Before we'd even left San Diego we'd planned a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with a few of our friends from SD and Portland. Chris was leaving the states first and he was planning to spend 2 weeks traveling through eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Ryan and Andy headed to Greece for a little island hopping. Chris wrapped up his solo touring a bit early and met us in Brussels a few days ahead of schedule. Once Ryan and Andy completed their tanning, we assembled the crew in Brussels, where we saw the sights for a few days before departing for Munich and Oktoberfest.
Let me just say up front that Oktoberfest was an absolute blast. Chris and I were the only ones in the group who had never been, but we definitely all enjoyed ourselves. If you haven't been, imagine an American town fair with carnival rides, games, and food vendors, then add gigantic beer "tents" that hold hundreds of people and serve food and beer in 1 liter steins. Amazing. We met people from all over the world: a trio from Munich who were nice enough to share their table (and suggested some awesome white sausages); a Swiss family who we hope to see again real soon; a wasted Australian guy who eventually got thrown out of the tent; even a few Americans. One of the most interesting things was that everyone, including the locals, seemed to be getting into the spirit by wearing their lederhosen. We were jealous, so we've decided to head back soon to get some outfits on sale after the Oktoberfest leaves town.
Wow, what a blast. The last two weeks have been non-stop fun, and now it's time to put our noses to le meule à aiguiser (that's french for grindstone... I think).
Just before I got here I found out that a Marine that I had worked with a few years ago was here in Brussels, so when we arrived I gave her a call. She's working at NATO as the aide de camp for a Marine general here in Brussels, and she invited us over to his house for a Memorial Day BBQ he was throwing for his staff. It was nice to have some good ol' American chow, and fun to meet his staff and the Marines that work for him.
Apparently we got to Brussels just in time... this past weekend was Beerfest.
Belgians love their beer, and Jen and I wanted to get down in there with the Bruxellois and have a genuine, Belgian cultural experience. Also, it was a beer festival, and really, who in their right mind would turn that down? Finally, our buddies will be here in a week and we'll be heading to Munich for the Oktoberfest, so we felt that some training was in order. And train we did...
The Grand Place (the main square in Brussels) was filled with tents and the whole affair was very well organized. There were all kinds of beers: Pilsners, White Beers, Abbey Beers, Trappist Beers, Lambeks, Pale Ales, Brown Ales, Red-Brown Ales, and even a banana beer served in a coconut. The best part was the van set off to the side offering complimentary blood-alcohol content readings. One guy actually got turned away because they said he was too drunk. He was an American. Ouch.
Over the last two weeks we've been so busy trying to get set up and checked in that every once in a while we have to really stop to remind ourselves that we're actually going to be living here for 3 years, spending time together and learning to live the Belgian life. What an incredible opportunity. We'll try not to let a minute go to waste! Thanks General Olmsted!
