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Auf Wiedersehen, München
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Italians, Germans, Kenyans, Russians, Polish, Canadian, Irish, Americans and Brits and Aussies and Japanese. I have made and lost hundreds of new friends over the last few days. But now I must bid them, and Munich, auf wiedersehen.
I set myself a mission here: to have a drink at each tent on the grounds. That’s 15 by my map. Its apparently not very common for people to have visited all tents – even residents of Munich. I can see why, it’s a very difficult task.
Last night I had to find the back way into the Kafer tent – it’s usually just the rich and famous who get in there. And I talked my way into the Weinzelt where their specialty is wine. It was completely full, but I just told my story and showed my map with the other tents crossed off. The security guards actually cleared a path through the line for me to get in front of everyone else. I had breakfast and a coffee only this morning in the final one. Appropriate since the Kaiser-Schmarrn is a cafe.
I don’t think I could drink another liter of beer. It would be good to get out of town and clear my head a little. Fortunately, I have my next destination determined somewhere along the Danube.
Right now I’m on a speeding train winding its way through the Alps at 200km per hour. I’ll shortly arrive in Vienna and then to my next mission, whatever that may be.
Oktoberfest
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It’s nearly noon at Oktoberfest. Waitresses carry massive trays of food and armloads of beer. Nine liters (2 gallons) of beer in one armload. Trays that must be a yard across, filled with wursts, fowl, potatoes and more. If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it.
I feel like Neo in the Matrix dodging trays and steins like bullets walking up the narrow rows between tables in the beerhalls. Nearly all seats are filled. Men and women wear the traditional dress of their native lands. I feel under dressed – my belt is the only thing I am wearing made of leather. Here you can see an idealized version of the German-speaking peoples’ past.
I sit next to a group of Austrians and discuss their attire. “This is the traditional clothing of the farmer and the farmer-shooter [hunter] near Salzburg. The farmer-shooter was quite a good job because in times of war, they were called upon. We have a long tradition of beating up the German man.” And they laugh. Old disagreements are buried now, as you can see when the band strikes up a particularly popular song. Everyone sings along, standing on the tables and benches.
I feel like I’m at a college football game. The large brass section and booming drums. Um-pa-pa Um-pa-pa. I hear familiar sections of songs. It occurs to me that The Budweiser Song would probably be very popular here.
Oktoberfest is like a giant picnic with a quarter million of your closest friends and lots of beer. Lots of singing and talking and laughing. It’s time for another stein. Prost!
The Grand Triangle
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I opened the Mission Pack. It had previously occurred to me that the envelope was a bit small to contain more than one travel book – therefore I assumed I would be staying in Germany. I found that one assumption was right, the other wrong. There was one book. But it covered the whole of Europe.
Also enclosed was a rail timetable, a large map of Europe and a letter.
Into Munich and out of Athens. Two options: Eastern Europe or south, through Italy. I was shockingly close in my previous guesses. The Philadelphian told me I’d have 9 and a half hours to plan the trip. There would be no sleeping for me.
I think I will be going through Eastern Europe, rather than Italy. I can either hug the coast or go deep into the heart of the continent. Either path would be a lot of fun would allow me to see places I’ve long wanted to. It’s going to be a good next couple of weeks.
Mystery Trip Update
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With only a week to go before take-off, I got a note from The Philadelphian, along with a small package. Here is the letter that I received.
One Week Before Your Trip – Reminders and Tips
You depart on Delta on Saturday September 19th in the late afternoon. Arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport absolutely no later than 2:30pm!
Your destination will be made clear to you upon check-in. You will likely need to input your destination either into the kiosk. Your flight information is on a piece of paper attached below. Open only at the airport on your day of travel.
Note: You will be traveling via the international terminal.
Because you are traveling internationally and will have to go through immigration upon arrival you will need to state where you are staying. To avoid this problem, I have booked your first night of residence. I have booked ONLY your first night. Your biggest challenge, and I cannot understate this, will be finding accommodations beyond your first day. I wish you luck. Details will be provided in your travel day package.
Packing tips:
- Pack light. Be prepared to travel lightly and be comfortable with all your belongings on your back. Less is more. You need to be extremely mobile.
- Be prepared to have a lot of fun with lots of other people also having fun. You do not want to be hindered by your belongings.
- Do not pack any items that will create inhibitions in your actions. E.g. expensive cameras, video cameras or other items that could be stolen. I am not telling you not to bring such things. I am just telling you that the environment you will be placed in requires you to not care.
