Oktoberfest

Ah Oktoberfest. What an experience.... And I'm not even talking about the festival itself. I'm talking about the experience of getting there and back. AUGH!

I left for Munich after class, at 5:24pm on Friday the 17th, planning on arriving there at 11:33pm. I checked the departure board, went to my gate, the sign board said "Munich" so I hopped on. A few hours later, the train stopped in Strasbourg, France. I waited patiently for the train to start going again, but was getting a sinking feeling as it seemed like everyone was getting off the train. But still, I waited. After a few more minutes, and after every other passenger had gotten off the train, I got off with a really bad feeling. I found a conductor and asked if the train was still going to Munich. He told me that no, no trains were going through to Germany.

Crap.

I was a bit skeptical. "NO trains are going through to Germany?" I verify. "Go to the information office." he tells me. So I put on my backpack and go to the information center. The bridge across the Rhine is under construction, so no trains are able to get to Germany from this area.

Crap.

So I ask if there is another way, and he sets me up on my path. I will have to get on a bus, and take the bus from Strasbourg to Kehl where I will have to wait for a train to Offenburg, where I will have to wait for a different train to Heidelberg, where I will have to wait for another train to Munich, so I can get into Munich around 5:30 in the morning.

At this point I'm debating - should I just turn back? Return to Paris and skip the weekend? I decide that no, this is probably the only chance I'll have to do this. So I'll be a little tired, so what! So I hop on the bus.

I arrive in Munich at 5:30am, and find my way to the place I am staying, hoping and praying they didn't cancel my reservation because I didn't show up. Finally, something goes right. I arrive there and tell the the story of my journey, and they not only still have my reservation but they aren't going to charge me for the previous night and they are still going to let me in to take a nap for a few hours.

So I go into the tent, and take a nap before Oktoberfest.

I woke up, took a shower, and hopped on the tram. I wasn't really sure where I was going, but I just followed all of the people in Lederhosen and Dirndls and was able to get there fine. It was a wonderful time, very different than I expected and so so fun.

After a very long day I went back to the tent and crashed. I woke up the next morning and decided to leave a bit earlier than I had planned to try to avoid the bridge issue.

I think I need to preface this story by mentioning that I have a Eurail pass. I can hop on and off trains as I like, though occasionally certain trains will require a reservation. For example, the train from Munich to Paris.

I went to the Munich train station, went to the ticket office and said that I would like to get back to Paris sometime that day if possible. It didn't matter when. "It's not possible." is the response I get. I don't want to challenge her, so I thank her and leave the office.

In the train station I pull out my handy dandy rail map and take a look. If I take a train up to Frankfurt first, I can avoid the bridge at Strasbourg. And a train leaves for Frankfurt in 2 minutes and doesn't require a reservation. Done. I hop on the train.

I end up meeting a wonderful German girl on the train and we chat pretty much the whole way, which makes the trip go quickly. I arrive in Frankfurt and go to the ticket office to try to get a reservation for one of the trains to Paris. I tell the woman that I would like to get on one of the trains to Paris today if at all possible please. "It's not possible."

Of course not.

I go back out to the train station and grab a bite to eat as I haven't eaten much that day and sit down to contemplate what I'm going to do. I have to be back to get to a 10am class the next day. A train leaves for Paris in an hour. I eat, I think, and I decide that I am getting on that train whether I have a reservation or not.

So I get on the train, talk with the ticket guy when he comes by and end up getting a reservation. It completely WAS possible.... I kind of want to find a way to tell the woman in the ticket office.

So I end up arriving back in Paris at 9:30pm, with plenty of time to get to bed and still feel good for class the next day. Yay! Honestly, even though it was a bit of a hectic weekend, and the huge amount of travel time, it still was an amazing time. Oktoberfest was a blast, and I met so many people on my journey there and back that I really enjoyed talking to that it was well worth the stress!