The Terrible Catsafterme

You may recall that my step-brother Bryan and his wife Erine re-located to Germany last July, as Erine’s government job as an auditor took them to town near Kaiserslautern known as Trippstadt. My mom began to brew and simmer the idea in her head to take a trip to visit them as soon as they hit the door. I initially hoped to put off the visit until 2013, knowing that the vacation schedule of 2012 would be pretty full. I ended up bypassing both a trip to India and a possible one to Easter Island and instead opted to tag along to Germany. I was mostly excited that our visit would coincide with Oktoberfest, as that’s most certainly a bucket-list event. My aunt Diana and uncle Tom decided that they’d go along too and pretty soon plans were underway.

The trip began on Thursday, September 27, 2012. I took a half-day of vacation in order to leave a little before noon, pick up some Chick-fil-A lunch and head over to Bev and Ed’s. Mom & Bob and Diana & Tom met me there, and Ed drove us to the Dayton International Airport. Chris and Livi had arrived back in Dayton to live just a couple of weeks prior, so this is the first time I had seen them. I also deposited a belated birthday gift off with Ed: the Top 100 Billboard songs of 1966.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, catching our first flight to Detroit at 3:30. It was a quick flight, during which I sat next to Diana and had enough time to listen to about two songs on the iPod. We arrived there at 4:38, and didn’t have much of a layover – just barely enough time to eat some Popeye’s chicken that Mom bought – before we caught our next flight at 6:10. This one went to Amsterdam overnight. The flight was shorter than I was used to, lasting only a little over seven hours once we got off the ground. My plans to sleep and listen to music were derailed by a nice and attractive girl from Norway named Ragnhild, whom would eventually request me as a Facebook friend. I spent most of the time talking to either Diana, Ragnhild, or watching Goodfellas on the seat in front of me. We were fed quite well too, with pretzels, peanuts, wine, chicken, cheese, a brownie, ginger ale, a breakfast egg sandwich, orange juice, and a cold banana.

We had an extremely bumpy landing at 8:05am local time in Amsterdam. We had lost six hours. We still had one plane to go, and this was a rather grueling stop that included going through customs, and tight security pat down, and emptying all electronic devices from our bags. Eventually we caught the last short flight at 9:30, having to take a bus from the gate to the plane, which landed in Niederanven, Luxembourg at 10:25. The waffle snack I ate next to Diana was the highlight of this flight.

This airport was roughly two hours away from Trippstadt, and Erine met us there with the nine-passenger van that they had rented for the week. We all struggled to stay awake as we made the car ride back to Bryan and Erine’s place. As we neared their area, we stopped for lunch at Döner Time in Kaiserslautern. The döner kebap was outstanding as I had remembered it from Italy, even if a little spicier. Mom had her first altercation with a German, when he allegedly asked her if she wanted hot sauce as he was in the midst of slathering it on the shell. And thus the over-indulgent eating began.

Oh Doners, how I missed thee

Mom and Bob sloppily dig into their first German meal

We arrived at Bryan & Erine’s place around 1:30pm in our new time zone. We unpacked and were shown to our quarter whilst touring the large three-story house that at one time had been three apartments. Some of us combatted the urge to sleep by drinking beer, the hefeweizen style of wheat beer that would become the standard for the elder half of our clan. Mom called home to Denise, who was quick to point out that she was drinking beer at ‘8:30 in the a.m.’ Bob eventually checked out for a bit, inexplicably sleeping with his airplane waffle on his lap.

Bryan & Erine’s house

Sleeping Bob, mischievous Mom, and an oddly placed waffle and bone

In America, it was about 9 in the morning

Adjusting to the European afternoon via sleep or beer

Erine took Mom and Diana to go shop for a curling iron (the American one of which wouldn’t work on the German electric). Mom remarked that they could leave as soon as she “threw on some beer.” I’d blame it on the lack of sleep, but… this sort of thing happens on a regular day too. Tom and Bob napped and I grabbed a quick shower that didn’t included shaving.

Once they got back, Mom decided that she wanted some German pretzels to go with the beer, so we took a walk to the nearest grocery store. Bryan came home from work as we were walking, so he joined us. After we made it back to their house, with approximately one of the six pretzels consumed, it was time to leave for our dinner reservation that Bryan had made. As we were walking out the door, we realized that Bob was in the shower. Then he had to return to the bathroom a couple of times for other business. Eventually we left.

Bryan finally gets off work and shows up

Feeling quite accomplished about buying our bag of pretzels

Dinner was at Klug’sche Mühle in Trippstadt. The restaurant was located across from a rather scenic woods, with a stream, bridges, and a dirt trail through it. So we explored that for about a half-hour prior to our dinner reservations.

Entering their first German woods

A daredevil in Germany

Henceforth, this shall be known as Chandler Bridge

And now it’s time for another game of Where’s Brado?

The babbling brook and blustering Americans

This was our first big German meal together, so naturally there was ample confusion from everyone on how to order food and beverages. But his paled in comparison on the confusion caused by trying to get the waitress to snap a simple picture with my camera. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the great meal that Bryan and Erine treated us to. I had the Pfannengeschnetzeltes (porkfilet regout), which included a pork filet with button mushrooms in cram sauce, homemade spätzle, and two trips (yes, two!) to the salad buffet.

Our restaurant Klug’sche Mühle

Bob, Mom, Erine, Bryan, Diana, Tom, and me enjoy our first German meal together. Clearly Bryan had no confidence that the waitress would get it right this time.

