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The reason we drink beer in September and call it October (Oktober)

September 3, 2018 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

Beer at Oktoberfest munich, Germany

It is all very confusing for people who do not understand the story of Oktoberfest.  We have an October festival in September.  Are we confused? Drunk? Little of both?  Maybe, but that isn’t the point.  The festival is more than just a bunch of people sitting around drinking.  There is history that you should know so you can impress people sitting at the beer table with you.

First let’s clarify something – Germany calls it Oktober.  If you speak English it is October.  Same word, different spelling.

On another note, Germany does not call itself that either.  It’s Deutschland, but I digress.

The Wedding

So take yourself back in time to October the 12th 1810.  Then Prince Ludwig was being married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen (or Therese of Bavaria to be easier to remember).

Their wedding was the very first Oktoberfest.

The reception was in the fields of Bavaria renamed Theresienwiese (“Therese’s Fields”) to honor the Crown Princess.  Everyone was invited to celebrate the occasion – “Wiesn”.  It is still held in these original fields (although more of a fairground than a field now) and as tradition remains, free and open to all people.

The Confusion of Dates

There isn’t really any confusion once you understand.  Germany can get really cold come mid-October. So rather than starting Oktoberfest on Oct 12, it gradually started moving back to September.  The tradition now is that it is two full weeks (16 days total) where the last weekend is the first weekend of October or October 3 (whichever is later).

The Beer

Back in the day, beers were stored in March and not processed during the hot summers.  So, the beers that are opened during Oktoberfest are referenced as March Beer – or Marzen or Marzenbier.   This beer is traditionally stronger than an average beer (6%) and is richer and fuller.

You can get Oktoberfest shipped out to other parts of the world, but only Oktoberfest beer (Marzen) is sold at the fairgrounds.  Well that and some wines, but I digress again.

So, now that you have some basic history, you can enjoy your LITER of beer and know that you are carrying on a tradition from 1810.

Prost!

The open gates in 2012
The open gates in 2012
Beer at Oktoberfest
The waitress carried all of these in one trip!! WOW.

Filed Under: Adventures, amusing, Europe, Festival

6 Things I Learned by Watching the Eclipse

December 18, 2017 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse

A total solar eclipse occurred over the United States in August of 2017.  The hubs and I went to Wyoming to see it.  Here is what we learned:

1. What is an Eclipse Really

Let’s quote NASA on this one:

Sometimes when the moon orbits Earth, it moves between the sun and Earth. When this happens, the moon blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of the sun, or solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth….A total solar eclipse is only visible from a small area on Earth. The people who see the total eclipse are in the center of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth. The sky becomes very dark, as if it were night. For a total eclipse to take place, the sun, moon and Earth must be in a direct line.

And while all of North America was in the path of the eclipse, meaning you can see some of it, only a certain part of the country could see the total eclipse.

 

2. Partial vs Total

The Partial Eclipse, what most people saw, is when the sun, moon and Earth are not exactly lined up. The sun appears to have a dark shadow on only a small part of its surface.

In a Total Eclipse, the Moon completely covers the Sun.  You can take your glasses off for a bit.

 

3. No, it doesn’t get dark and crickets chirp

Why do people think this?  I have a video that shows exactly what happens.  For some reason people think it gets midnight black, the cows lay down and the animals freak out.  We were on a farm; cows don’t lay down.  It actually looks more like it is about to storm and it becomes dusk, if that makes sense.  It does get dark but not midnight dark.

 

4. Small Towns are not equipped to handle tons of people

There are Facebook Pages and GoFundme accounts for the towns in Wyoming.  I thought this was a bit ridiculous until I talked to a waitress over in Glendo, WY.  She explained that there are two things that we don’t really realize: Sanitation and Safety.

Most of these small towns have a sheriff or use State Patrol.  There are no people in the area versed in traffic flow or how to handle large groups.  And the state isn’t funded to bring in people to handle a one day event.  So as she said, they use locals, who aren’t really trained, and many who don’t want tourist there at all.  Remember if you live in a little town in WY, you don’t want to live around a ton of people.

If you live in a small town, you generally handle your own waste.  People will take trash to a dump very far away or just burn it.  What will they do with the 3 million people and all their trash.  And the bathroom situation?  Goodness.

 

5. People will Pay Anything for a Hotel

We stayed in Cheyenne at a Marriott and they were the sweetest staff ever.   We had been eyeing the eclipse so we booked our room way far in advance.  Many didn’t and were paying several hundred dollars.  While there a woman came in with tears telling the front desk guy that there are no rooms in town under $1,000 and she didn’t know where to stay.  He suggested she find something out of the path and she would be fine.

6. It is worth every second

My hubs was the real reason we went to see the eclipse.  I didn’t understand that there is a big difference between a full and partial.  I wouldn’t really care about a partial – I have seen a few.  But the total.. well there are no words to describe the total.

