get to Marienplatz, which is the old historic town and contains a beautiful castle. The area is surrounded by all the good shopping and restaurants, and to top it off the weather was beautiful! We spent a few hours walking around Marienplatz and shopping. We took a stroll through the beautiful English Gardens and even met some Germans who were all dressed up on their way to the festival. Our encounter made for an awesome picture!

Saturday night, we put on our German faces ready and went into the festival around 5:30 for dinner and drinks. The beer tent was so crowded we had to wait 30 mins to get in, but it was worth it! For dinner on Saturday, we had two full chicken breasts, sauerkraut, potato salad, and French fries. I don’t know if saying that now brings back happy memories or makes me sick to my stomach. Either way, when in Germany! The tent was crazy Saturday night, full of dancing and ‘prosting’ (cheers in Germany). The night won for sure.

Sunday, Lizzie and I enjoyed traveling to one of the German palaces and spent time in the BMW factory and the Olympic Park. It was another beautiful day so we got some great pictures! All throughout the Olympic Park I was trying to imagine the crowds that must have been there for the Olympics. The BMW factory was so cool! Very impressive and fancy, I made sure to take pictures of my future car! Right, dad?

Sunday night Lizzie and I yet again went to the festival to this time ride the rides and enjoy the carnival food that was outside the beer tent. We enjoyed the carnival games and endless fried dough and donuts. Needless to say, we were tired and were excited to go to bed before waking up at 5am to travel to London! While German was an awesome time, I could not be too sad leaving because my trip was only half over! London, here we come!

Location: Munich, Germany