Oktoberfest!

We took an 8 hour train to get to Munich so we arrived and went straight to our apartment that we rented. The owner was super friendly and the place was beautiful and only 2 stops away from Oktoberfest. We found a place to get pasta, sauce, and frozen pizzas and made dinner that night. We went to bed early because we had to be up at 4. To get in line for the tents. We woke up that morning still in a dream and tried to make ourselves look as presentable as possible. We got to the festival at 5am and it was literally a ghost town. It was so cool because each tent was themed differently outside and the festival had a ton of rides!

We decided to meet everyone in front of the Augustiner tent  and were the second big group in line. The proprietor of the Augustiner-Brewery, Manfred Vollmer has built up something very special during the course of the past sixteen years. This tent is considered to be the friendliest of all at Oktoberfest. The waitresses never forget to smile, regardless of how busy or hectic it gets. Families feel very comfortable on this tent. The excellent Augustiner beer also contributes to ensuring a great atmosphere which often already gets into full swing in the middle of the afternoon. We literally became squished like sardines for 4 hours until the doors opened at 9. We saw the sun rise but still no hope to get into the tent. With an hour to go things got pretty physical. People were pushing and shoving to try to get to the front. Multiple times we got pushed back and it was frightening. At one point we were all so close together we couldn't breathe. Finally at 9am, 8 security guards came in and said you needed ID to get into the tent. Not only could I not breathe but there was no way for me to reach into my bag and grab it. This is when the chaos began. Everyone started pushing and shoving to get in. Thank god we are a big group and pushed ourselves in and were able to get 3 tables. 

But now we still had 3 hours until the first keg was tapped. Luckily, they started serving food at 9, so I had my first taste of a German pretzel and it was delicious! We played card games to pass the time, then finally 10 minutes to 12 the crowd became rowdy. A full band came into the Augstiner tent playing traditional German music and everyone was standing on the tables. The first keg had been tapped and we got to see the beer maidens carrying 10 mugs at a time, it was crazy! The way it works is they bring enough mugs for each table and you say if you want all of them, if not they move on to the next table. This is a crazy amount of peer pressure because they come with new mugs every 45 minutes. Obviously, many Americans cannot handle that amount of alcohol every hour which is why only the Germans last all day in these tents. What was also a surprise is our tent had a full restaurant of food. The best thing on the menu was a half chicken for only 4 euros! Overall, it was so fun to be apart of a world-known festival. My favorite part was every hour they would sing a drinking song and everyone would cheers together. If I could do it again, I definitely would have bought a drindl, everyone was in the traditional German clothing.

XOXO RIVA DIVA

Lugano and Lucerne! (10 Day Break 1)

Finally! My first 10 day break. I have finished my BIT module and taken two finals. This means it's time to relax! I was very fortunate that my parents were coming for my first 10 day break. They arrived into Lugano on Friday and we met at the train station. It was so nice to see family, it seems like I've been gone so long! Our first two days we spent time in Lugano. We stayed at a hotel called Ville Principe Leopolodo. Daniella informed me it was one of the nicest hotels in Lugano and had the best food in town. The hotel was gorgeous and the views were breathtaking. We decided to try the restaurant at the hotel, since it was recommended by so many people. It exceeded our expectations. Every course was more delicious than the next, I haven't eaten this good since being in Europe and was so happy to have a traditional 4 course Italian meal. We all left that night with our bellies full and our wallets empty. We could not wait to explore Lugano the following day. I was up early and ready to explore, however my family still suffering from jet lag took a bit longer to get going that morning.

 We had breakfast at the hotel and they actually had eggs!!! (haven't had any since august) They were nothing like American breakfast but it was better than nothing. After breakfast, I took my parents back to Riva to see the town where I lived in and my school. They loved seeing it and I was so glad to show them my home for four months. After that morning adventure, we came back to Lugano for a delicious pizza lunch (my families first experience of italian pizza) It was great, although we will swear until we die that New York pizza is better. After lunch, we jumped on a boat cruise of all the towns around Lake Lugano. On this boat, you can get on and off whenever you want but we decided to ride it the full way around. It was a beautiful tour of the lake and the weather was a perfect sunny and 75 degrees. After the boat taxi, I showed my parents the downtown area; full of luxurious shops such as Gucci and Louis Vitton. We finished the afternoon with some gelato and then we headed back up the hill to get ready for dinner. Dinner that night we decided to go to this Italian restaurant up in the hills of Lugano. Pulling up to the restaurant it didn't look like much, but wow the food was amazing! Again, we did the multiple course meal. I had the most amazing lobster gnocchi I've ever had. That night I realized I have become a european snob, sitting at a table with 7 other loud New York Americans. We got so rowdy in the restaurant, my dad broke his chair. (don't ask) That night we packed out bags and went to bed, tomorrow we moved to the Swiss German part of Switzerland- Lucerne! Overall, Lugano was a great transition spot where we got to see the beautiful lake and have wonderful food. 

