Tag Archives: oktoberfest

August 23rd Can’t Come Soon Enough!

Hello All!

My name is Alison Pavilonis and I will be a fourth year architecture student in the Fall semester traveling to Italy to live and study in Rome!!  In only 12 weeks, 5 days, and 10.5 hours!! (Can you tell I’m counting down?)  Right now I am living at home in New Kensington, PA (near Pittsburgh) and saving up money so that I can live somewhat extravagantly while abroad (by a college student’s standards.)

I think it is finally starting to sink in that I will be in Europe for the next semester because today I booked my hostel for my trip to Oktoberfest in Munich!!  (They do their dates backwards.)

oktoberfestMuch to my surprise, it is actually not in October but begins in the middle of September!  I will be traveling there September 16 and believe it or not I still had a hard time booking a hostel this far in advance!  Although I’m planning to stay for the entire weekend, I could only find a room for Friday night! I’m wondering if this is going to be a hint as to how traveling will be on a budget.  It should be an interesting experience to say the least! I’m sure that there will be more to come on this particular adventure.

Until August 23rd when I fly out I will be making lists upon lists of what to pack (yes, I’m one of those people) and getting more and more excited!! On a final note…


Location: New Kensington, Pennsylvania

200th Anniversary of Oktoberfest

So… as promised… Oktoberfest. My friend and I went to Munich for the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest and has an absolute blast! We met the coolest people and danced and sang in German for three straight days. Lucky for us, my cousin and his buddies decided to venture over to the festival as well, which scored us a free place to stay!!

Thursday night, we attempted to get into the tents at the festival, and let me tell you it was tricky. The majority of the people there had reservations, so my cousin sweet-talked a waitress into getting rid of a reserved table and letting us sit there. We were so greatful and experienced one of the craziest, most hilarious nights of our lives. 
After an evening of unusual events, we woke up the next morning to find that my cousin and his friends had rented a van. We planned to travel to Hitler’s Eagle Nest, but unfortunately, seeing as the majority of us were rather ADD, we missed the last bus by 20 minutes. That didn’t upset us in the least, though. We ate about 10 plates of french fries, and helped my cousin Matt and his friend Dom find the perfect outfits:
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And in case you are wondering.. no they did not blend in. haha
After that, my friend and I decided to take a nap in the back seat while we drove back to Munich. When we woke up, we were in unfamiliar surroundings. I asked where we were and it turns out that on a whim the boys decided to drive the Austria! We ended up in Salzburgh, and ate dinner in the town. Then we decided to call it a night and go back to Munich, a mere 2 hours away. Naturally, however, we got lost and spent about 4 hours trying to get back! 
Once back at the hotel, a few of us were hungry and went to a local bar around the corner for some pizza. Some advice: never order pizza from a Kebab bistro. They brought us out our pizza, and to our surprise all they had was corn and green bean pizza. Needless to say, we didn’t order pizza from there ever again. 
After dinner, I decided it was only natural that I needed to blend in as well, so I went to a nearby outlet and transformed into a true Oktoberfest german girl:
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my cousin and I both plan on wearing these outfits to church on Christmas morning. 
All in all, I wish I could go back and relive the whole experience over again. I met some amazing people, made new friends, and had an amazing time in Germany (and Austria!). 
Thanks to all those who helped my friend and I get there and stay there!! It was a blast!

Location: Munich, Germany