After dinner, we went back to Bryan & Erine’s and almost immediately I went to my room and fell asleep around 8pm. This was helpful in getting on the European schedule, even though I woke up at about 3:30am for about 90 minutes and then dozed in and out until about 8:30am.

We had pastries for breakfast that Saturday morning, September 29th. Our goal was to get on the road around 11am, but we beat the deadline by a bit. The drive to Stuttgart was about two and a half hours, and we arrived at our hotel, the Gaststatte Traub around 1:30. After fumbling our way through check-in with a desk clerk who spoke no English, we dropped off our bags and headed out to lunch.

The Hotel Traube in Stuttgart

Lunch was at Alte Post – where one might find “Italienische Spezialitäten”, or Italian specialties. It was in fact quite special, and I enjoyed a Gnocchi Gorgo plate that included gorgonzola, spinach, garlic, and cream sauce, and a Lambrusco red wine. Everyone else stayed in their comfort zone of pizza and beer.

Prost! To gnocchi and pizza!

Prost! To our hosts!

The whole reason for our Stuttgart visit was the Cannstatter Volksfest, a massive three-week festival. Although most would call it an Oktoberfest, it is not strictly a beer festival, and thus does not accurately fit the title. However, it is considered to be the second largest beer festival in the world after the Munich Oktoberfest. It has been held annually since 1818. Bryan & Erine had secured tickets for one of the seven beer tents, the Stuttgarter Hofbräu tent. The rest of us didn’t have tickets to get in the tent, but planned on just enjoying the surrounding festivities.

Bryan & Erine dropped us off at the Volksfest at around 3:30 with plans to meet up with them at 5pm. They went and checked in at their hotel (which they had also reserved long ago), changed into their lederhosen and dirndl costumes, and then caught a train to the Volkfest. In the meantime, Mom & Bob, Diana & Tom, and I browsed the festivities. All of the booths were cool to look at no matter what they were selling. Many of the rides looked incredibly thrilling and even the funhouse-style rides looked quite intricate. I couldn’t talk anyone into getting on the thrill rides, but everyone was game to ride one of the two giant Ferris Wheels.

First glimpse of the Stuttgart Volksfest

An odd array of American icons adorn one of the festival rides

All the way to Germany, for a glimpse of Hollywood

One large Ferris Wheel coming up

A nice view of the rides from the Ferris Wheel

Overview of the massive festival with the beer tents on the right

Wheel around the Volksfest…

Mom browses the arts and crafts and undergarments section of the festival

In the spirit of confusion, or group moves in every direction

We’d later learn that ‘schmuck’ actually means jewelry

We eventually meandered into the arts and crafts area, and thus began Mom’s first obsession of the week: scarves. It nearly made us late in hiking all the way back across the grounds to our meeting spot with Bryan and Erine. In fact, I led the way and everyone got upset when they thought I had lost them. It all worked out and we convened at our meeting spot near the beer tent.

They had hoped that we would be going in early enough that we might all get in (although only Bryan & Erine and their group of friends would have a reserved seat). It turns out that there were already long lines to get in, and security was tight. I tried a couple of methods of getting in, but was not successful until Bryan simply slipped off his wristband once he got inside, sent it out with Erine, I slipped it on my wrist, and then Erine and I went back in together. The elder folk weren’t all that interested in getting in anyway, so we decided that I’d meet back up with them a few hours later at 8:30.

I had a blast during my time inside, chugging a few litres of Stuttgarter Hofbrau, the traditional brew of the city, standing on the table benches, swaying to the German music, meeting the fräulein (particularly a friendly one name Catherine), smoking three cigarettes for the first time in 11 years, eating chicken wing scraps, meeting Bryan & Erine’s friends Jeremy, Mike, Lisa, and others whose names have been blurred out, skirting the restroom entrance fee, and eventually singing the tradition German chant Ein Prosit, which was played about every third song. Needless to say, it was a party atmosphere unlike any I’ve ever experienced before. It was mega-difficult to peel myself away to meet the others, but overall I was feeling swell.

Seeing if Bryan’s German hat looks better with a beer accoutrement. It doesn’t.

Erine and Bryan dressed to the nines in their dirndl and lederhosen

Frauleins with cigarettes

Ein Prosit! Ein Prosit!

Bryan and me in our authentic German garb

Lisa, the li’l devil

The ceremonious changing of the mugs

Time out for chicken consumption

My new friend Catherine

This is how the waiters carried their beers (while blowing whistles to get people out of their way). Except of course, they are completely full of beer.

One for the road

True to my word, I met up with the four elders at 8:30 and I hailed us a cab to get us back to our lodgings. I sat in the front while the four crammed themselves into the back, with Mom half on Bob’s lap and half on the floor. Our drive spoke virtually no English, so had to rely on the business card that I had gotten at the hotel. Just when we were convinced he had no idea where he was going when he stopped on a completely unfamiliar street, our hotel showed up out of nowhere just a street over.

Cramming into the cab

I was able to find my room and get to sleep despite the spinning bed. I’d be having more beer during our trip, but just for the record, the cigarettes disgusted me enough that there was no fear in becoming addicted again. If I was going to break a long-standing rule, then the Stuttgart Volksfest was the perfect and only place to do it.

My room, sitting still for a moment, awaits my return…

The German vacation will continue…

Bypass the trip and continue with 2012…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at 6:03 am and is filed under 2010's - Early, Historical Locations, On the Town, Vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.