Sarah’s count is only at a measly three, but Chris’s count for Munich Oktoberfest is now at a staggering seven! Some might say that this is simply too many times, but those people are clearly wrong.  Anyone who has experienced the glory of Oktoberfest understands what draws us back year after year.  There’s simply nothing like it.  Millions of people get together.  They drink.  They eat.  They share stories.  They dance on tables and sing Sweet Caroline.  They pretend, even if only for a day, that they are part of the great, hospitable Bavarian culture.

We will spare you the full breakdown of the weekend and instead focus on the highlights of what made this trip unique.

1. Small world:  When we went on Yacht Week back in July, we made friends with a couple (Cori and Bennett) who are originally from DC.  They too are now living abroad (in Stuttgart), and having bonded over being expats, we decided to exchange emails. At the time, we had little expectations that we would ever see them again; however, the world continues to surprise us.  We were thrilled to learn that they would be in Munich for Oktoberfest during the same weekend, and we were even more shocked that we were actually able to meet up.  As if the world didn’t already feel small, we also learned that Jessi (who joined after a week’s worth of work in Germany) went to college with Bennett.  The whole “six degrees of separation” theory is becoming less of a theory and more of a law.

 

2. BMW showroom and museum: As near 30-year olds, we can’t drink delicious beer all weekend, so on Friday, we headed to the BMW showroom and museum.  Sadly, we weren’t able to secure tickets for the plant tour, but we still enjoyed learning the history of the company and seeing both old and new BMW products.  Fun fact – BMW actually started as an aircraft engine manufacturer.  It wasn’t until 1929 that they acquired another company known for automobile engines.  Our ultimate take: BMW loves to toot its own horn, but for good reason.  They do some really awesome stuff with cars and motorcycles.

3. Carny Stuff: We’ve always ridden the bumper cars after a day at the tents; however, this time, we channeled our inner-carny and tried a few additional rides including big slides (one Sarah’s favorites) and swings (yes, we know that it’s a death trap but you can’t beat the views).  There’s nothing like a big fair to bring out the little child in us all.

We can hardly believe it ourselves, but this past Sunday marked our 6 year wedding anniversary, and we decided to head to a fancy spa resort in Adelboden, Switzerland to commemorate.  The weekend was truly a perfect balance of relaxation and adventure.

Relaxation: 

Our constant travels usually result in days jam-packed with activities and exploration, so it was with pleasure to stay in bed a little later than usual on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

We also spent a decent amount of time in the spa.  The facilities were lovely and the views from their outdoor heated pool overlooking the alps were impressive, to say the least.  Additionally, we sprung for deep-tissue back massages, though in all honesty, they were so “deep” that we are both still a little sore (but in a good way).

 

Adventure:

We are both busybodies and can only sit still for so long before we start to twitch, so spending an entire 48 hours sitting around the hotel and spa was out of the question.  We both agreed that a low-key outing for some fresh air and fabulous views would do us well, and our one-hour hike/walk to the base of the mountain took us by a few villages, many lovely rivers, and lots of cows.  It was seriously the stuff from postcards.

Wanting to have lunch at the top of the mountain but unsure of how long it would take to hike (aka we were feeling a little lazy), we took the gondola up.  A tasty lunch and a big beer later, we were ready for something a bit more challenging, and thus decided to hike down.  It was more difficult than either of us had expected (very muddy, extremely steep, and lots of loose rocks), but we were extremely happy with the decision.  The path led us right by a huge waterfall and offered fabulous views of the valley below.  Plus it was the first time in a while that we didn’t get turned around – 1 point for the good guys!

 

A lot has certainly changed in our six years of marriage: we both have careers, we live in a new country, we are home-owners, we sometimes prefer our couch to a crowded bar, we are well-traveled, and we no longer find it acceptable to duck-tape beers to our hands and call it a game.

By the same token, there are many things that have remained the same: we still take pleasure in activities of any kind; we continue to push each other to be better, kinder, stronger people; we make each other laugh so hard our cheeks hurt; we are frank and honest with each other, even when it isn’t convenient; and, above all, we love each other a very large sum.  Corny, we know, but still true.

 

The weather is starting to turn cool here, and though we are months away from true ski season, we’ve had the itch to get back on the slopes.  Most ski resorts are obviously still closed, but Zermatt is high enough in the Alps to house the Matterhorn glacier which is open for skiing year round (or so they claim).  It was sunny and 60-degrees in Basel, but we packed up our skis, boots, and gloves and headed for the mountains on Friday evening.  We got in pretty late but luckily still in time to visit one of our favorite watering holes, Paperla Pub (see Christmas in Zermatt post for more detail).

On Saturday, the weather wasn’t looking so great, so we decided that the play call was to hike rather than ski.  Chris only really tolerates hiking, but Sarah has been wanting to do a well-known hike in Zermatt called 5 Seen-Weg (or 5 Lake Hike).  Any day outside is better than a day inside, but there were still a few negatives.  1) We made a wrong turn in the beginning (literally the start of the hike) and ended up going 1.5 hours (almost all uphill) out of the way.  We sort of suck at following trail signs.  2) The weather was so cold/foggy that we didn’t get the acclaimed views of the Matterhorn.  3) To call the hike the 5-Lake-Hike is a bit misleading – we decided it should be called 1-Lake and 4-Ponds hike.  Perhaps that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

 

On Sunday, we woke up early excited to finally go SKIING … until we learned that the slopes had actually been closed for three days due to high winds and would remain closed for the day.  Womp Womp.  Feeling a bit ridiculous for having wasted money on 2 nights in a hotel (not to mention having lugged our skis all the way there), we decided to stay local for the day and get in another hike.  A bit of research led us to a hike which featured the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, The Charles Kuonen Bridge; however, not having done extensive research there were a few surprises. 1) The first half of the hike is a very steep climb, and according to our trusty apple watches, we actually climbed 229 floors (essentially two Empire State buildings) in approximately 1 hour.  We are already pretty sweaty people naturally, but we were dripping by the time we got to the top.  2)  We got “lost” again (mostly just turned around) and had to do some backtracking, sadly all uphill again.  For two people who claim to have a good sense of direction, we aren’t so great when it comes to following the trail signs.

 

The weekend wasn’t a total failure, but it certainly wasn’t anything close to what we had hoped for.  Here’s to hoping your Labor Day Weekends back home were a bit more successful than ours.