If You Plan On Going to Germany, Stay (with a) Local

If You Plan On Going to Germany, Stay (with a) Local

My grandmother had a saying, “Don’t invite us if you don’t want us to come”. In other words, if you do invite us we probably will come. Well, when someone from Germany tells you that they would like to invite you to Germany, over Octoberfest, we don’t say maybe, we say when?

The REAL Octoberfest, in Munich Germany, has always been on my list of things I must do and see in my lifetime. This past year we hosted a German high school student, Linus, for several months, whom our family became much attached and I affectionately called my German son. There were lots of tears, on my end, when he left in June. We promised we would keep in touch and said “someday we will visit you”. With that his parents called us to thank us for everything and said that if we ever wanted to come visit they would be happy to host us, maybe even for Octoberfest. Well, like Grandma says, “you don’t need to ask us twice”. So within a few weeks, we started making plans.

We have always been last minute vacation planners, so this time we did not disappoint. Most Octoberfest- goers, often plan a year in advance. Even our German hosts reserved their table at the Marstall tent in January, 10 months earlier. True to form, we started planning our trip based around the date of their reserved table, officially getting airfare sometime around late July. Unfortunately, our plans could not include our oldest daughter who was starting her freshman year at Penn State. We felt pretty bad but an opportunity is an opportunity. So, Chris and I and two of our teenage kids were on our way to Germany.

With Stefan and Tania’s help, Linus’ parents, we made plans to stay in Berlin the first part of our trip and then travel down to Munich for the 2^nd half. The obvious of last minute planning is that the airfare direct to Munich can be horrendously expensive, especially during Octoberfest. So we opted for Iceland Air. No true complaints of the flying but the delays and rush arounds could have been a bit better.

So a 5 hour flight from Philadelphia, delayed, to Reykjavik, Iceland, running through the airport to catch our connection to Frankfurt, Germany at 2 am EST was a bit of a wake up. Night flights are a great way to go, but if you are like me, you probably did not sleep a wink. The 3-hour flight to Frankfurt was basically a catnap. Arriving at Frankfurt airport around 11:30 am German time finding our bags and then rechecking them onto an Easy Jet flight to Berlin did not allow for downtime. Taking a 1.5 hour flight to Berlin from Frankford was ½ the cost and time of taking a train. So why not. Our plane a was a bit delayed which was not nearly as traumatic as our 14 year old daughter Kelsey’s lotions, and make up creams getting confiscated at security due to her not realizing they needed to be packed in her suitcase and not a carry on. Once we arrive at the tired looking airport in Berlin, (we heard there is a new one being built and opening in a few years), we waited for our bags along the carousel. Waiting. Waiting… waiting. Three bags finally came around but not our sons Holden’s bag. LOST. Filing a report of lost luggage in a small airport in a foreign country with very few people speaking English is crazy. After an exhausting first day in Germany, without Holden’s bag, we left the airport and were ready to check in, freshen up and grab our first meal in Germany…Italian. It was chilly out, and we were tired, so the warm cozy restaurant made everything taste sooo good.

The following morning my husband and son went back to the airport and were able to retrieve the “misplaced” luggage. Venturing out of the Motel One Hotel, we sampled a few German food venues like bratwurst and curry wurst. (Currywurst is basically hotdogs or in Germany, Bratwurst with ketchup and curry). Not really my “pint of pilsner”. But when in Germany… We then hopped on a bus that we thought would take us into the city center of Berlin and within 10 minutes of travel the bus driver pulled over and told everyone to get off. We still don’t know why. No bus in sight, we took an Uber. Yep, you can get an Uber in Germany. It dropped us off near the center of town at the Brandenburg Gate. With no definite plans, we decided to take advantage of one of the free English-speaking walking tours offered by the city that meets up by the Starbucks.(Sandeman’s Tours) It’s free but you do need to download their app to reserve your spot as the numbers are limited. My husband Chris was wearing his Philadelphia Eagles shirt and within minutes we heard two guys from the tour yell, “Yo, Eagles!” It just so happened these 2 young men were from Delco (Lower Merion and Radnor) and of course we instantly bonded. It was a 3- hour tour and our guide Martin was so captivating in his knowledge of Berlin, the Berlin Wall, and the history behind it’s dark past as well as the rich culture and promising future that it made the hours passed by quickly. Later that evening we met up with our Philly friends and watched the Eagles game at Belushi’s. While our E-A-G-L-E-S chant was fun amongst ourselves, we are not sure the Berliners understood nor appreciated our enthusiasm for football. We spent an additional day in Berlin visiting the Berlin Zoo and then Alexander Platz, a few record stores (Space Hall) for our son and then found a cozy Craft brew restaurant for dinner.

