more oktoberfest timeline

of course there's more oktoberfest.

where did i leave off? yesss, friday. friday night, we hung out in the campground. i'd say the whole thing was a quarter of the size of iv with the same amount of residents. okay, i'm exaggerating. but anyway, it was crowded, everyone was drunk, and it was a blast.

we slept four to a small tent (even though sascha insisted that it was plenty of room for us) in the freezing cold. kit showed up with just a messenger bag; when we asked him what he would be sleeping with, he gleefully responded, "i brought an extra sweater!" haha..that guy. anyway, he almost froze to death, but sascha saved him.

we woke up at 715 am on saturday morning to make the trek to the fest. we didn't have reservations at a table, so as soon as they opened the doors at 9am, we shoved our way in. we were unsuccessful in getting a table inside (only people wearing lederhosen and drindl dresses were smart enough to reserve/get there early enough), so we settled on an outside table. then we waited. FOREVER. we fell asleep on the table, which was a great idea until security guards came up and yelled at us in german and told us "no sleeping!"

the first keg would be tapped at 12 noon, and after that, all the tents could start serving beer. that was the longest i'd waited for a beer EVER. we were all so tired that i swear, at one point, we would have just called the whole thing off and gone back to bed.

but then the beer came. it was the most glorious beer i've ever drank in my life. we paid the beer wench (who was at least 65 but could still carry 12 liter-sized steins), yelled "prost!" and drank up. it was like we were drinking the elixir of life, because once that beer hit our lips, we were ecstatic about life and ready to tackle the day.

as the day grew on, people grew louder, friendlier, and of course, drunker. i loved being there because, unlike the drunk i've seen so often in IV, the alcohol only made everyone happier. oh, sure, there were a couple fights (i guess mike from our group almost got in one?), but they were quickly squashed and replaced with more beer or pretzels.

ohhhh the food. it was soooooo delicious. i had the greatest candied nuts from a booth. that sounds dumb that one of the things i enjoyed most in germany was those nuts, but seriously, i freaking loved those. other food was good too--lots of sausage, lots of flavor, lots of salt. mmm.

venz, kit, sascha and i ended up leaving the festival around 930 pm. we were absolutely dead tired. i wish i could have stayed another day, though, because i would have loved to stay there until it closed around midnight.

on sunday, we went to a coffee shop, hanging out and swapping stories, friends style (half the group didn't like friends! those morons). kit and i had planes to catch, so we rushed back to the tent and then to the airport. i had figured that we needed to be on the metro by 1030 am to make it to the airport in time for my 1245 pm flight. we didn't leave the campsite till 1050, and by the time we made it to the metro station, it was 11:15. we needed to take the metro to a station where we could transfer to the train that would take us to the airport. the train we needed to take to the airport would leave at 11:21. we had 6 minutes. we got off the metro and booked it toward where the train was leaving from. venz, who was first up the stairs, screamed "IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!" yesss!! we made it!

FALSE. it was just pulling away. shit. we went to the street to ask a cab how long it would take/cost to drive there. 56 euro for a 45 minute cab ride. but if we waited for the next train to come, it would be around 50 minutes. 56 euro for five minutes saved? no, thanks. we went back to the train station and waited. we hopped on the train when it came at 11:40 and rode for 40 minutes. we said our goodbyes on the train because we knew we'd be sprinting once the doors opened.

we arrived at the airport at 12:20. i sprinted with my HUGE backpack on, holding on to my too-big pants, praying to a god i don't even believe in. we got to the quick check in, where i shoved my debit card in and shakily typed all my info. i looked away to put my card back in my wallet and venz discovered the plane was delayed half an hour. THANK GOD FOR DELAYS! i will never again damn a delayed flight because it might mean that somebody else will be able to make it.

so we said goodbye once more, i walked through security, and boarded the plane. i sat window seat next to the emergency exit, which meant i had tons of leg room--sweet. i spent most of the ride staring at the european countryside and watching the mountains blend into the clouds.

that was the first time i was comfortable calling paris home, was on that plane ride. i know the city, i know the metro, i know the language enough to get myself around. being in germany was intimidating because i know zero german and i had to rely largely on sascha to get around. but in paris, i know i can do everything on my own (even if it might take me a while). i found myself calmer when we touched down at cdg, because it was familiar. when i got to my apartment, i let out a huge sigh of relief, because i was home.