It's October - Where's The Beer At?

I got a notification that I was in Germany a year ago! I had full intentions of starting a blog once I got back from Germany, but waited almost a whole year! It is pretty cool that I get to look back on this experience and say I did it. I still have such fond and vivid memories to look back on. I would like to give a special shout out to my sweet friend, Marina. I have never met anyone as cool as you. Marina took off the days to travel with me and help me experience my first out of country trip. I had an amazing experience, met great people and learned a lot! When can I go on my next one!?

Before I decided to take a trip to travel through Germany and Prague with Marina, she had been asking me to come for years. I met Marina at SDSU. She was a Craigslist find and she became the greatest roommate ever. I will never find a better Craigslist item. The real situation was that my house needed a roomie and Marina was searching for a place to live since she was studying abroad and bam! The universe worked its magic. Marina came back to visit a few times after she had gone back home. She finally said, “KARISSA! It is your turn to come to me!” so here I was, that week planning to go visit! Having a friend to push you into great experiences is always a good idea.

I left on September 27, 2017 and came back on October 7, 2017 – keep in mind that there are two whole travel days, so this means that I had about 9 real days to explore.

DAY 1 (Mannheim):

Marina and her boyfriend showed me around the town of Mannheim. The city is designed like a chessboard – to explain where one lives, they would say E1 or M2. Two hops and a jump from Marina’s place is the University. UNI IN A CASTLE! So big and so beautiful, I could scream. Also, they sell beer in their common cafeteria. I mean, I could have done a lot better if that was a thing at the university (SDSU) I attended. Actually, probably not Ha! Anyway, this first beer that I got to enjoy in Germany was delish. Shortly after, we headed back to Marina’s place and she had some people over for a “Thanksgiving”. One of her uni roomies was sponsored by a beer brand and let us all taste the beers and then each person brought a dish to share. It was great to chat with all her Uni Friends and dive into the food and fun!

DAY 2-3 (Octoberfest in Munich):

We woke up; made sure our bags were packed, and then headed to the train toward Munich. We stayed in Marina’s friend’s office building. She really wanted to show me how to rough it a bit in a building with about 10 of her friends. We had no shower and no sleep but lots of fun. The train ride was relaxing with some yummy snacks, beer, and a change in to our Dirndl. Marina made sure I had one delivered in time to dress the part. As soon as we hopped off the train and dropped off our bags at the building then we jammed to Oktoberfest. We got a table around 5:00. It was insane with lots of people and festive music. My cousin, Kevin was in town too, so they joined our table around 7:00! After finishing two and a half Steins of beer, 10:00 pm came fast. I managed to get myself lost on our way out of Oktoberfest and racked up my phone bill calling Casey from across country. Whoops! One of Marina’s friends ended up finding me and walking me back to the “no shower office building” where we all got like four hours of sleep.

Before I knew it the alarm was going off to GET UP and be in line by 8 am. When the gates open, everyone rushes to the tables to secure their spot for another merry day of festivities at Oktoberfest. I threw up for the first time in public and was charged 10 Euro. Props to Chani, another sweet German for haggling the price down for me. I excused myself for the day and went on a train adventure to find my cousin, Kevin’s hotel. Boy was that another adventure. After three hours of wandering and getting on the incorrect trains, I found where I was supposed to be. I took a much needed nap, a nice shower, and drank some water while Kevin was out exploring with his friend Ioana. When I woke up, I got ready and headed to dinner and then surprise...OKTOBERFEST again for the night! I met some of Ioana’s friends from different countries. I specifically remember the Polish couple because they took us to the club after and we got a bottle and danced before calling it a night. Meeting so many cultured people was by far one of my favorite parts of the trip!

DAY 4-6 (Prague): Kevin sent me on a taxi back to Marina and we headed to Prague by train. The train to Prague was beautiful! We saw different areas of land with greenery and then schools and different types of people getting on and off the train. We met some gentlemen from Canada and we played cards and I set out some french cheese and bread to share in snacking. It took about 6 hours to get from Munich to Prague by train.

We checked in to the hostel and then we were able to walk everywhere from there. I cannot remember the exact order that we visited different sites and restaurants, but I definitely fell in love with Prague! The food was amazing and everything was extremely affordable. I was sick with a nasty cold in Prague but was able to tough it out for the most part - even with a cough and no sleep. We took a tour where we learned about Hitler and his lover. We also got to walk around the Jewish Quarter and see the cemetery that sits higher than the walking grounds. Marina and I found a cute eatery where we warmed up and ended our tour.

One of our hostel friends, Kasra, took us to see some great places on our last day in Prague. We visited The Lennon Wall . It is a wall with a picture of John Lennon’s face and a bunch of street art of self-expression. In Communist times it was anything but an area to go for self-expression. I am happy to see so much art, fun and vibrant colors in the city now. We headed up a mountain to see a beautiful view of Prague. Pictures do not do the scene justice!

Once Kasra had to leave for his flight back to his home town in the UK, Marina and I wandered off for some more fun. We found an Ice Bar as well as some more fun food and drinks.

One memory I will never forget is the lovely Prague Castle. It is so tall, that even with Marina laying on the ground, she could not capture the top of the castle. There was a lot going on in the courtyard area of the castle. A beautiful bride and groom were taking pictures. Tourists (including us) were walking around. There was a little market with treats and mulched wine for sale. I loved the different statues and architecture around the castle. We came across a row of small doors that contains shops in it now but used to be houses. The doors were tiny!

I read on https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/prague-castle that the castle " is enormous, with an area totaling of 753,474 square feet. That makes it the largest ancient castle in the world...The complex extends down to the Lesser Quarter or Mala Strana, where several chateaux and palaces are found. Wallenstein Palace, for one, is home to the Czech Senate and includes 26 houses and six gardens". It felt like I was placed in the middle of history. The castle has housed Bohemian Kings, Christian and cultural treasures, as well as historical documents. It currently holds the crown jewels and feels like the link from the past to present. I saw many police and guards surrounding the castle. They do a changing of guards ceremony and use the castle for many state affairs and events.

Another cool site we saw while in Prague was the Astronomical Clock. The Astronomical Clock was about to be shut down for reconstruction, so we got lucky to see it. It is a huge clock that measures time by Astrology, Old Bohemian time, Babylonian Time, European Time, and by the stars as well. During the Uprising of May 1945, the Nazis tried damaging the whole city, however most of the clock was saved. "It also includes a ring for the zodiac and a calendar dial, as well as an astrolabe, tracking the position of the sun, moon, and stars (travelandleisure)". I have a picture of the clock to show you all.

DAY 7-8 (Berlin):

Our last stop was to visit Berlin. We couldn't see too much because it was rainy and cold but I did get to see a brewery and an all you can pour wine house. The food and drink was great. We also went shopping and I bought a couple pairs of boots for a great deal! On day 9 I had to say bye to my sweet friend Marina and head back to the U.S.

The one plus side of coming home was that I gained 8 hours and I get to convince my boyfriend to travel with me next time!

I am so happy that I got to take time to travel a little bit. I saw so many great places, ate some amazing food and drank some fantastic beer. The people I met were so kind and full of life. I am truly blessed for this opportunity and makes me hopeful to explore other countries and meet more amazing people!

Love you, Marina! Thank you for traveling with me and showing me your home and surrounding cities. I am so thankful for you and your time and amazing personality. You are my forever friend.