- I fully recommend 2 complete sets of clothes, but absolutely no more. Convertible shorts/pants would be ideal. It is likely some clothes will get very sloppy.
- Money. This trip by its nature will require you to spend some cash. I won’t say any more than that.
Your return flight is on Saturday October 10th around mid-day.
You will receive a full mission package with everything you will need from a navigation stand point. You have an incredible trip ahead of you. It starts off with a huge bang and then gets pretty serious pretty quick considering your mission.
Godspeed and Good Luck.
And on the package is written:
To: Beau Woods
From: The Handler
To be opened when the wheels leave the ground on 9/19/2009. Not a second before.
Contents: documents, book, pen, maps
Location Of The Mystery Trip (Part 3)
This is part 3 in the series, where I speculate on where I might be going and tell you where I’d send me. Here are some things that I’ve learned in trying to figure out where I’ll be heading:
- Did you know that the official language of Guyana is English and that it is more similar to the Caribbean than to South America?
- Did you know that the three least known countries in the world are Tuvalu, Nauru and Kiribati? Nauru has a very interesting story. Kiribati is the only country in the world that spans all four hemispheres.
- Did you know that this will be the 199th year of Oktoberfest in Munich? It will be held September 19 – October 4.
- Did you know that the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world is in Blumenau, Brazil? And that the third largest is in Cordoba, Argentina?
I think that the most obvious place to send me during those dates is Oktoberfest in Munich. So obvious, in fact, that I doubt this will be it – or there will be an added element of surprise thrown in. Like “You fly into Munich and out of Prague. You are not allowed to take any form of motorized transportation during the three weeks.”
So where do I think I’m going? I think I’ll be flying into Venice, then following the Eastern coast of the Agean down to Greece and out of Athens. None of those countries require a visa and it would be a really cool trip. I put my odds of being right at about 15%.
The Mission
“You will receive a package,” came across the phone thickly accented. The voice was too familiar to mistake. It was the Philadelphian. I knew what this was about.
“Inside the package there is an envelope. You will not open the envelope until you are on the plane.” And then the part I knew was coming. “It is your mission.” This was about my trip….
The Tyranny Of Planning
You remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? They sucked after a while. I kept getting eaten by giant ants or falling into a black hole. Choosing your own adventure in travel can be the same. Take this cartoon, for instance. The image is of a couple at a travel agency looking through brochures. One says to the other “It all looks so great. I can’t wait to be disappointed.”
And it’s true – the more we plan and the more we put into some of the things we do, the less we get out of them. But if we simply go with what we are given, we have a great time. With few pre-conceived notions, we have a smaller chance of being disappointed. The surprise is a part of the enjoyment of the trip.
But ironically, I really enjoy planning trips. Oh, could I catch any good concerts or sporting events while I’m in town? What are the best places around for sightseeing? These types of things keep me up at night searching online excitedly. But it doesn’t make the actual trip any better.
So that led me to undertake the travel experiment that I am currently undergoing: I will plan as little for my next trip as possible, knowing nothing in advance but the dates of departure and return. The planning is essentially in what to pack – and I plan on packing very light.
This is probably part of a larger issue we have in our society with choice. According to Barry Schwartz, we have too much of it and it is ruining our lives. Any time we feel we could have made a better choice, we feel we should have. The more choices we have, the more potential we have to make a sub-optimal one. But if we have few choices, we focus on making the best of what we get.
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Ticket To Somewhere
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I am going on vacation September 19-October 11. I just don’t know where. It’s not that I haven’t decided, I’ve got a plane ticket already. I will be informed of my destination when I get to the airport to get on the plane!
I’ve been thinking about this type of trip for a couple of months now and finally decided to go ahead with it. I asked Brian to find me someplace to go for 3 weeks, with the following rules of engagement:
- I won’t know where I’m going until the day I leave.
- Nothing booked in advanced except the departure and return flights.
- I can carry one bag plus the clothes I’m wearing.
- I’m going to blog the whole trip.
He booked me a ticket and gave me some guidance.
What you need:
- Backpack
- Boots
- Clean undies
- A good attitude
- Camera
What you cant bring:
- Rollerbag
- A lot of stuff.. you need to travel light
So where in the world am I headed? I haven’t got a clue but it sounds like it’ll be an awesome trip!
meanderingwoods 
