May 11, 2012

The late night the previous night resulted in a late start to the day today. Since we had nothing planned that we had to do today I ended up sleeping till about 12:30pm. I finally crawl out of bed when Molly comes to my room wondering if I was hungry. My stomach was growling since I hadn’t had a proper meal since lunch the day before so I get dressed quickly and we head out into the hot day. Andrea and Averi were still sleeping and didn’t look like they would be up for a few hours so we decide to wander around in the old city and end up eating at this little café that serves an amazing Panini. For desert we decide not to go with eis and instead head to a bakery close by that had some cheap sweets. I order this sweetened croissant that tastes amazing, though not as good as the eis. We continue around downtown and check out this tea place so Molly can buy some tea as a present for her mom. I order some iced white tea that I had never heard of before and while it was good, I have had better.

We decide to go check out the Castle that we had heard about called Thastle and Thurn. After getting lost a couple of times we finally find part of it. Turns out we found the backside of the castle and cannot figure out for the life of us how to get around to the front. We walk through this park that goes around the castle grounds, but still have no luck finding the front. After about a mile we decide to turn around and go back to the part of the castle that we could actually see. We wonder around for a bit longer and eventually find the information place inside the castle and find out that you have to take tour to actually see any parts of the castle. Ultimately we decide that it’s probably not worth the cost and head back to the hotel to see if the other two girls are awake yet.

On our way back we run into Averi and Andrea heading to the grocery store to get something to eat, since Molly and I have been walking around for about three hours we decide to go back to the hotel and shower and take a short nap. We agree to meet up with the other two at the sausage bridge about 6pm which gives us a couple hours to shower and nap.

On our way back down to the sausage bridge Molly and I decide to take a different route and get slightly lost, but manage to make it to the meeting place on time. We eat at the historic sausage house next to the bridge. This place has been around for hundreds of years and was supposedly a common place for workers to eat and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. We weren’t really sure how to order so we stood around like idiots for a little while, before I was finally able to stalk someone else who ordered and we figured out how to do it. It was a neat experience to order, because you actually went into the kitchen, told the cooks what you wanted and they would then give you the food and you paid them right there. No waitress, no waiting. The sausages were delicious and we enjoyed eating them on some steps that overlooked the river and the stone bridge. After finishing our sausages we headed over the stone bridge to where we had heard a carnival was taking place. Of course we stopped for some eis along the way and this time I tried strawberry, not my favorite but I’m determined to try all the flavors before I leave Germany.

Once again we get thoroughly lost, this time attempting to find a bottle of water. You would not believe how hard it is to find a bottle of non-carbonated water in Germany! While beer isn’t cheaper than water in Germany it is, however, the same price as a bottle of water, especially if you want non-carbonated. Giving up on the water we head towards the large Ferris wheel that marks where the carnival begins. Slightly expecting something that resembles the Juneau County Fair I am shocked into reality when I see a wall of people that makes our state fair in Wisconsin seem puny.

We wonder in and one of the first stands that we see is a pony ride tent. Being the horse crazy people that we are we stand at the tent for about ten minutes watching and judging the horses in the arena. Unlike the pony ride places back home the five ponies are loos in the ring and one person stands in the center with a lunge whip to tell them when to start and stop. They all follow the lead pony around and as soon as the music stops all of them turn towards the center of the ring like they are lining up for judging, all of them that is except for the very last one. He was probably my favorite because he reminded me the most of my pony that I had when I was young, but you could tell that he was still in training. He had a tendency to try and pass the pony in front of him all the time and he also did not turn towards the ringleader when the music stopped and instead just t-boned the pony in front of him and was forced into a stop.

We weren’t really brave enough to ask the ringleader if we could pet the ponies, but eventually he took pity on us when he saw us attempting to reach over the railings to pet the ponies’ butts. He let us into the ring and allowed us to take pictures with them before the next round of kids came up and got on. They were all so friendly and thoroughly enjoyed being scratched behind the ears.

Finally we had to leave the ponies and began to wonder around the rest of the carnival. Overall it was very similar to a fair or festival in America except for these huge beer tents that were set up and could probably hold about five hundred people. All of these tents were super crowded and we couldn’t find a seat anywhere.  However, I had been in Germany for three days at this point and still hadn’t had a beer. So I push my way through a crowded counter and order a local beer. Finally able to taste my first authentic German beer, I’m slightly disappointed since I have had better before, but then again it was a darker beer and I tend to prefer the lighter beers, so I definitely have to try again. I did however keep the glass that it came in and decided that it would be a nice souvenir. While we were in the beer hall we are listening to a live band and wouldn’t you know it they start playing and singing Sweet Caroline. I’m sitting there singing along to it and then it hits me that I’m in Germany, at a beer festival, thousands of miles away from home, and singing along to a song I know every word too, small world huh?

We wonder around the market that is in the carnival and find this amazing place that sells homemade dips. After sampling each one about three times I finally decide on three to buy since I think they would make good gifts to bring back for a couple people and are fairly light so they won’t weigh down my bag. By this time in the night I’m hungry again and I remember seeing a sausage that was about two feet long that someone was eating earlier, so I head off in search of the stand that produces those. Molly and I eventually find it and we each order one. By far the longest sausage I have ever had in my life! It was extremely good though, but I couldn’t finish it so I give the rest of it to Andrea. All of us are pretty tired now so we head back to the hotel. Once again though we have to stop for eis along the way and this time I try passion fruit. Also very good, but melon is still my favorite.

While we are eating our eis we stop in the Bismarck Platza and listen to a band that is playing then just people watch. The platza is very busy tonight and there are a lot of people wondering around, so it is really difficult to find a place to sit, but we eventually plop ourselves down on the ground and finish our eis while listening to the band and discussing what had been going on the past few days. Finally we leave downtown for the last time and head back to the hotel in preparation for leaving for Munich in the morning.