Oktoberfest

While all of my friends back in Austin are freaking out/emailing me/writing so many things on facebook about the UT Shooter, I am in a completely different world.

This different world is the opposite. People are joyous, celebratory even. It is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, also known by Germans as Die Wiesn. There are three types of people there, workers, crazy drunks and the people who laugh at the crazy drunks. Max (2), his friends and I were part of the third group. Just seeing people fall over or hearing Brits chant things about rain and beer was absolutely astounding.

We ventured into the main Hacker-Pschorr brewery tent. As soon as we walk in, we can hear thousands of people singing and drinking. I saw various amounts of people standing on tables or drinking beer or making out with others or some combination of all of those. It was too crowded to get a table so after partaking in the culture, we went back outside and found a table in a much less dense area.

We ordered food and drink and just chilled out in the drizzle for a little. By the time I was about to finish, the rain started picking up, so I hurried and we left the tent area.

The outsides of the 'tents' look like this:

Hacker-Pschorr Brewery Tent

Paulaner Brewery Tent

and Spaten Brewery Tent

Oktoberfest features the big 6 breweries from Munich; Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Spaten, Löwenbräu, Augustiner and Hofbräuhaus. They all have large traditions and huge pieces of the beer market around town and Germany.

Shortly after doing dinner, we walked around the rest of the area, which has many boardwalk-like games and activities. Including.....this!

The Olympia Rings Roller Coaster

I'm not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but I'll still ride them if they look fun. Apparently, this is a famous roller coaster that is always at Oktoberfest. Naturally, I had to ride it. The end result was me breathing heavily for the next 30 minutes so that I didn't puke or pass out. It seemed like a terrible idea at first, but afterward, it was definitely worth it.

Just a few minutes after the roller coaster, we went on the large-but-not-nearly-as-huge-as-the-Texas-State-Fair ferris wheel. Here are some pictures of it and sights from the ride.

After the ferris wheel, we hit up the House of Mirrors. Its pretty much your standard carnival ride. No picture necessary. All the while, it is raining. I know I went on a terrible day, but it was still a blast. It is on the expensive side, so bring cash if you are going to visit.

So that is what I did, meanwhile some friends of mine were on lockdown in buildings around campus. First UT loses a football game, now the tragedy on campus; I definitely picked the right year to go abroad.

I will post again when I get settled in Freiburg on Sunday or Monday.

Have a great weekend everybody,

Adam

My Monday Diversions for 9/27

I'm gonna try something new on The Freiburg Kid

I've been hitting up the web a lot lately, especially today. And since Monday means going back to school for the week, I will list a few things to watch or do online when you find yourself bored in class. I will post My Monday Diversions weekly.

I watched this soccer video over and over today. Check out the best trick free kicks of all time. Guaranteed, they are absolutely thrilling.

If you are able to use headphones, listen to Bruno Mars' new single, The Other Side (feat. Cee Lo Green and & B.o.B.) Its been stuck in my head all day

I always like to play small, yet amusing computer games in class. My all time favorite is Bowman 2. It is kind of like pocket tanks, but simpler and quicker. You just shoot arrows at your opponent to try and make him bleed out. It really is great.

I also signed up for two things today. The first is a really cool way to live around the world and meet interesting people, couch surfing. Just sign up, create a profile, request places to stay and then travel. You can go almost anywhere. You can go anywhere!!! Even Antarctica. I am definitely going to try this while in Europe.

The second is called Mitfahrgelegenheit.de. This can be translated into, "a ride-share opportunity". People in Germany with cars can post when they are driving, where they are leaving from, where they are going to, how many available spots they have and how much they charge for you to tag along. It is extremely organized and efficient. If I want to go from Munich to Berlin tomorrow around 2:30 in the afternoon, I can just look it up and contact the driver. They need it in America for sure.

I've given you 5 cool things to do this week. There is no way you always pay attention in every class at all times. Check this stuff out from a real internet junkie. Leave me feedback or any other cool things I should check out.

Adam

First Week

So yes, I have been in Germany about a week and I've done some cool stuff, so I guess I should write something

Last Wednesday, I went to downtown Munich with my first exchange partner from 2005, Max (1). We took the train to Marienplatz (a main square), where I went to the Münzinger Sport store. I bought a brand new FC Bayern München jersey with Bastian Schweinsteiger (#31) on the back. It was expensive, but I always planned on getting it.

