It's been a while. Chamonix and Mont Blanc were beautiful. Chamonix is kind of like Breckenridge in size and touristy-ness. I can't say much about the mountains there other than that you should see it for yourself. We stayed in an awesome chalet called Ski B&B, owned by an awesome, funny Irish guy who cooked us an awesome breakfast every morning. Not a whole lot of English is spoken in France, especially in Chamonix. I was able to dig up in the depths of my brain what little French I remember from high school, and we were able to survive: explaining to the fare-checker on the train that our Chalet was supposed to give us free-transit cards but ran out of them, working out only having to pay the fare of 1.50 instead of a fine, and ordering in restaurants. On an unrelated note, I spotted a bottle of wine in a fine wine shop in Chamonix with a price tag of 1500 Euro. Pretty effing nuts.
I'll open my description of Milan with an anecdote about how David got Hustled with a capital H. First let me say that people in Milan carry themselves very differently than people in Vienna. People in Vienna are very reserved and don't say much in public. People in Milan are a bit more boisterous and assertive. We get off the bus from France and ride the subway to the Duomo - the cathedral that marks the city center in many European cities - where we're meeting Marisa Walsh, fellow DU student studying in Milan at whose apartment we stayed. At the top of the stairs coming out of the Duomo subway station were a couple of African men tying colored bracelets to tourists' wrists, and then asking for donations for "Africa." David and I each got confronted. I pulled out all the change in my pocket (amounting to about 4 euro), and the man says "no, 20 euro, please, no, 10 euro, come on, just 10 euro" and I say "No, this is all I can give you" and shove the coins in his hand and walk away. He follows me for a few steps until I turn around and glare at him. I turn and see that David now has three men in front of him. He had made the mistake of pulling out the wallet. Never pull out the wallet. He tried to give them 10, only to have them literally throw the bill back at him, demanding more. He gives them 20 and leaves. Needless to say he was not happy.
Besides the people, Milan was a bit similar to Vienna. There was the same multitude of kebap stands, and the architecture and city plan was similar. In Milan there's a concept that I want to bring back to the US. Anyone interested in some entrepreneurship, let me know. It's called "Apertivo." In many bars in Italy, if there is "Apertivo," one can buy a drink for 4-8 euro, and help his/herself to the small buffet of appetizers and finger foods that may include salads, cheeses, deli meats, bread with bree or some cheese on top, prosciutto or anchovies on top. These foods are quite tasty (at least at the bar we went to). One can make a meal out of slowly sipping away at a 5 euro beer, while filling oneself with the food. If you like, you can order multiple drinks (we had 2), or order an entree. On second thought, I don't know if this would work in the American bar atmosphere. I think it's worth a try though.
Munich may be my favorite city that I've visited so far. Marisa Rodriguez and I had an earlier train and were able to spend the day walking around Munich. We went to the Englischergarten, which is the worlds largest metropolitan park, and walked around the city center. A couple of things contribute to my high impression of Munich, but I can't fully describe why it's my favorite. Bavarian food is awesome. The public transit system was also really extensive and pretty cheap. It's generally a beautiful city. I'd like to go back at some point.
Oktoberfest was a lot of fun. We arrived on opening day at 8:40 AM, joined a crowed waiting outside of the Pschorr-Braurosl tent, witnessed several people jumping on the side of the building banging on the doors and windows and getting tackled and taken away by the police. The tent opened at 9, and we were unable to find a place to sit. All the tables had at least a few people at them, and they were saving tables for friends or were generally unwilling to let us sit with them. Maybe if we were dressed in the Bavarian garb of Lederhosen or Dirndl (which most everyone there had) we might have had better luck. We split up with Emily and Marisa, who later managed to sit with some people inside the tent.
David and I managed to sit with some Kiwis in the outdoor seating area. We heard the parade go by and through the tent, and at noon the mayor tapped the first keg and fireworks went off in the sky. Waiters and waitresses barged out of the building with anywhere from 6-12 liters of beer in their hands. Those things are not light, and common sense says to stay the eff out of their way. They hand you beers automatically when you're empty and collect money. Tipping generously is recommended, as it helps bring your waiter back more frequently. We also ate some Weisswurst, and a chicken half. By the way, Oktoberfest is sold as "family friendly" as there are your usual assortment of fair games and rides. So after a couple Maß (liter), we met up with the girls and went to a cafe/pool hall where Hitler and Lenin used to play pool.
Classes have started and are going well. I started having lessons last week, and we've decided to have lessons nearly all in German! I get lost a lot but it's good practice. She speaks English when I don't understand. To further illustrate the prominence of music in this city, nearly every evening that I walk home after an evening class, I walk by the Stadtoper (state opera house). Outside of the building is a huge screen where the opera inside is broadcasted live for everyone within a 2 block radius to hear. Many gather and sit in the open space in front of the screen. I haven't yet been to a concert or opera, but that will hopefully change very soon. Many people I know went to a concert last night of Mahler 2 performed by a college-aged youth orchestra, and they all were completely blown away by the performance. Music is kind of unavoidable. In the underground subway staion/shopping mall type thing of Karlsplatz, which has an exit in front of the opera, there is "the opera toilet." This toilet costs 50 cents or something like that (many public WCs in Europe charge a little bit of money, I haven't had to pay yet), and there is a loop of opera overtures playing quite loudly in the speakers inside and around.
More to come....