The next morning we woke up and I introduced my family to the best transportation in Europe, the rail system. Our trains were very easy to make our connections and in no time we made it to Lucerne. We walk out of the train station to see rain..... not again! If you recall from my one day trip to Lucerne, it rained the whole time! We went straight to our hotel called Hotel Schweizerhof. This by far was my favorite hotel. It was right in the middle of everything and had an amazing modern feel. Each room is designed to a different theme. Ours was a runner's room, that commemorated a famous swiss runner. Also, they had the most accommodating and wonderful staff. When we checked in they gave us homemade lime sorbet and hazelnut muffins. I could get used to that lifestyle. We just hung out most of the afternoon since the weather was so bad. But, we made a full schedule for the following day to make sure we got to see all of Lucerne. That day we had an early dinner by European standards (5pm). In fact, it was so early they still were using the lunch menu! We went to a famous restaurant called Old Swiss House. We walked into the door and felt like we were taken back in time. As my mom put it, we look like we're in the Swiss Miss box design. It was a beautiful, old restaurant with thankfully no one in it. (incase Dad decided to break something else) The restaurant is known for their table-side Wiener Schnitzel with parmesan egg noodles, so we all ordered that. The way they made this would put Paula Deen to shame, there was easily 3 pounds of butter used to cook our meat and make our noodles. It was delicious, but all I could picture was all the butter that was used to cook it. None of us could even finish the meal because it was so much food. However, being New York Italians, we never skip dessert. We had their home made chocolate mousse. I was immediately transported to chocolate heaven and have not found a dessert as good since that night. We basically had to roll home from how full we were that night. 

Our full day in Lucerne we didn't waste anytime. We went to another "American style" breakfast, and again I was disappointed with the eggs. (I've given up) We began our morning with a boat cruise around the lake. It was a bit foggy but it beautiful to see all the small towns around lake Lucerne. It was very cold that morning on the boat, so we took turns going inside and outside for pictures. After the lake tour we took the world's steepest cogwheel railway to get up to the top of Pilatus. "From Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm, the world's steepest cogwheel railway winds up through lush meadows carpeted with Alpine flowers, past sparkling mountain streams and fascinating rock faces." We got to the top of Pilatus and couldn't believe the breathtaking views. There was some fog but when it cleared, Lucerne looked incredible. It was very cold up there, I could see my breath. It was so worth being able to see all the views and spend time on top of that mountain. "From a geological aspect, Mount Pilatus is the northernmost branch of the Alps. The geological edge of the Alps stretches right through Lake Lucerne. Along this border run the sedimentary layers which traverse the whole of Switzerland and, with the lakes in the Alpine foothills, create some of Switzerland's most stunning scenery." Find Out More Here! To get back down the mountain we had to take an aerial cableway and a panorama gondola. Both provided spectacular views of the mountain that took my breath away. This was a wonderful way to spend out morning and I had such a great time.

That afternoon we took a super tourist city tour in a little blue train that drove around Lucerne. There we learned important historical facts about the city and a lot of information about old town. After the tour we explored by ourselves and went to some of the iconic points of Lucerne like the Lion and famous bridge. Afterwards, we went shopping for awhile and stumbled up a fondue place. Being in Switzerland for a month, I had yet to try fondue so we stopped in. The closet experience I had to fondue was the melting pot. Obviously this blew that restaurant out of the water. We got a small cheese pot that came with bread and potatoes. Yes dipping potatoes in cheese sounds odd, but it was by far the best thing I ever tasted. I was glad we got to stop to try one of Switzerland's traditions. We went back and relaxed before we went out for a calm italian dinner.  Overall, Lugano and Lucerne were an amazing time. I was so glad I got to spend time with my family and get a different experience away from the hostel and backpackers life. If anyone is traveling to Switzerland, Lucerne is officially my favorite city, so try to stop by!

XOXO RIVA DIVA