Afterward, we walked about 20 minutes to the Philosophy school that Max had studied at the past two years. The building had a cool atrium and courtyard. From there, we strolled over to the main university in Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität. He showed me the memorial for the White Rose group of anti-Nazi. If you don't know the story, a group of about 10 students threw leaflets about the Nazi regime off a balcony at LMU. When they were found out, they were arrested, put to trial and executed. The legacy of the students is that the Allies were smuggled the leaflet, then made millions of copies and airdropped them all over Germany. At UT we have the White Rose Society, and it all started at the place I just visited.

Next, we went to a cafe near the main train station. Max (1) is a semi-hipster, but not exactly. His favorite place to go, naturally, is a small hipster cafe. Its also a bar, so it can get pretty packed on Saturday nights. It was pretty cool. They have art hanging from the wall by featured artists, and it changes every week.

In the following days, I spent all my time catching up on Mad Men. I finished the third season and caught up through the 9 episodes of season 4. It is such a good show. I watch a lot of TV, and I can say that it is one of the top 3 shows out there.

Today, I took a trip with Max (2)'s dad and his friend toward the southwestern part of the country. We took the Autobahn over to Bodensee (Lake Constance). There was a really cool boat show, called Inter Boot Messe. Dozens of companies brought huge yachts to the hall for all to see. You could get on the boats and check out all the features. Some even cost over 150,000 Euros. Pretty insane stuff. We found one that we liked, but of course didn't buy it, but we did get to test ride it.

The Bavaria P28

Bodensee (Lake Constance)

It was all really fun, but the weather was pretty nasty. I'm just ready to go to watch the Texans kick the Cowboys ass in a few hours and to go to Oktoberfest (die Wiesn) on Tuesday. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures there.

I'm finally heading over to my final destination, Freiburg, next Sunday. I'm excited, but it means school is starting soon for me.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and GO TEXANS!!

Adam

Arrival!!

Hey Everyone,

At 4:30 AM Central Time Zone, I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany for the first leg of my day’s travel.  Having left at 7 PM the day before, I was exhausted upon landing because I couldn’t sleep on the plane, yet my day of travelling was not quite done. Just to let you know, I am 7 hours ahead of CST.

After my two-hour wait in the beautiful Frankfurt Airport, I hopped on a small Lufthansa flight and made it to my final destination, Munich. I got my bags from the luggage pick up in record time; it only took two minutes. From there I breezed through customs and met my former exchange partner, Max, and his mom.

We drove back to their Gemeinde (village) named Olching. On the way, we stopped to buy a few pieces of raspberry almond cake for us to have. When we got home I had to unload my entire luggage. I brought two huge bags, completely full duffel and a backpack. It was a chore getting everything upstairs, but I got some help.

We ate the delicious cake and talked for a while. I noticed how out of practice I have become with my German. I can’t pick up everything like I used to, and I am meek in conversation. I want to be idiomatically correct, but if I spend so much time with that, I won’t get a single word in. Obviously, it is my goal to learn German while I am here, so seeing where I am worries me heavily. It’s a good thing I have 10 months to perfect it.

After I did a few things with the intent of unpacking, I went with Max into the main part of Olching to run a few errands. The driving age in Germany is 18 and Max just happens to finally be 18. I got to ride shotgun in his beautiful new BMW convertible that he just happened to get. Any 18 year old would KILL to have that car. When we got back, I hit the hay until dinner.

After dinner, I took a second nap (yet, I still feel dead) and am now watching FC Bayern vs. TSG Hoffenheim play soccer on my computer. Bayern, my favorite team, are performing awfully, down 1-0 in the 50^th minute.

That was the extent of my day. I am glad that I finally made it. Tomorrow I will try and get a cell phone.

Adam

One More Week

That's all my time left in America

It's kinda sad to think that I will be away from everything I know and do for a long time, but everyday I remember more and more my time spent in Germany. Today was really nostalgic.

After my freshman year of high school, I went on an exchange program to Munich called GAPP (German-American Partnership Program). 12 students from my high school and 4 from another all participated in this trip back in June 2005. 16 students from a German Gymnasium (high school) came to stay with their host families in April and we flew to Munich as soon as school was out for the year.

It was my first time to travel outside of the US, so everything was extremely foreign (obviously) to me. My foreign exchange partner was named Max and he was kind of the opposite of me. He liked different music, did a lot of biking, rode a motorcycle and had long hair. Adapting to his life during my three weeks with him was a huge learning experience.

