Eurotrip to Oktoberfest

          Experiencing Wanderlust in the country of it's namesake (that was the other idea for a title...but it was too long). Wander = German for hiking. Lust = German for desire. Get it?
          Well it all started with some broke Americans wanting to go to Oktoberfest. Train tickets would have left us no money for beer (!!!), plane tickets would have left us sleeping on a bench and buses were booked all through the month of Oktober. So we did what any normal college kids determined to go to the biggest beer festival in the world would do...and roadtripped it up! Oddly enough, Munich is only six hours from Bologna and our little Opal rental got comparably (to U.S. cars) fabulous gas mileage.
          So off we went to drive through the Alps with a stick shift and a driver that didn't know how to drive stick. We miraculously made it (he learns fast) to Innsbruck, Austria where we walked around for at least 20 minutes before finding a restaurant...which is quite comical in comparison to Italy where every other step is a new eatery. In our extremely broken German we managed to order a heaping platter of wienerschnitzle, pork, potatoes, rice, vegetables and sausages for 4 euro a person.
          After getting lost and trying to ask for directions with no avail...we bought a map and eventually arrived at our hostel! The hostel was this charming little campsite with lights strung from corner to corner, white tents containing 25+ bunk beds and a communal bonfire spot in the middle. Although it reached almost freezing every night and I slept with seven wool blankets to try and keep warm...it was the epitome of wanderlust.
         We stayed two nights, spending the day at Oktoberfest (tents close at 10pm) and the morning in the city of Munich. For a girl with a wheat-intollerance and a slight hatred for beer...I SURE DRANK A LOT! They sell them in liters for 10 euro a beer, that you get to sip on while trying to eat the local bleach-white sausages in salt broth and shouting German drinking songs while dancing on the benches (but NOT the tables).
         It was a splendid couple of days that left me wanting more of that wanderlust feeling (just booked a flight to Istanbul!) and made me appreciate the slow Italian way of life, their friendly dispositions and their passionate outbreaks of whatever they may be feeling in that moment. Also I missed the food...something about bright-white hotdog meat that just isn't appealing...

Beer Tent

Bunks in our Tent/ Hostel

Roadtrippin' in the Alps

Bleach-white hotdog meat

My 1st Oktoberfest Beer!