Bratwurst, Bier Tents, and Candy Apples

As soon as we arrived to the fair, everyone wanted to find a bier tent to go into. First, let me explain what that is.  Basically, it is a huge tent (or building), that has rows and rows of tables.  We never got in because you either had to have a reservation or wait an hour... or more.  But, once you get into the tent you can eat tons of great food, drink yummy REAL beer, sing traditional German songs and dance on the tables.  It's German tradition. You have to experience it at least once.  Even though we never got in, just watching everyone singing all the traditional German songs and dance on the tables was so much fun! I really can't explain how fun it is, it's just something you have to experience yourself. Now, don't worry... not everyone is drunk.  We walked to about 3 different bier tents and all of them were packed. They all had tons of people crowding the doorways just to watch, and you could hear them all singing the songs from anywhere in the park!  Once we figured out we wouldn't be able to get into one, we decided we were hungry.  I saw a sign stating XXL Pommes for 3 euros and was hooked.  Not to mention, the bratwurst was really good looking.  The bratwurst they were selling were literally about 2 1/2 feet long.  Of course, Steven and I shared it because there was no way that I was going to be able to eat that whole thing! Here's a picture we got of the guy preparing some of the different types of bratwurst:

Here is a picture of one of the bier tents:

After getting some food, we walked around a little bit more with everyone. We ended walking into one of the bier tents and standing around for a couple of minutes while Enrique and Alex tried to find somewhere for all of us to sit at.  Too bad all the tables said "Reserved" on them.  Steven and I decided we were done with the fair and wanted to go explore Stuttgart some, so we said our goodbyes.  But, of course we didn't leave until we picked up some candy apples and got some chocolate covered pineapple.  Pure happiness.  I love chocolate and I love pineapple.  Once we got our suger crave, we decided to walk to the Mercedes Museum. It was definitely the coolest museum i've ever been to.  After that, we had to walk way too far back to the Bad Cannstatt train station.  Only this time, our bodies were killing us due to all the walking we had done. We didn't think the train back to Pforzheim would be packed... WRONG! When we finally got to the Stuttgart train station, my hopes of having a less crowded ride back home were dashed.  We boarded the train and ended up having no seats again.  However this time, the train was even more crowded than it was before.  Imagine standing in a room about 20 sq.feet with about 20 or so people standing in there. We both literally had people standing on our feet. I could have stuck my tongue out and hit someone... that's how crowded it was.  And to make matters worse, people kept boarding.  I guess they were seeing space available that wasn't there. I was not too happy.  We ended up riding all the way back talking to these 3 German guys who thought it was hilarious the way I said Arnold Schwarzenegger. They all were trying to get me to sing traditional German songs... which I know none.  It was pretty funny...

But, here's where the funniest moment of my week thus far begins. Right before our stop came, we stopped the Muhlacker train station.  Of course, a bazillion other people boarded.  By this point, I was literally pushed up against the German guy we had been talking to. Yet again, another awkward moment.  But nothing compares to the awkward moment that Steven was getting ready to experience!  All of the sudden, this weird, tall, obviously semi tipsy guy gets on.  Does he walk to the back of the train? No.  He decides to squeeze into the already too full section we were standing in. Steven is standing to my right and the guy literally stands right in front of him. Well, the doors close and this is where it get's funny/awkward.  Steven starts trying to push himself even more into the corner because the guy wasn't moving.  The guy starts LEANING against Steven.  I mean, literally laying on him.  I look over and Steven has his arms flat against his side with his face turned towards me. He couldn't even turn his face because the guy was leaning so close to him. Their bodies were flat against each other.  I mean, flat. There was NO space between them, not even an inch.  Steven is looking at me like he's going to kill somebody. I'm covering my face because I'm laughing so hard. The guy to Steven's right is laughing... heck, we were all laughing. I mean, I was close to some stranger, but the stranger wasn't laying on top of me!  It was so awkward... yet, so funny!  Steven looks at me and mouths, "I think he just farted on me" and I lost it. I couldn't stop laughing while Steven was mouthing, "I'm going to kill him."  Hilarious. As soon as we got to Pforzheim's train station, Steven ran off the train yelling, "His butt was on me!"  I hung back listening to the guys sing some song to us basically telling us farewell. And yes, we did take showers as soon as we got home and each washed our bodies about 5 times. It's pretty bad when something makes you want to wash your body in bleach, haha.

So, what did we learn today? We learned to never, ever, under any circumstance, go to the fair on a national holiday.