Pink boas never fail to draw a crowd

Who says you can't have an "early" bachelorette party? My friend Shravanthi got engaged over Christmas, and even though the wedding won't be until next year, Petra and I wanted to throw her a bash in Germany before she heads back to the US in a couple of weeks. So, we gathered up the girls, made a list of dares, got on a train to Munich, drank some Martini Bianco, donned some pink boas, and headed out for a fun and crazy night. We didn't really get to do any sightseeing...unless you count drinking beer at the Hofbrauhaus...but we definitely took advantage of Munich's laid-back style and plentiful tourists, which, as it turns out, were crucial to Shravanthi checking off all the dares we had planned for her:

-playing hopscotch on the street and getting a child to join you
-challenging someone to a "wheel barrow" race
-doing your make-up in the men's bathroom
-going up to a guy, pretending like he's famous, and asking for his autograph
-ordering something gross from the bar, like a hefeweissen with milk (yuck!)
-...and many, many more...

What made the bachelorette party even cooler was that we incorporated the German tradition of the bride raising money for drinks for the evening. Early in the evening, we hit the streets with a soccer ball and make-shift goal (large piece of cardboard with a hole cut in it) in tote. Players (usually men trying to show off their machismo) got two chances to kick the ball through the goal for a 2 Euro fee. If they got one in, they got a shot of liquor, if not, we simply kept their money. This turned out to be really fun and fairly lucrative. For about 11 Euros worth of alcohol, Shravanthi scored 50 Euros in sales....enough for a round of Maß (liters of beer) for all 8 of us at the Hofbrauhaus. Not too shabby.

Some pictures from the weekend are included below for your amusement. By the way, let me know if any of you are interested in a pink boa of your own...I've got two left. :)

Melanie, Petra, Shravanthi, and Katie on the train to Munich. We actually were in the same train car as a bachelor party, which added to the festivities.

Here's the gang posing at the Augustiner Keller, where we ate a hearty lunch together. It's important to fill your tummy before a night out in Munich!

We did a little pre-partying in our room a the Pension Wombat before heading out. Here's Shravanthi showing off her outfit along with the Coors Light (nostalgia!) that Katie managed to get from the US army base.
Our first successful soccer game customer, picking out his shot of liquor.
Shravanthi playing hopscotch in the street near Marienplatz. It turned out to be a bit difficult to convince parents to let their child play hopscotch with a crazy stranger wearing a pink boa...but eventually Shravanthi managed it.

Our wheel barrow race in the bar at the Pension. Shravanthi and I totally won. The other guy was too drunk and dropped his friend within 2 seconds.

Putting on make-up in the men's bathroom of the Hofbrauhaus. Definitely surprised a few patrons with that one...

Perhaps my favorite dare of the evening, ordering a Hefeweissen with milk. It was worth it just to see the look on the bartenders face. He carefully explained that in all his years of bartending, he had never had anyone request that drink. When Shravanthi told him, "No, I hear it's really good," he told her he thought someone was "pulling her leg". Still, we convinced him to make the drink, and Shravanthi took one brave, "take that" gulp. What an all-star!

Another French Getaway

We're back from the coolest weekend adventure I've had so far: The Wiederhirn Western Wine Weekend! We hopped in Petra's car on Friday afternoon and headed West to France, excited for our highly anticipated weekend visit of the Wiederhirn Family vineyard in Riquewihr, part of the Alsace region of France. Alsace is a popular wine producing region of North Eastern France (very close to the German border) with beautiful country towns. The majority of the wines (as far as I know) are whites, examples including Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Blanc. My pictures don't bring deserved justice to the relaxed life and history of the region we visited, nor the natural beauty of the villages and surrounding land. Take a quick peek from my perspective:

A distant shot of Riquewihr, the nicest country
village we visited this weekend. Note the grape
vines in the foreground as well as behind.

And another..

For perspective..LOTs of grapes

A pic of Riquewihr's "Old City". This
was once a double-fortified city, and
had the chance to see part of the wall
still remaining and completely stable
which was built around 1200 AD.

So many details to list makes it hard to focus on anything in particular. I can, however, say that we were honored to spend the weekend with a fabulous local family, the Wiederhirn Family of Riquewihr. Their generosity was outstanding, and we had a great time sampling the wines they've produced for over four centuries. I'm already planning our next trip.. Can't Wait!!

I would encourage any of you traveling through the Alsace region (and specifically Riquewihr) to take a few hours to explore the beauty of the town and local culture, and especially search out the Wiederhirn Cellar. By the way, the local cuisine was very favorable (and meaty!). To be sure, there's plenty of space for hiking (lightly or otherwise) or biking after you sample a bit too much, be it a local Pinot Blanc, some Flammkuchen, or a nice slice of Rhubarb pie. Until next time..