Even better than the real thing

You all may or may not know this, but Stuttgart has an Oktoberfest of its own. It's called the Canstatter Volksfest, and takes place at roughly the same time as Oktoberfest. Even though it's not quite as grandiose in size, it's still the second biggest beer festival in Germany, and many Germans prefer it to the "real" Oktoberfest. Probably because there are fewer tourists...

We were fortunate enough this year to attend both festivals: Oktoberfest (see below) and the Volksfest. I still think Oktoberfest is awesome for a number of reasons, but in some ways I liked the Volksfest better. For one, I didn't feel like a tourist because it was local, and second, I liked the band a lot better. They played a nice mix of traditional German festival songs and cover songs that any sorority girl would love, like "I Will Survive". The other difference was that we had a big group of people that we crammed into our one reserved table. The more the merrier is right. :)

Actually, Melissa and Vicky were also able to experience both festivals, having taken a trip to Italy after the Oktoberfest trip and stopping into Stuttgart for one night before heading home. What better way to spend your last night in Europe than at a German beer fest?

Me, Melissa, and Andy "Prosting"

Melissa, me, and our friend Rebecca
(stole this pic and the one below from Rebecca's
husbands webpage...nice pictures, Victor!)

Our friends Mike and Kathleen.
Note Mike's Lederhosen...totally upstaged us! :)

Certainly there are some things that Volksfest doesn't have, like not as many rides and not as friendly waiters (ours was a real jerk...oh well). It also doesn't have nearly the selection of beer tents. Stuttgart has 3 large tents and 6 smaller tents, while Oktoberfest has 14 large tents and 19 smaller tents. Plus some would also argue that Bavarian beer tastes better than Schwabisch beer (and I'd be inclined to agree), but I don't know how much it really matters. Most people don't come to savor the beer....they just come to drink it. :)

Clarktoberfest 2007

Ah, yes. Our annual Clarktoberfest celebration has come and gone. We are now both one year older, and one year wiser....Er, I guess that last point is debatable. At least we know more about Germany than we did one year ago--that's something!

As many of you know, we spent our birthdays this year with Andy's family on a grand German adventure known around the world as Oktoberfest. What a rush. That place is crowded! And crazy! You've all got to promise to come next year.

We started our adventure in the humbler city of Stuttgart. We mostly took it easy, taking strolls downtown, shopping, visiting the Ludwigsburg palace, going to the top of the Fernsehturm, and visiting Schwabisch restuarants for the family's mandatory introduction to Maultauschen.

The Schlossplatz in downtown Stuttgart

Andy and Melissa in front of a Schlossplatz fountainStuttgart's opera houseDuck that was fascinated with Colin's camera
Night out for Schwabisch cuisine

After a few days in Stuttgart, we hopped in a rental car, drove to Munich, found our rented apartment, dropped of our bags, and raced to our reservation in the Hippodrom tent at Oktoberfest. Phew. Once there, we had €144 in vouchers that we needed to spend (you are required to buy these to get the table reservation), so we promptly ordered a round of beers.

Round of beers at the Hippodrom

Inside the Hippodrom Tent... Big, huh?

2 1/2 hours and €100 in vouchers later, our reservation was up. Vicky and Colin wandered the fest, Andy went home (he was sick with the stomach flu our first day or so in Munich...), and Melissa and I went to the Spatenbräu tent to have some beers, sing songs, and dance.

The next morning, we came right back to the Hippodrom to use up our remaining vouchers on some traditional Oktoberfest roasted chickens and some Weisswurst, all washed down with...you guessed it, beer. We then walked around and soaked in the fest a bit.

Horses outside the Hofbräuhaus tent

Inside the Hacker-Pschorr tent

Looking out on the crowd

We went back the next night to hang out some more. We hung out in Lowenbrau's beer garden for a while before trying to get into the tent. Unfortunately, Friday night entrance without a reservation proved a bit difficult. Andy and I ended up wandering around, playing carnival games, and people watching.

Showing off the bear and rose that Andy won for me. :)

Popular Lebkuchen hearts native to every German festival
You buy them for your sweetheart, and they wear it around their neck.
Mine said: "Suße Maus"

Although we were there for some portion of every day of the trip, we didn't spend all of our time at Oktoberfest. We also went to the Deutsches Museum (largest technological museum in the world), saw the Glockenspiel clock in front of Munich's Rathaus, visited a typical German cafe for breakfast, and spent an evening at the oh-so-festive Hofbräuhaus. That place is like Oktoberfest every single day of the year: meat & potatoes, pretzels, Maß of Bier, and traditional music.

A Munich favorite: Pork Knuckle with Potato Dumplings

We also took a side trip on our last day there to Neuschwanstein, the castle of Crazy King Ludwig. It's the one that the Disney castle is based on. Very over the top and, I thought, wonderful. We actually visited two castles: Hohenschwangau, where Ludwig grew up, and Neuschwanstein, the castle Ludwig built for himself just up the hill from his childhood home. The story goes that one day, before the castle was finished, King Ludwig went to see a doctor for a check-up and was declared "unfit to rule" due to insanity (if you saw this crazy castle, you might understand why). The next day, he and the doctor were both found dead in the lake. Supposedly no one knows exactly how they died. The castle was never completed after that, but several of the rooms were finished and they are all magnificent. Gilded, and mosaic'ed, with intricate carvings and elaborate paintings. Ludwig definitely had a vivid imagination.