The next day we then made our way to Munich via train to go visit “my German Son” and his family. The trains in Germany are amazing. Silent, scenic and restful. We shared a private cabin with some English-speaking Canadians on their way to Octoberfest. After a seemingly easy 4 hour trip by rail, we arrived at the Munich train station ready to start the second half of our journey. At first, the crowded terminal caught my attention with the amount of Bavarian –dressed, (Dirndls and Lederhosen), people. Ahh, yes… It was Octoberfest season!

Within minutes of looking around, Stefan, Linus’ father waved us down and said he had seen our pictures many times before so he knew who we were right away. With a grand welcome hug and lots of smiles, we immediately felt like we have come to see an old friend. Stefan drove us into old city Munich for a late lunch at one of the oldest restaurants in Munchen (Munich). The Pigs knuckle and sauerkraut (Schweinesknochel) was delicious. After lunch Stefan took us for a brief tour of Munich which included walking, rather climbing, stairs to the top of St. Peters Cathedral which gave us a remarkable shadowing of the Alps in the background and a forefront view of his amazing Bavarian hometown of Munchen (Munich). Stopping for flowers on the way back to their home, we were off to reunite with Linus and his family.

The warmest of welcomes greeted us at the front door and an immediate connection was made between our families. I tearfully greeted my “German son” Linus as he was heading out the door for soccer, I mean football, practice. Stefan, Tania, Linus and his sister Fee had been anticipating our arrival as much as we had been. We were overwhelmed with their generosity, their open arms and hospitality as they put out the proverbial royal red carpet for us Americans. We capped off the evening with conversation, a pilsner and some Bavarian breads only to wake up and see a spread of meats, cheeses and other local flavors on their breakfast table including brezels (Pretzels).

Tania, Linus mother, had arranged for a private tour that morning in Munich. Her friend is a local tour guide historian. October 3 is a national German Holiday (Unity Day) which meant that pretty much everything was closed. But that was fine because we walked around and saw all the sights without too much of a crowd. We learned so much about Munchen and was so impressed with our tour guides vast knowledge of Bavarian history. We were on a time schedule so once our tour was over, we left old city and drove out to the suburbs to see our Linus’ soccer game, I mean football game.

Having half the day spent out doors on a moderately chilly day, we returned home with intent to get ready for OCTOBERFEST. Both Tania and I were wondering how we would rally, but we did. We all got ready and greeting both Tania and Stefan in their traditional Bavarian wear, and me with my Party Store Wench/Barmaid- sort-of-like a dirndl outfit, my husband Chris and all the kids walked our way to the subway towards the Octoberfest fairgrounds (Theresienwiese ) the largest Volksfest (folk festival) in the World. By the way, public transportation is totally the way to go in Germany.

My brother in-law, who has been to Octoberfest at least three times, seriously never mentioned anything about the “fest” except for the beer tents. So when we arrived at the “fest” I was surprised to see that it was more like a massive carnival with rides, food, music, etc for as far as the eye could see. The tents were mixed in between and it is only in the tents you can get your beer. We walked around briefly because our reservations were at 6 pm at the Marstall tent and if you arrive late for your start time the lines can get extremely long. We all walked in and were shown to our table which overlooked the entire Fest-extravaganza. The crowds were just arriving and so was the beer. Our hosts outdid themselves with our reservations and it met all of our expectations of this anticipated German experience. Maybe in my youth I may have been a bit wilder and danced on a few tables (wait a minute, I believe I DID dance on a few tables) but nonetheless, we all had a great time singing and swaying to German songs we had no idea how to sing. Taking the local subway home was great since no one had to drive. A memorable evening and even better to be with friends and family.

