Oktoberfest Hangover, Stopover in Stuttgart

I spent a couple more days in Munich because I was not quite done with Oktoberfest just yet... besides, with three (or more???) wives, err...ex-wives to deal with, I had to make sure we annulled anything that might come up during my Daniel Lew for President campaign in 2012. One evening, I found myself wandering upstairs in one of the tents and found a rare half-empty table. Turns out the table was reserved for the owner of the tent so I decided to sit down and maybe get an opportunity to drink with the guy. Given how busy it was, he never showed up, but I did get a chance to meet a German couple from Munich and two guys from Israel. They knew each other through an exchange program set up between the governments of Israel and Germany after the war. I bet Hitler never thought the day would come when two guys from Israel would ever have a beer in Munich during Oktoberfest, singing along German folk songs along with two fellow Germans, much less an American-born Chinese!

As a car enthusiast, I decided to check out the BMW Museum the next day. The BMW Museum was pretty cool-- recently built and definitely worth a visit. There is a free part, which I spent a good couple of hours in, and a paid admission, which I didn't do. I wanted to take the plant tour, but because of Oktoberfest, they were fully booked that day and the next, so I will have to learn how to build an M3 another day!

I decided to go and visit my hilarious German-born Serbian friend Dragan, whom I met in Oslo, and currently lives in Stuttgart, for a quick weekend trip. To my total surprise, Stuttgart also a huge outdoor festival similar to Oktoberfest except nobody dresses up in dirndles or liederhosen. Those who do are obviously the tourists because any local would know that Stuttgart is not in Bavaria! There are other differences between the two towns, according to Dragan. When I asked what the prevailing stereotypes are about each respective city, he said that Munich is traditionally a very conservative city (except during Oktoberfest) and the people of Stuttgart are a frugal lot. Munich is relatively flat, and Stuttgart is in a hilly valley. Munich, of course, is home to BMW and Stuttgart, Mercedes-Benz. I went to the Mercedes Museum and hands down is the most interesting and fascinating museum I have been to so far. Obviously I have a bias towards all things automotive, but the architecture alone was pretty awesome. The walls of the entire building are swathed in the same leather they use in their cars.

We headed out one night to explore the local area and somehow we got separated later in the night. I decided to head back to his apartment but stopped along the way to pick up a pizza pie. I was surprised to see they had a pepperoni pizza on the menu and ordered that right away. Sadly, pepperonis are not the same as in the US, as they are actually peppercinis! On my way back to the apartment, I was stopped by a couple of dudes who were willing to pay me 2 euros for a lighter-- desparate guys, I assumed who really wanted to smoke. During this transaction, a group of about 6 idiots tried to pick a fight with us, for no other reason except that they were drunk. I was in no mood (or condition, for that matter) to fight, and so I offered one of the guys a slice of my "pepperoni" pizza. He didn't take it, but left us alone shortly afterwards. Lesson learned, and to paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt's famous quote, "Speak softly and carry a big stick," I would argue that it is more effective to "Speak however you want, so long as you carry a pizza!"