I did lots of things I had never done before. Mountain biking, listening to Guns 'N Roses and drinking beer at the age of 15 were just a few. I saw snow for the first time and throughout all of my travels, I took nearly 1200 pictures. After I left, I knew I would miss everything about the place.

That brings me to the summer of 2008. Initially, my high school German teacher asked me to come and speak to a bunch of parents about the program and what I got out of it. While I just came to talk about GAPP, the possibility of going back to Munich and Olching (a small village where the high school was) piqued me. A few days later, I talked to my teacher and I was signed up to go back to Munich. Pretty simple

In 2008, I had an even better time. Everything was different. I was the oldest student, not to mention, I had also been there before. My exchange partner was again named Max. It seems like every teenage male in Germany is named Max. I'm just going to put that out there. Anyway, this time I was the leader of the group. I had more friends out of the American students just because I knew them before we went on the trip.

Since it was only two years ago, I had flashbacks today about places I traveled, things I ate and the experiences I had. I remember the general layout of downtown Munich still, along with the streets and rail system of the small village. It makes me feel good to know I remember how things were.

I've been called dismissive before. And to think about it, I kind of am. I forget small things, like my keys or what were assignments for classes. I accidentally take things for grains of salt that are important. That is why remembering turn by turn directions from a train station to my first exchange partner's house three years after the fact pleased me.

In just one week, I will be in Munich and Olching again. I will be staying with Max 2 and his family, as my family calls him, for 10 days. I will have the chance to visit Max 1 and my old stomping grounds in the village. Time for a refresher course in Munich, Germany. I'm very excited. I get to go to Oktoberfest, so be jealous.

Just one more week...

Adam

11 Days of Boredom

I'm spending my last 11 days in Houston until next August.

I attended services for the first day of Rosh Hashanah at my synagogue. While it was long and often boring, I understand how important and meaningful religion is to the Jewish people. I'd rather spend my day not sitting inside, but I know its only 3 days out of the entire year.

So what I'm trying to say is: Houston is boring.

My brother wrecking my former car is the most interesting thing that's happened this entire week. It wasn't all that bad. He had a small fender bender, but unfortunately, the car is in the shop for a few weeks. I probably won't get to see my baby until I get back. Sad stuff

Beside that, I need to make my list of things I should buy before I leave. Oh, and that thing called packing... gotta get on that soon

I can't write anything interesting, since I haven't done anything interesting except watch Mad Men!! (amazing show)

Once I do get to Germany, I will have some relevant things to say on here. That is when it will all get good.

Adam

Television

God's greatest gift to man

I love watching television, whether that means sports, movies, sitcoms, crime shows or dramas. As I just assume everyone else does, I have a list of shows that I try to keep up with. It gets really hard as you add more and more shows.

Here is my current list:

Californication
CSI: NY
Dexter
Entourage
In Plain Sight
Weeds
Flashpoint
Psych
and my newest: Mad Men

I realize that I watch too much TV. My grades in high school reflected that and so does this huge list. What I really wanted to talk about was Mad Men. I just started watching the series a few days ago. I fell in love with the John Hamm's character during the pilot. I appreciate the authenticity of the show even though it is shot nearly 50 years after the period it portrays.

I'm still toward the beginning of the first season, so I don't want to go too much into it, but I really respect the writers and directors of this series. The plot and portrayal of the advertising men in 1960s New York City is captivating. Not to mention, I never noticed how beautiful January Jones is. She is stunning in the more conservative dress style. No wonder she was rated so highly in the list of most beautiful women. I agree now.

I want to quickly recommend any of those aforementioned shows to anyone looking to pick up a new series. If you want something hilarious and not too time consuming, Californication is about to start it's 4th season. You can catch up in under 15 hours.

For now, I am just going to watch Mad Men. It is quite interesting the way that society treated women, blacks and Jews. None of the stuff going on in the offices of Madison Avenue during the 1960s would fly in a courtroom today.

Thanks for following,
Adam

The Weekend

This will be the first of two posts tonight...

I want to briefly talk about what I've been doing in boring ol' Houston since Friday. There are 2 main points I want to discuss: sporting events and ice.

Since its Labor Day weekend, people have been taking everything pretty easy around here. There were two main sporting events going down in Houston this weekend and I attended both. First was the UT vs. Rice football game. I'm no world famous ESPN analyst, but I can tell you that Texas has much to work on to prepare for the conference schedule.