The next day Stefan let us sleep in a bit. Stefan had the day off and chauffeured us out to Neuschwanstein Castle (Cinderella’s Castle). Approximately 75 miles outside of Munich. King Ludwig’s castle was amazing and the surrounding Alpsee Lake, scenery and setting was magical. But one of the highlights of the day was being on the autobahn with Stefan and reaching a speed of about 240 kilometers per hour (approx. 130 mph) in his car. No, it is not a rumor that Germans like to drive fast.

The following day, we took a 2 hour train from Munich to Bamberg without our hosts. Bamberg is a town in northern Bavaria, but with just as much rich history as Munchen. Its quaint village streets, massive and many churches and outdoor cafes is exactly the European culture that Americans look for when traveling abroad. Our full day of walking, we did about 22,000 steps via pedometer, was spent sight- seeing, brewery viewing, beer tasting and eating. Eating is definitely on the top things to do in Germany, so you must come with an appetite and no guilt. We arrived back home to our host house and capped off the evening with a few glasses of wine and chatted like old friends around the kitchen table.

Saturday, our last full day, was relaxed and low key. I, personally, wanted to make a trip to Salzburg, Austria where the Sound of Music was filmed. Which by the way was about 90 minute drive. However, after hearing my husband Chris’s “Drunk History” version of the movie explained to our German hosts who never saw the movie and then trying to watch a portion of it in German, I realized I wasn’t with the group that would appreciate it nearly as much as my “Sound of Music” fanatic friends back home.

We went back into Munich and now the crowds were out and about. All walks of life, young and old, and many still wearing their Octoberfest gear. We stopped at the famous Hofbrau Haus inner Bier Garten. We each had a stein of beer and some pretzels and bratwurst as we sat amongst the many who were still October-festing and enjoying the perfect fall weather.

We wanted to do something nice for our hosts before we left so Chris and I decided to try and make a traditional Philadelphia dish…Cheesesteaks! I went to the grocery store with Tania and bought all the ingredients I thought were comparable to our American foods. So without any assistance from our German family, I started sautéing onions, peppers and sliced 3 large French baguettes down the center. (You know, a great cheese steak is all in the roll.) We had frozen ribeye steak and chicken breast earlier just for a few hours so that it was easy to slice it extremely thin. I originally was looking for American cheese, but they don’t sell American cheese in Germany or at least not in this store. Instead, I bought a type of pre-sliced butter cheese that kind of looked like American Cheese. We made two 16-inch cheesesteaks and one additional 16-inch chicken cheese steak. The Germans did not know what to expect. And almost at once Tania, Stefan, Linus and Fee said, “this is sooooo good”. I don’t get many compliments on my cooking but my New Bavarian Style Philly Cheese Steak got rave reviews. We finished off the evening with trying to watch the Sound of music, to no avail, and then settled in with a German parody of Star Trek, Raumschiff Enterprise, which was hilarious.

Very early the next morning Chris, Kelsey and I sadly packed up, stuffing all of our Bavarian Chocolates and souvenirs into whatever little space we had left in our bags. Stefan graciously offered to drive us to Frankfurt but we chose to catch a train to Frankfurt instead. Our son Holden was staying behind for an additional week to attend school with Linus, take in the day to day German culture and to practice his fluency of German. It was quite early and in normal fashion we were running late, barely making it to the station and getting a little taste of Stefan’s driving again.

It was a bitter-sweet moment as everyone was up to see us off. As we said goodbye my heart ached a bit as knowing the distance means we would not see our new found friends anytime soon. Such an amazing adventure was our entire trip and loving every moment of the German culture we encountered as we traveled throughout Berlin and Munchen. And while I can check the Octoberfest off my list of “must dos”, the very best part for me, and I believe Chris, Kelsey and Holden too, was staying with locals, the VT family. Their overwhelming warmth, generosity, their kindness, their hospitality and their friendship made this by far one of the best trips I have ever known.