I have a confession: I never loved Disney World. I visited a couple times when I was younger and I really enjoyed it, but I didn't fall in love with it in the way that every little girl falls in love with the Magic Kingdom. I never wanted to be a princess and I wasn't a big fan of Disney movies, especially those that lacked talking animals. I always assumed that my apathy towards Disney World was just a side-effect of my cynical, sarcastic attitude towards most things in life.

However, this weekend proved me wrong. After 20 years I finally realized that the happiest place on Earth is definitely not Disney World, because that title is reserved for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

This weekend shattered every expectation I set. I initially pictured a bunch of people drinking in a field, but boy was that an understatement. Oktoberfest is basically a much more fun version of the Montgomery County fair, minus the demolition derby and plus A LOT of beer. People from all over the world dress themselves in lederhosen and dirndls and flock to Munich for this three week long celebration.

I like any place that welcomes me with a sign.

I'm going to skip talking in-depth about the beer because I think it goes without saying that that was a big highlight of the weekend. I mean, that's basically the whole reason for the festival so you know it must be good. What you do need to know is that there were both beer gardens and beer tents (one of each for every brewery represented at the festival), and I had a glorious time in both of those settings.

two is better than one.

Another big highlight of the weekend was obviously the FOOD. Things I ate include but are not limited to....
-a pretzel bigger than my head
-schnitzel
-some large piece of bread with cheese and bacon on top
-Germany's version of mac and cheese, called spaetzle
-CHICKEN. SO MUCH CHICKEN.

I love you, bacon cheesy bread thing.

I also love you, schnitzel.

I also love YOU, German mac and cheese dish.

All in all it was an extremely successful weekend. I dressed up, met people from all over the world, ate and drank delicious things, and made it back to Geneva in one piece. If you ever find yourself in Europe around this time of year and you miss out on the opportunity to visit Oktoberfest consider us no longer friends.

Until next time, Munich. Auf wiedersehen.