Oktoberfest, Prague, Berlin

Guten Tag!

Oktoberfest is one of the funnest experiences I think I've ever had. I highly recommend going and it's definitely worth the trip to Munich! Other than the drinking of course, there is a phenomenal atmosphere and energy surrounding the entire event, with singing and dancing and drinking and all around great people everywhere. I think this event has been the highlight of the trip so far, and I couldn't be happier with how it went! I made some new friends here and got to experience the festivities with them. The event itself is completely free to get in, while the steins of beer that you buy (1 liter of beer!) usually cost around 10 euros apiece. But each stein is equivalent to about 3 beers, so you don't need many to get the job done!

                                

Also, there are tons of really fun rides all throughout the event and of course some amazing food; at least it tasted amazing after a couple steins! But in all seriousness, I couldn't believe how much positive energy there was at the event. You may think that with all the people that attend the event and all the drinking that goes on there would at least be a couple fights or something bad might happen, but I saw none of that over the entire two days that I spent at the festival. I couldn't believe how great the positive energy was, and I would definitely go again. There are numerous beer tents scattered throughout the grounds, varying in sizes and the types of beers that they serve, with some being large enough to fit 10,000 people! Every tent is full of tables and, generally speaking, you need to arrive early to get a table or pay ahead of time to reserve a table. We went on a Monday and Tuesday so it wasn't too difficult to find a table in one of the tents. Once seated at a table, we order some steins and let the games begin. The rest of the day is basically filled with drinking, singing, drinking games, talking, joking, laughing, rides, food, and just an all around good time. There's not a whole lot else to say about it other than definitely trying to experience it for yourself if you can.

After all of the Oktoberfest shenanigans we took a bus from Munich to Prague, which wasn't too bad, only about 5 hours or so. Prague is a beautiful city. We met some more friends there and did a walking tour and went out on a pub crawl one of the nights to see some of the nightlife. That was a lot of fun and we even went to a club that was 5 stories tall! Each floor had a different style of music playing. I had never been to a place like that, so that was a really cool experience. One of the coolest things we did in Prague was play a game called Trap. You show up with a team of people and you're locked in a room for 1 hour and you have to figure out how to get yourselves out by finding clues and codes and deciphering them to unlock the various locks and doors that ultimately lead to your way out of the room. That was an awesome time and we made it out with only 3 minutes to spare! These games are pretty popular around Europe and they're usually rated really high on TripAdvisor, so I'm really glad we finally checked one out and I wouldn't mind doing that again in another city. The other crazy thing about Prague is how cheap everything is, especially the beer. 

The Prague Castle District

Like Germany, Prague has beer that is cheaper than water, and it's pretty hard to wrap my head around that but it's definitely true! Overall, I think I speak for most people that have visited Prague when I say that it was definitely a great city to visit, and I'd highly recommend it to people as a stop in Europe.

After another bus ride, I was back in Berlin for my second time. It was great to be back in this city and I've definitely been happy with how this entire trip has unfolded. I can honestly say that I hardly did much at all in Berlin, which I'm okay with because the last time I was here 3 years ago I saw a ton of the amazing things to see here. I did get to experience some of the nightlife this time which was really fun. However, it was a Sunday night so nothing too crazy was happening but we still had a good time. Since I didn't have much time to catch up on my blog or much else during Oktoberfest or even Prague, Berlin has been a great rest stop for me to be able to catch up with everything, and for that alone I am grateful to have been here. We did visit the East Side Gallery again which is always a great sight to see in the city, but other than that it's been a great time catching up on life and what's going on back home. Today we are headed off to Amsterdam to continue the rest of trip, so more updates to come!