"I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing" -- Homer Simpson

Greetings all.

A weekend of fun has just come to an end.

Friday, I basked in the fact that I have no class by sleeping in. My roommate wanted to go second-hand clothing shopping, so I went with her. We walked all over Freiburg for about 2 hours, and then I called it quits so I could do grocery shopping. I loaded up on groceries for the week, barely fitting all of them into my backpack and plastic bag that I had brought along (remember, you have to pay for plastic bags in Germany). There was a party for international students at one of the dorm complexes, so we went over. It turned out to be pretty low-key, and we all called it a night fairly early.

On Saturday, I woke up around 7:30, and boarded a train with two friends for Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Wuerttemburg. Thus began my Oktoberfest experience. This isn’t THE Oktoberfest of which so many people speak. Rather, it’s a regional one which is very similar. After being kicked off one train (our ticket apparently good for the express train), we boarded a regional train for Stuttgart. We could tell that the Volksfest was most of the passengers’ destination, as people were decked out in traditional German clothing, were singing German folk songs, and were dancing in the aisles. After about 45 minutes, we arrived at Stuttgart’s main train station. Rather than look for signs or ask around, we just followed the crowd, which took us to the S-Bahn (Schnellbahn or Stadtbahn; public transportation) and then boarded a local train labeled “Volksfestlinie.” We arrived at the festival grounds after a few stops. It was a huge area, complete with two ferris wheels, roller coasters, and the main attractions, Festzelten. Literally, that means “party tent.” They weren’t so much tents as static structures. Inside each one were kitchens, bathrooms, rows and rows of picnic tables, stages and soundsystems. We walked into the first one we saw. A band was playing inside, and people were standing on the tables, dancing and singing along. We couldn’t find seats inside, but we eventually found outdoor seating which was ultimately more rewarding, because it was such a beautiful day. Our waitress promptly walked up and asked us what we wanted. We each ordered a liter of beer (the standard size at German festivals) and half of a chicken. Not 5 minutes later, we were presented with the biggest beers I had ever seen, and the most tender, succulent chicken I’ve ever eaten (next to the chicken prepared by my mother J). Everything was so good, we ordered another round. I had another half-chicken, and my friends ate traditional German Wurst, sausages. We wandered around for a bit more, and my friends wanted to stop at another tent. We picked one and were immediately singled out by people from, of all places, Penn State! My friend was wearing his PSU t-shirt. We sat and talked with them for a bit, and then moved on.

We didn’t think it would be smart to ride a roller coaster after 2 liters of beer and a whole chicken. We are indeed smart individuals.

We caught the 9:15 train back to Freiburg, at which point I was exhausted. I slept in late on Sunday morning, and then went to meet some people in town to go to a soccer game.

Freiburg’s soccer team is called S.C. Freiburg, Sport Club Freiburg. Whereas in America sport teams’ names are usually the city followed by the name (i.e. Philadelphia Phillies), most European sport teams have an abbreviation followed by the city’s name (for example, F.C. is the most common, standing for “Football Club”). Most teams also have a nickname given to them by their fans. S.C. Freiburg are referred to as the “Breisgau-Brasilianer,” meaning “the Brazilians from the Breisgau.” This is a take on the fact that Brazil is regarded as the best international soccer team, and Breisgau is the region in which Freiburg lies.

Anyways, I donned my S.C. Freiburg scarf and we headed out to the stadium. It’s a small venue compared to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Ballpark, but the fan’s enthusiasm counterbalanced the stadium’s size. Almost non-stop from when the team walked out to do warm-ups to the game’s last whistle, people were yelling, chanting, and beating drums. When the starting lineups were announced, sometimes the fans shouted “Fussballgott” after a particular player was announced. The nickname denotes particularly skilled players, and translates to “god of soccer.” Whereas in Philadelphia if, say, Pat Burrell were to foul out or strike out, he’d get booed by all the fans. In Freiburg, when a player missed a shot, they were lauded for their effort. In the end, Freiburg won 2-0. At almost the same time, the German national team won the Women’s World Cup against Brazil, so there was much celebration in the stadium.

Well, it was a fun-filled weekend, but I have homework to do. We have a packed weekend coming up, including hiking the Alps, a trip to a smaller German town called Staufen, a soccer game against the program staff, and a concert featuring one of the staff members’ country music band (believe it or not).

So I leave you by saying, Prost!