Ich bin ein Texaner

OK. I'll admit it. My views of Oktoberfest were pretty limited. I figured it was only beer-halls and food and maybe a carnival ride or two. That limited idea, then, did nothing to prepare me for what Oktoberfest in Munich really is. I think to call it a spectacle is appropriate. Yes, when it comes right down to it, it is basically still beer-halls and food and carnival games and rides. However, the sheer size of it in Munich is something to behold. And the sheer number of people! Lisa, Bradley and I headed down to the grounds on Thursday morning. I had heard that it gets more crowded and more ... rambunctious ... later in the day, so we left the house around 11. Bradley had actually made it down there on Monday for a short visit (more on that in a minute) and basically knew where we were going. Not that we needed a map. Getting there was dead simple: get off the train at Hackerbrücke and follow the crowd. Well, crowd may be an understatement. Maybe "river of humanity" w

Hey, look! A blog post! The first one in almost a month. "What the heck, you slackers!" The short and long of it is this: We have been moving. And not just moving in the "they delivered our stuff and now we have to unpack" sense. No no no. This is "I'm too old to be doing all this stuff" moving. Let's back up... When we left Austin, we split our stuff into 3 moving piles. Pile 1 (the smallest) was stuff that we were taking on the plane. What we needed for the first 2 to 3 weeks over here. Mostly summer clothes with a few warmer things. Meds. Toiletries. Think "packing for a long trip on steroids". We each checked two suitcases and had a carry-on. So, a bit of stuff. Pile 1 (obviously) went to our temporary apartment with us. Pile 2 was a little bigger and was shipped via air freight. It arrived in about 2 weeks. There were more clothes and a few other things (my desktop computer with all my financial stuff on it, for instance).