I had no idea what to expect.  Yeah yeah, it will be cool, sure.  We rented land from a farmer so we would be away from everyone else.  We got there several hours ahead of time to set up and really get settled.  And then it started.

We had binoculars and glasses to see the eclipse, along with several cameras set up to capture the moment.

At some point my husband says, set your phone time for 2 minutes as that is how much time we can look at the eclipse.  Yeah, sure.

I’m looking through the glasses.  It is cool.  We traveled quite awhile for this but it is cool.

Then he says, “ok, take off the glasses”.

I do, and immediately it is like I am hit with a euphoric drug.  I start shaking.  I am crying.  I cannot believe what I am seeing.  I want to take a photo but I .. just.. can’t.

Eventually I come to my senses and take a few pictures.  Then the alarm goes off.  Now I know why we set the timer as the 2 minutes seemed like 2 seconds.

The hubs wanted to talk about it.  For the first time in my life I said, “can you give me a minute, I need to go sit over there alone for a bit”.  No questions, because he completely understood.

Those 2 minutes changed my life.  Not drastically but I look at the Earth and the Galaxy a little different now.  We are just a small spec in a much bigger picture.

If you have an opportunity to see a full total eclipse, do it.  Spend the money, take the flight, and do it.

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse
The actual eclipse

 

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse
The farm

 

Eclipse, Glendo, Wyoming
Our Camp Ready to Watch the Eclipse

 

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse
It got dark!

 

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse
Cows on the Farm

 

Glendo Wyoming Eclipse
Filtered binoculars to see the sun/moon

 

Filed Under: Adventures, Featured, Festival, List as FEATURE STORY, NEW POST, United States

Morocco: Kindness and Olives

December 17, 2017 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

As part of our cruise in Spain, we headed down the north west part of Africa to the Canary Islands.  In the area, the ship stopped off in Casablanca, Morocco.   I had mixed emotions. First there isn’t really much to do in Casablanca.  Since going, anytime I tell any Moroccan that I went to Casablanca, they consistently look at my funny and say “why?”.   Marrakesh is a four hour drive and while we had time, I had no desire to get in a bus and sit for that long.  We decided to relax and we would come back another time when we can do Marrakesh right.   However, I was excited to be in Morocco and able to check Africa off my continent list.

Things to do in Casablanca

I did extensive research on Casablanca.  I had maps, addresses, etc and researched places to eat and things to do.  Then on the ship, there was a an advertisement for an excursion that took us to the Mosque and a City tour.  At first I was a little annoyed with taking an excursion because I had (thought) I did my research.  Well, let me say this… if you think you are just going to walk around Casablanca and check out the sites, you might find yourself very tired, lost and frustrated.

(read more on our cruise here)

I am glad we took the city tour because we had this wonderful woman tour guide.  Tours are essentially made or broken by the guide and she was a star!  A spunky woman who carried a cane around with her and I swear she was ready to use it.

Anyway, we drove around the city and stopped at the Mosque and a few spots in the city.  The Mosque tour was fabulous and was one of the highlights of the whole trip.  However the city tour was really just of the city.

Kindness and Olives

As we were walking around the city with the tour guide we were really getting frustrated as it was just a city.  I started regretting that we didn’t go to Marrakesh and do some serious shopping.   Then we walked in the area of the market where there were tons of vendors selling the most amazing olives I have ever seen.  The variety and smell was overwhelming.  I was in heaven seeing this.

The currency for Morocco is dirham.  We had none.  We took the tour because everything was included so we wouldn’t have to exchange money.  This area was a proper market where it was cash only.

We asked one of the sellers if they would take credit and he didn’t speak English or Spanish.  The tour guide was leaving.  The hubs and I really wanted to experience these olives.  We showed him Euros.  He didn’t take them.

Then this gentleman did something so kind I will never forget it.  He grabbed a bag and filled it up with olives for us.  We tried to explain that we didn’t have money to pay and he clearly understood.  This was his gift to us.

I’ll never forget the experience.  Us trying to fully appreciate the culture and he understanding what we wanted.  We didn’t need words.

He gave us enough that when we finally found our bus (and a slightly annoyed tour guide) we were able to share the experience with those around us.

And those olives were like nothing I have ever tasted here.

Now, when I think of Casablanca and people ask me “why?” I reply “have you had olives there?”.

Filed Under: Adventures, amusing, Cruise, Europe, Favorite Places, NEW POST

Ideas for a Vacation

June 11, 2017 by Notourguideneeded 1 Comment

French Open Nadal

I try to accomplish ‘things’ when we head out for a vacation.  We want to have good ideas for a vacation, not just a tour.  Is it a historical site that I want to see?  Did something spectacular happen there?  Is something amazing going on in that city.   In order to help this and see places of the world that I may never go to (and some I would) I use a google search and find events going on in the city.  TimeOut, City Search and Google can all help in these areas.

