the red beret: a summary

the red beret is back and ready for some adventures!

Here's (finally) a summary of what we did in Europe last fall, after Oktoberfest:

walked to Poland

went to Dublin with some good friends in November

Lovely Day For A Guinness!

(we even saw a protest while we were there)

St. Patrick's Cathedral

When we came back to Berlin, we discovered some of the more natural parts...

Schlachtensee

...and some not-so-natural parts.

Berliner Ensemble

Friedrichstrasse

Alexanderplatz

Rotes Rathaus

Berliner Dom

including the Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery.

before leaving Europe in January, we made a visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, where we spent Christmas with the family.

 

the red beret at Oktoberfest

The Red Beret at Oktoberfest!

As I said, not many pictures from Oktoberfest.  It was an interesting time, though.  A group of us left Berlin around 7pm on train.  The first train was relatively quiet and we switched in Frankfurt am Main for the train to Munich a little after midnight.  Most of us really just wanted to sleep on the second train, but with inexpensive places they keep the lights on, so it's not easy.  But we knew we were on the right train when, around 2:30 or 3am, a huge group of Germans dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndles came on the train and started drinking in preparation for Oktoberfest.

Yes, really.

We arrived a bit before 6am, already exhausted, and headed over to the festival.  A friend and I were couchsurfing, so we got into a Biergarten early but left before noon to go meet our host.  Upon arrival, we took a nap and then spent the afternoon exploring Munich a bit.  We went back to the festival the day after and actually got in some of the tents, which was pretty cool.  It's just a fun atmosphere.  It's not as bad as I expected, really, though I was shocked to see small children there with their parents.  But in the tents there was music and everyone was just singing, talking, eating, and, of course, drinking.

Germania looking over the crowds.  Mind you, it's about 8:30 AM.

(sidenote)

Hello friends, readers, or anyone who has randomly stumbled upon this silly person in a red hat,

I just wanted to excuse myself for the lack of postings in the last few months.  A lot has changed since the Beret and I began our adventure in August.  The main thing is, I changed my mind.  A lot.  And decided to change my major.  Which meant it was best to wait on studying in France.  Which means that the Red Beret is actually Stateside again.  But this does not mean that the adventures will end!  Instead, there will be fewer and they will not take place in Europe for the next year and a half until I do study in France.

Another thing is that I got a little bit lazy on the picture-taking aspect.  And my camera died at Oktoberfest, so I have very few from there.  Also, towards the end I got so busy in Berlin with my classes, volunteering, and program activities that I hardly had time to breathe, much less post my adventures.

So a big I'M SORRY from the soul and the hat, but we'll catch up and be back before long!

Here's what you can look forward to:

-Oktoberfest (all 3 pictures before my camera died)
-A Polish border town
-Dublin, Ireland
-Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt
-Beckerich, Luxembourg
-Brugge

...and perhaps a few extra that I may have forgotten.