Anyway... Although Halloween is not a very popular holiday here in Germany (read: it is celebrated by next to no one), there are a handful of "parties" held at bars throughout the city. We accompanied two of our friends (they're married, she's American)to an Irish pub (aptly named "Kennedy's") for the evening's festivities. It seems that the majority of Germans (or English and American ex-pats) who choose to celebrate Halloween, prefer to dress up in scary, ghoulish costumes, as opposed to many of the comedic ones that you find in the U.S. The few people that decided to participate and come in costume were all covered in paint or make-up to resemble gashes, bruises, blood, guts, and the like. We did not choose to dress up (shocker, I know). After years of grudgingly dressing up simply to appease friends at annual Halloween parties, we were both ELATED to be relieved of this duty. It was so nice to not have to celebrate our least favorite holiday, for once. But let's not pretend we weren't disappointed in the lack of free candy. Overall, we had a good time at the bar. To be honest, other than a handful of people dressed up as zombies, it really wasn't much of a Halloween party. However, it was karaoke night, which is always a good time. Especially when Germans pick the most random English songs to sing. We also discovered that our friend Katie is an awesome singer. So we will be going to karaoke with them much more often...
We also had November 1st off for All Saints Day. Bavaria (southern Germany) has a strong Catholic influence, so everything is closed on just about every Catholic holy day. Since we were out late the night before, we decided to stay and relax in our cozy apartment.
On Saturday, we traveled by train to Regensburg, Germany. It's also located in Bavaria, right on the Danube River. The large, medieval city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (read: supposed to be really beautiful, historic, etc.). Regensburg is "special" in that, unlike many of the other major German cities, it suffered little damage during WWII. As a result, many of the buildings are very old, as opposed to Munich where many of the buildings were rebuilt following the war. Though the day was a bit chilly, we had a nice time wandering around, window shopping, and enjoying a traditional Bavarian meal with Regensburg beer. Here are a few pics.
I'm sure you are all surprised to see photos with us drinking beer. But let's be serious, is there anything better than sausage, sauerkraut, and beer on a chilly day in Autumn? (der Herbst for all of you aspiring-German speakers out there)
Tonight, we will be waking up at 3 AM to watch election coverage. That's dedication, right there (or insanity, take your pick).
We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mom Sterdis on Thursday morning!! She will be our first visitor. We are so excited to show her all that Munich has to offer. We're also taking her to Prague this weekend, so we will post some photos from the trip next week.
Until then... Cheers!
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