The offense was pretty flat, only squeezing out 34 points against a horrible Rice defense. Garrett Gilbert's reins were held the entire game by offensive DICTATOR coordinator Greg Davis. The defense was solid once it settled down after the first Rice drive. Except for a few freak plays, the rest of the game showed Texas' defensive prowess.

Here is a shot from my seats before the game:

The other sporting event in town over the weekend was the Houston Dynamo (MLS) against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes took a lead within 15 minutes and the Dynamo struck back just before half, but a second half strike sent the Earthquakes back to San Jose with a 2-1 victory. 

I have my criticisms of the MLS (Major League Soccer), but for the lack of quality on the field, the game was surprisingly exciting. I will see the change in class when I get to Munich to watch FC Bayern.

My other major development this weekend is that I finally remembered what I will miss most over the next 10 months: My family  my friends my room ICE!!!

Ice is the greatest food in the world. I use the term food to suggest that I eat it. I order every drink with tons of ice and I will just keep a cube in my mouth sometimes because it gets so hot here. Here comes the conflict. Ice is not served anywhere in Europe. Even ice coffee doesn't have ice in it. I am going to feel so "icesick" the entire time. I frankly don't know what to do.

My feeling is I will have to suck it up and drink stuff warm. I guess it is better to be more worried about ice than my lack of German fluency. We'll see about that.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend and probably a more exciting one than I to say the least.

Adam

Football vs. Fußball

September means football. Whether that means American Football, English Football, Futbol, Füßball or Soccer is up to your interpretation. To me, September means Soccer AND American Football. Coming from the US, I am expected to watch the NFL and NCAA Football, both of which I do. But unlike most Americans, I care about European soccer.

The NFL and NCAA season starts in a few weeks and everyone is getting pumped. I am attending the first game for the Texas Longhorns against Rice University in Houston on Saturday. More excitingly, I am attending a home game for FC Bayern München on September 25th. If you haven't ever heard of them, you are probably American. They are my favorite soccer club team from Munich, Germany. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, here is an analogy. They are the New York Yankees of German soccer. They buy the best players, but they also have the best farm (reserve) system. They play at the nicest stadium, Allianz Arena, as well.

Here is a picture from the inside

During the second weekend of Oktoberfest, I will be going back there for the match against FSV Mainz 05. Bayern will be the major favorites going into the game, but since it will be early on in the season, they still won't have hit their top form. I am very ecstatic because I have watched the team on TV for 5 years and will finally have the chance to see them live.

One other major difference between the two sports is the jersey changeover. In the NFL, teams change jerseys or colors at a much slower rate than in soccer. Since I started watching european soccer in 2004, I have noticed that teams have gone from keeping the same jersey for 3 years to now having a new jersey every year. I am wearing the FC Bayern home jersey from the 2007 season at the moment.

Time for karaoke with my fraternity...I'll hit y'all up later

My Last Few Days in Austin

As a student at The University of Texas, I always enjoy my time in Austin a lot more than time spent in Houston (sorry mom). All I do is watch TV, play basketball and sleep when I'm in Houston, but when I get to Austin, there are always friends for me to be around or people to play soccer with.

Since the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) are coming up, my mom and dad really want me to come back and spend the time with them. That leaves me fewer than 48 hours left to be at our fraternity house (AEPi).

If you couldn't tell by the cherry picker or the nice stone sides, this house is brand new. Just last year, we occupied a 6-bedroom 3.5-bathroom rental house which was built in 1917. While I do adore our previous home, I must say that our new house brings unlimited potential for growth and self-establishment on campus. I've been mooching staying at this beautiful abode for the past two weeks paying absolutely no rent!


It is pretty hard to say goodbye to all my friends and fraternity brothers. I have been working intensively on Fall Rush for the past two weeks and just hanging out since I have no class in America. It really is a great life doing pretty much nothing. I have been taking our AEPi National Fraternity representatives out to the best places to eat around Austin, at least the ones with credentials especially Marty Bock.

Sadly this is all about to end.

As I prepare to go back to Houston, I spend all of the hours possible awake taking in as much bonding time with brothers before I slip away for 10 months. I also spend as much time possible with my friends from outside the fraternity. My best friend from home and I do a lot of stuff together, luckily for him, he is coming to visit me in Germany in the spring.

So as the most important part of the Jewish Calendar approaches, my last few hours in Austin seem to tick away I am about to experience the most foreign and exciting time of my life.