If you'd indulge me, I'll tell you one of my favorite parts... In Hohenschwangau, there was a bedroom that was Ludwig's father's. This father had the ceiling painted with a bright blue sky with clouds. Ludwig, upon becoming king and taking the bedroom for himself, had the sky repainted to be a night sky. He then had holes drilled from select stars all the way up to the floor above, where those holes were connected with oil lamps, so that he would see twinkles of light across the ceiling as if he was sleeping outdoors every night. I thought that was neat.

Ludwig's childhood home: Hohenschwangau

Ludwig's creative masterpiece: Neuschwanstein

So, that was our trip, in a nutshell. A very good Clarktoberfest indeed. I'll leave you with my favorite pic from the trip...something you'd only see in Germany!

Girl in a Dirndl aiming a pellet gun

The Big "P"

Wow. It is a big relief to finally post these pics from Prague! We did so many things that I had hundreds of pictures to filter through. For all of you out there that don't feel like going through the entire slide show (found here), I'll give a brief recap here of Prague adventures. :)

We stayed at the Hotel U Pava, which translates to the hotel "at the peacock.". The hotel used to be a seminary, and was complete with winding staircases, religious paintings, and lively frescoes on the ceiling of the hotel restaurant.

U Pava Peacock

Ceiling Frescoes in U Pava's Restaurant

The location was great because we were right by the Charles Bridge, which is one of the biggest attractions in Prague. It's a long bridge over the River Vltava, commissioned by Holy Roman Emporer Charles IV in 1357, with scenic views and bronze statues up and down the sides. Very pretty.

Walking Along the Charles Bridge

View from the Charles Bridge

On our first day in Prague, we headed to the Jewish quarter. Probably the most famous thing in this part of town is the Old Jewish Cemetery. Since the Jews weren't allowed to bury their dead outside of their district, this cemetery was used for more than 400 years. When it became full, they would add a new layer of dirt to accommodate the bodies, then shift the previously laid tombstones up to the top of the new layer. The end result is a cemetery 12 layers deep, containing an estimated 20,000 bodies and 12,000 tombstones. Really incredible to see. The most famous tomb is of Rabbi Loew, who, according to legend, created a monster called Golem to protect the Jews and help keep them safe.

Tombstones at the Old Jewish Cemetery

That night we went to see a marionette puppet show, since Prague is known for their puppet craftsmen and puppetmasters. The show was at the National Marionette Theater, and the performance was Mozart's opera 'Don Giovanni' acted out by three-and-a-half foot tall marionette puppets. It was really clever and very fun to watch.

Scene from the Marionette Puppet Show

Throughout the trip we saw lots of marionette puppet stores, and some of the puppets were just so incredible. Andy and I ended up buying a Jester puppet as a souvenir. Here were some of our other favorites:

Our Super-Cool Jester Puppet

My favorite: The Dragon Puppet
Andy's favorite: The Eskimo Puppet

In the town square of Prague's "Old Town" there was a Christmas market (are you seeing a theme here? Europe loves these things!). We bought a Prague pastry called a Trdlo, that was delicious. It's basically yeast dough, wrapped around a cylinder, rolled in sugar and cinnamon, and roasted over an open flame. Sooooo good. Also in the square we saw the Astronomical Clock which displays the current zodiac sign, the phase of the moon, the patron saint for that day, and the time. It also puts on a show at the top of every hour: two windows open to reveal statues of the 12 disciples parading past and a skeleton representing death pulls a cord to ring the bell. It was neat.

Old Town Square with Christmas Market

Astronomical Clock

The Clock during "The Show"

Our last big excursion was to the Prague Castle. The castle is pretty cool because it has been home to the leader of Prague since it was completed in 850 AD; the current president resides there now. The most famous site there is the St. Vitus cathedral. Inside it is filled with beautiful stained glass windows, one of which was designed by the famous Czech artist, Alphonse Mucha. It also has a tower with spectacular views of Prague, as long as you're willing to climb a spiral staircase with 287 steps! Well worth it though. :) After all that exercise, we treated ourselves to a relaxing lunch (excellent goulash!) at a nearby restaurant.

Mucha Stained Glass Window

View of Prague from the TowerPosing with the St. Vitus Spires behind us
Fun Times at Lunch after our Castle Excursion

All in all, it was a great trip. I would highly recommend Prague to those looking for an exciting European adventure. The architecture there is just beautiful, so just walking through the city streets was a treat. Plus they had gorgeous art glass and cut crystal boutiques, and some of the best beer in the world!! If you ever see Velkopopovický Kozel on a menu somewhere, you have to try it!

Silly Christmas Pics

Before I post the Prague pics that I just finished organizing, I thought I would put up some of the pics from our family Christmas celebration. Since we travelled to Prague on Christmas Day, we decided to celebrate "German-style" and open up presents on Christmas Eve. I roasted a Christmas goose, stuffed with wild rice and green apples. It was very good. And of course, we ate lots of Christmas cookies, since I went a little overboard with the cookie baking this year. :)

The goose before...

...and after! (pay no attention to the silly antlers on my head :))
My two Christmas gingergread houses (on display before consumption)Pretty carved wooden creche Mom bought at the Weihnachtsmarkt
Showing off our Christmas hats
The traditional Christmas Canasta game
Pretty gingerbread men :)