This morning was a nostalgic one for a few events that we have attended.

 

French Open

First, we started Sunday morning watching Nadal win the French Open in Paris.  The French open is held every year in early Summer in Paris.  Last year we saw Nadal play and it was outstanding.

Here is the thing about the French Open.  You buy your tickets in advance and you aren’t sure who you will be seeing play.  We lucked out that day Nadal was playing in the court where we had tickets.  The year before we went earlier in the season and there were matches by people we didn’t really know.  Still cool, but not as cool as watching someone you know/like.

Unlike many other sporting events, watching tennis in Roland Garros is definitely a great experience.  You can see the whole court and really watch the game and not the monitors.  It was crowded, not really organized, and was really really fun!

There are two main courts and then a ton of outdoor open courts.  Even if you aren’t into tennis or if you do not want to pay a ton of money, walking around and watching the up and comings on the open courts is a lot of fun.

This morning after watching Nadal win, we moved on to Formula One.

 

Formula One

I love racing.  Not a big fan of Nascar but Indy and F1 are awesome.  But here is the thing: unlike tennis where you can watch the match the entire time, if you are at a Formula One race you really still watch the monitors and then see the cars zoom by.  It is really cool to see, but watching them go around the track after awhile is kind of uneventful for the event itself.

We tagged our F1 trip a few years ago into a roadtrip across Europe.  It started in Barcelona, driving up through France and into Belgium, going out of the way to see Amsterdam.  We went to the F1 Spa in Belgium.

The day before the race we went to the track and got to see a lot of really cool things: drivers, cars, expos etc.  Then the day of, we took our seats.  Zoom!

I am really glad we went and to see that part of Belgium as I would have no other reason to drive to Spa. If you have never seen a race before, I highly recommend you go to one as the energy and thrill of how fast those cars are really running is unbelievable.   At one point I wanted to go to all the races, and maybe we will hit Monaco or some other place, but going to all of them is not on my list anymore.

So, there you have it.  Find an event, go to it and see how it is.  You may find a hidden gem in a city or town in a country you never thought you would.  It is much better than signing up for a tour and having them take you around like cattle to see the sights that everyone always sees.  These are experiences that give you a story to tell about life.

French Open Nadal
Nadal Playing in 2016
One of the courts at Roland Garros
One of the courts at Roland Garros

 

 

Formula One
This shows you general admission at Spa, Formula One
Formula One
The Track at Formula One Spa, Belgium
Formula One
Our seats overlooked the pit for entertainment
Formula One
The Track with FanFare
Formula One
The cars were amazing to watch run!

Filed Under: Adventures, NEW POST, Travel tips

Going to Copenhagen via a Train on a Boat

May 21, 2017 by Notourguideneeded 2 Comments

Canals in Copenhagen

A few years ago we went to Berlin and were looking for a second place to go on this leg of the vacation. My husband wanted to go to Copenhagen and I was rather indifferent.  Since that trip, Copenhagen has become one of my favorite cities and I cannot wait to return.  Getting there was worth the trip itself.  We took a train up to Hamburg.  Then the train to Copenhagen.  But wait – how did the train go over the water?  The train got on a boat.  

 

Logistics of the Train on the Boat

Well, it is actually a ferry.

Think about a ferry that one would take normally.  You park your car and get out and the ferry takes you across.  It is basically the same concept.

The cars and pedestrians are loaded first.  Then on the next level the train follows tracks and boards the ferry too.   Once the train comes to a stop, the passengers are asked to leave the train and go to the ferry.

A gentleman sitting next to us said that we need to remember which doors we go through because sometimes there is more than one train on the ferry and people get lost.  I’m glad he gave us this tip, because there was in fact another train and coming back down was a bit confusing.

 

The Ferry to Copenhagen

The ferry seemed to be like a very small cruise ship.  There were shops to buy clothes or random items. There was a duty free store with candy and liquors.  The cafe sold food cafeteria style and it was a good stop for a snack.

The time on the ferry is about an hour, so just enough time to stretch your legs from the train ride.

 

The Route

The route from Hamburg to Copenhagen is roughly five hours.  You will start in Hamburg and then take the ferry from  Puttgarden in Germany to Rødby in Denmark.   Once the train disembarks the ferry, you will then travel along to Copenhagen.   Check the route for which stops there are between.  This site here will give you some good information too.  Also review what Seat61 has to say about the route.

 

I highly recommend taking this option if you have the chance.  Anyone can ride a plane, but not many people can say they rode a train onto a boat!!

 

Canals in Copenhagen
Canals in Copenhagen

 

Filed Under: Adventures, amusing, Europe, NEW POST, Travel tips

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