Prost!

Yep, we went to THE Oktoberfest. 2017 is going to be a hard year to beat!!

We had a day to spend exploring Munich. Oh, I mean we had a day for dirndl shopping! I had heard from many people who had been to Oktoberfest that your experience was heightened if you dressed in a traditional dirndl. These dresses ain't cheap if you get the non-costumey type, but I decided that I was probably only going to be at Oktoberfest once (and I could use it as a Halloween costume for the next 10-15 years if it still fits :0). We had a fantastic traditional lunch at The Augustiner. We had been here once before - in the back way and straight to the kitchen to have a leberkase sandwich! It was fun to be back and enjoy the awesome German food and beer. 

After filling our bellies we headed across the street to a dirndl shop. Jolyne and I were casually browsing when a saleswoman asked to help. I told her what size I thought I was and she quickly put both hands around my waist, felt me up, and told me what size I was. I was carefully looking at dresses, but she picked one that I "had to try on". Once I was done up in a gaudy green satin dress with hot pink embroidery, lacy white undershit, and over-the-top green apron with even MORE hot pink embroidery she told me it was perfect. I told her I like things a bit more simple. No, she said, this was perfect. We waited til she was distracted to pick out some different ones and change! This was all quite an ordeal. Jolyne and I quickly realized we were trying on the absolute most expensive of every article - and we didn't even like them! I finally talked the sales lady down to a simple green dress and white cotton apron. Phew. We were about to check out when I spotted the sale room. How had we - Jolyne and Angelina expert deal finders - wasted an hour in Munich and not started in the sale room?! I tried on a dress I thought was too plain, but actually liked it! When I emerged from the dressing room the sale room lady plunged her hands down my top and rearranged my boobs for me. When in Munich?! She taught Jolyne the magic trick of the string on the undershirt - serious magicians in Munich! She also told us which side to tie your apron if you're single or taken. We learned more life lessons from the sale room lady than we ever could've imagined.

I started with a $125 dirndl and ended up liking the $12 plain brown one in the sale room the most! Phew. I was able to purchase two dirndls, two aprons, with one undershirt and one underskirt for the price of the dress the first lady had me trying on!

We walked through the Marienplatz and were able to see the wonderful glockenspiel chime. It goes off at 11:00 and 5:00, reenacting Bavarian traditional tales.

We loved Munich before - and love it more now!! Like a typical fair, Oktoberfest has people streaming in. There are stands for food, carnival games, and a general air of lightheartedness. 

We spent out day in the Lowenbrau tent. Once you find a seat you don't want to risk moving because you probably won't find a seat anywhere else! We were near the center of the beer tent - close to the band and surrounded by lederhosen and dirndl-clad drunk patrons!! We made friends with a lot of people around us, including an Australian and Kiwi who were making their way around Europe. Six hours and 4.5 liters a beer a piece did us in! Oktoberfest was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience (that we would all love to do again!!!)

Bucharest

Bucharest was an incredible city full of beautiful architecture, interesting  traditional cuisine, and  an active nightlife. The bustling city center and canal outside our window had glimmering lights of McDonalds, H&M, and other globally recognized names. In the same view from our wonderful 7^th floor Air B&B apartment was the Old Town, pretty much all that was left of Bucharest from what it was in the 1400s until World War II and communism. 

A majority of Romanians are Eastern Orthodox. They were building a gigantic church on the parliament grounds behind this small temple.

We walked to the Romanian Parliament building, a colossal and beautiful structure - the largest administrative building in the world. To top that, it is the heaviest building in the world at 9.0356×10⁹ lb. There were guards at all the entrances, but it still wasn't quite as strict as government buildings in the U.S. Sure this building looked big to me, but I didn't realize it was truly the largest building of its type in the world. A man at the gate - after asking first if we were German and then Polish - told us this building would dwarf the Pentagon and White House. 

One of our top meals in Europe was this traditional Romanian meal in Old Town. We sat outside and had a fabulous waiter, Dudu. We started with a single grape rose and an appetizer of pork, pork, and pork. It was fried pork skin, pork lard, cracklins, cheese from the stomach of a goat? To be honest we're still not quite sure. We were wanting cabbage rolls the whole trip because that was what we heard was traditional Romanian. Our birding guide, Florin, had also given us many pointers. Dudu said exactly what Florin had told us and guided us towards 3 dishes that we were already thinking about. He was right - they were good. We were glad to have some locals guiding us on our gastronomical tour of Romania. This was a special meal and very memorable.

A traditional Romanian meat dish topped with fried egg and a feta-type cheese. Dracula’s House Stew

Pan-fried Mutton Pastrami

This wonderful donut type dessert filled with jam and topped with a sour cream like whipped cream. Also some apple pie type bites and chocolate ganache layered dessert