My Pot of Gold in Ireland

Who can say they committed to traveling a foreign country 3 hours after meeting a German boy at Oktoberfest?  I can.  Here’s my story of Florian Sobek.


2.5 months ago in a tent at Oktoberfest, I turned to a group of Germans and asked if anyone speaks English.  Luckily, Florian had studied in Tampa and Colorado meaning his English is better than some of my less educated acquaintances.  We immediately clicked and chatted the whole night before my flight out around 8am.  Upon my returned to Toledo, I saw a friend request and a message from him so for the next two months we gradually finalized Dublin plans.  He told me he has relatives we could stay with that also have a housekeeper who would do all the cooking (sign me up).  The day before my flight he said there’d be a driver holding my name in the airport who would take me to his house.   When I landed, I followed a friendly dubliner to his BLACK BMW.  The driver made casual small talk by telling me he just drove a famous rugby player to the Stadium.  Are.  You.  Serious.  Here’s the house.

On top of this incredible welcome, he also brought me a coffee mug from Munich and some christmasy chocolate.   Starting our Irish adventures, we watched the Rugby match at a bar and explored the city at night.  Catching up a bit, it’s crazy how comfortable we became with each other after 4 consecutive days together.  I’ve only ever spent that much time with my family.  Plus, I’d just finished finals so the only thing I had on my plate was exploring Dublin and getting to know him.   Seeing as the whole situation could have gone terribly wrong, it turned out pretty great and was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.  The Mumford concert and Guinness factory were both great sights to behold but I was more happy with my company than the things I was seeing.  In fact, we ended up spending an entire evening watching Family Guy and It’s Always Sunny.  Long chats over Irish coffee turned into singing songs together at the pub and he taught me a lot about Germany.  I’ve never been taken such good care of, he navigated everything and always asked what I wanted to do first, even checking if my feet hurt.  The sad goodbye was a given as I’m not sure when/if I’ll ever see him again.  Although, I can’t help but be happy for overcoming all odds and actually making a connection like this.  After all, I was only in Germany for one night and in Spain close to the rest of the semester.  With the right attitude, life is beautiful.

Shout out to my parents for supporting me financially and literally giving me the world.  I’m so blessed to have such amazing people in my life.  Thankful doesn’t even begin to cover it.  Two days from now I’ll be home, just in time for Christmas 🙂

No hostel? No problem.

Well, I survived my backpacking adventure through Munich and didn’t sleep on anything resembling a mattress for 3 days.  Let’s start from the beginning:
Thursday we hopped on the 9pm bus to Madrid although our flight was at 7:40 am Friday.  Having broke college student mindsets, we thought, “we can sleep in the airport!”  False. We did no such thing, we tossed and turned while the cold, hard floor dug into our hip bones and lower backs.

Friday began with a 2 hour nap on the plane but once we landed, exhaustion was overcome by pure amazement.  I loved the city, the sound of German and wanted to see as much as possible of Munich.  Separating from the group of mostly Notre Dame students, I put on my ebay purchased Durndl and got in touch with my German roots.  In doing so, I had to pay a half euro to even enter a bathroom stall.  Cultural experience #1.  I then found the tourist center, grabbed a map and asked a local to tell me his favorite building.  After receiving directions, we were off to the Munich Residenz. Getting lost, we stumbled into a church, then the Town Hall building which had a great lookout of the city.  Finally at the former royal palace of the Bavarian Monarchs, we even purchased informational headsets for the tour.   After a sufficient feel for Munich came

Oktoberfest, which was surprisingly organized –  I expected everyone to be wasted but it was mostly classy and clean.  The 14 beer tents fill up quickly and to guarantee a spot you either reserve a table or arrive in the AM.  Without entrance to a tent, you don’t get beer.  Did we do our research?  No.  So we show up at 6pm only to find that admission closed hours ago.  After waiting 30 mins, we found a young German crew who snuck us in.  Astonishingly lucky, even though they ditched us shortly after.  Looking for someone to take us under their wing, we were in need of hardcore cultural lessons.  I didn’t even know how to say hello in German.  We decided to approach a group of 3 boys in lederhosens and not only did they speak fluent English, they were funny and helpful.  We chatted for hours, rounds of beer, and sang German songs.  They bought us a giant pretzel and when the tent closed we rode the swings pictured above.  Florian even taught me a bit of German!  They honestly saved our lives and gave us a great experience.  For that, I am incredibly grateful.   Some time during these festivities, it became

Saturday.  Eventually we left the grounds and went to a local bar in Munich for more drinks.  After, we wandered the park and decided to nap around 3 am in the grass.  It was either 50 euro ($65) for a tent at a campground 45 mins from the city, or a free nap right here, right now, in the heart of Munich.  Carpe Diem.  Since it was cold, we sardine styled it.  At this point, I’m still carrying my backpack, I have beer in my hair and a giant rip down the side of my dress.  Ah, the life of a hobo.  Waking up at 5am lead to a sad goodbye and a metro to the airport.  Maggie and I started questioning our consciousness.  Had we actually just gone to THE Oktoberfest?  With Germans?  Did I just meet a great guy who speaks 5 languages and plans to meet me in Dublin in December?  Pinch me.  In the words of my host dad “Lo más que duerme, lo menos que vive.”

Next weekend: Switzerland.