When I first got to much I was a bit regretful to have come to Oktoberfest by myself. That lasted all of twenty minutes. It is such a small world. The girl from Edinburgh that had checked me I to my highland tour arrived to my room with her three friends. Also, a girl Lean was staying alone as well. Her friends are here staying with her two friends from here. We collected a big group and headed out to the beer garden. There is so much food and huge beers everywhere. It's awesome, and everyone is dressed up so festive. My bag got lost at the airport, so I got convinced since I didn't have any clothes anyways, to get a dirndl like all the other girls. Very cool, and flattering. Apron over your beer belly, sucks in you waste and pushes up the boobs. I looked so bed Arian with my dress and pig tails for the opening day of Oktoberfest Saturday. Lean and I hit it off straight away. She went to school for history and culture and went to grad school for cultural heritage. Gave me some ideas about what I may want to go back to school for. She work with a lot of volunteer and fundraising organizations. Also, she is going to get me the contacts for a job she had giving lectures on cruise ships about the history of the places people were going to visit. It sounds amazing, and would be perfect for me if I could pull it off. Get paid to travel and work on a ship. You get to write your own lectures, and you include you own historical research. Something to think about. Your contract is only for three or four months, so I could get some good experience with lecturing and travel a bit, before seeing what else I might want to do. Sell my boat and full time travel, and move around....especially since the ala wai is filled with twats...Grrr.
We stayed out until far to late. In the morning our atuff was strewn throughout the hostel. Her shoes at the desk, my scarf randomly tied to the banister. Quite entertaining, and my bag came! We got dressed in our festival dirndls, caught the end of the parade, then huffed in with the masses for the opening of Oktoberfest. Quite a spectacle I must say. We met up with Lians friends; yuki, Japanese and German from Germany, his wife Natalie from australia, and Steven and Juliet, who are probably the most beautiful couple I've ever seen. Juliet grew up in hong kong but lives in London where she met the cheeky new zealander, that looks maori but actually had fled from Laos as a small boy, and now resides in London. They were so much fun. We got into a beer tent, by some stroke of luck and it was a beautiful day. Hot and sunny. We stayed there for a few hours none of us quite remembering the details of leaving after four huge steins of beer each. We do remember however, goingnon the most violent roller coaster ever invented. German engineering my ass. I still have bruises now the side of my legs, whip lash and a bruise from where we all cracked our heads together. Quite hilarious, especially that Eddie it again, in the pouring rain. What an amazing festival. Everyone is so friendly, and just trying to meet so many people. A beautiful thing really.
The mood today was quite diffent. I joined Liana, Steven and Juliet for a visit to Dachau. The only concentration camp, open all through the war. I think we lucked out with our guide, and he filled us in on a great deal of the history of the establishment of refugee camps. To long to go into details. It was very unsettling. It was cold, rainy and gloomy. Walking in past the barbwire fences through the front gate, you instantly got chills. The front barracks are still there bordering the massiveCourtyard where the prisoners would have lined up, heads down for roll call every morning. The desciption of there day to day existence was gruesome. Many of the images were very disturbing as well. It was extremely eerie walking thru the buildings and imagining all the horrific things that had occurred all around where I was standing. Dachau has one of the only fully intact crematoriums as well. These were outside the fences, out the back of the camp. I honestly can't describe how disturbing it was. I could bring myself to walk into certain place, where there were chambers that prisoners had been hung from there arms and beaten and torchured. I did step into the gas chamber, it was the only way to see it. Imagining the people that sat outside in the waiting room petrified of there unknown fate of either an actual shower, as they were told it was, or a painful death of being poisoned and suffocated. The physhi of these people must have been in torment. Out the back there was a path where prisoners would be walked thru to the execution range. It was extremely odd. In some ways the Forrest is emteemely beautiful and enchanting, with wild vines growing up the walls that in the past had been lined with people to be shot. It was like an evil enchanted Forrest or something. So odd. I wnt to the Jewish memorial, and walked by the mass grave where the ashes of those that had been killed were scattered. Six million people died at Dachau. Unfathomable really, and indescribable. I was glad I went, but it was very disturbing.
The temperature has dropped dramatically. I'm trying to get some sorted out and then leaving to meet up with everyone from yesterday to enjoy the lively environment one last time. May take it easy today though. Heading out tomorrow, at some point. May try to get a train ticket out at night and lock my bag at the train station to have another day at the festival. We will see. Take care, love you. I'll try to get in touch soon. Mom email me back! Byebye
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