Happy Birthday to me!

I turned 65 yesterday! Yeah, Yeah!

Book Giveaway and Review

Cami from the blog Love, Pray, Read, conducted a book giveaway for Carnival Girl. The giveaway is over now, but you can read the blog post and a short interview here: Love, Pray, Read.

Oktoberfest, Part 7

A few minutes after we left, Liesel pointed to a lovely sight; a dark skinned and dark haired girl in the most lovely lavender dirndl, accompanied by the most handsome young blond and blue-eyed man in Lederhosen. 

This was the couple we met at the Oktoberfest

I approached them and said, “Excuse me, do you mind posing for a picture for my daughter who is visiting from America?”

They didn’t mind at all, and after the pictures were taken, we found out that the young woman came from Brazil, where she had met the German fellow, and then had followed him to Munich. They took a few pictures of us, too, and we said good-bye and left.

The beer stands were so crowded with half drunk youth standing around them, buying and drinking beer, that we passed them by and went on for our obligatory Ferris wheel ride, Ken and I always take when we are at a carnival.

A Blog Tour Review You Should not Miss!

My Devotional Thoughts, a Christian blog, reviewed Carnival Girl in a very positive light. They devoted a whole page to the review and you might be very interested in reading it.

My Devotional Thoughts

Oktoberfest Part 6 - The Bathroom!

On our way back to the rides, we wove around a group of laughing young men, waving empty and half-full beer glasses. We were close to the fence that separated the fairgrounds from Munich proper.

Liesel slowed and grabbed my hand. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Me too. Let’s find a toilet.”

Ken stopped and looked around. “There are bound to be toilets around here somewhere.”

I also searched the outside perimeter of the Wies’n.

Suddenly, Liesel’s broke into an outburst of giggles. “I found the toilets,” she said between laughter and pointed to the right. “ It’s called a pisser!” Her giggle turned to gales of laughter. 

 

 Here's a picture of Liesel's Pissoir

I smiled, since I knew the American connotation of the work. In Germany, however, as in France, a section of the toilets for men is labeled ‘Pissoir,’ which is a French word.

But for my American Liesel, this was a brand-new experience. “Come on, Mom. I need to take a picture of that.” Her need to go bathroom was forgotten by the new experience.

She made me stand in front of the building, and I had to point to the sign. I too had to laugh, more at Liesel’s delight than at the sign. She took several pictures, and then I had to take some pictures of her, too, before we finally could use the bathroom.

Like most German bathrooms, you pay for using the public toilets, but you are also presented with a very clean and pleasant place to do your business, even in the overcrowded Oktoberfest!

New Article in Mormon Letters

On September 8, Karen Hamilton, wrote an interesting article on the Association for Mormon Letters Discussion Board. Enjoy the smart and heartfelt review!

Association for Mormon Letters Discussion Board

Oktoberfest 5

 We joined the crowd that was walking away from the Twist and Twirl and the other rides and their blaring music. A bit later we arrived at an intersection that pointed to the different beer tents. At the other end of the Wies’n, we came across beer tent number one, and saw that it was a long, low, wooden building. The front doors, large wooden gates, were closed. A line of people were queued up in front of them, drinking beer, talking, singing and laughing in the drizzle that had started again. It was obvious that the beer drinking had gone on for a while already.

  Outside of one of the Oktoberfest Beer tents 

We waited with the crowds for about a half hour. Suddenly, Keith Pointed into the crowd that was moving past the people who waited in front of the tent. “There she is. I told her to meet us in front of beer tent one.”

A young girl, dressed in a warm jacket with a shawl and a knitted cap ran toward us and hugged Keith. After we got introduced and talked about Italy, where Keith’s sister lived, the kids wanted to get into the tent, but the gates wouldn’t open, and we couldn’t find anyone in charge to ask what was going on.

A young man, who was waiting next to us with his girl, smiled at us. “Don’t worry,” he said in German accented English. “The doors will be open shortly.” His girl nodded and added, “Yes, I’m sure.”

One of a group of older men shook his head. “You need to go around the backside of the tent.”

Another old man with a while goatee, holding a bottle of beer, nodded. “That’s right. They only let you in on that side.”

From the other side, a young woman spoke up, obviously happy to practice her English. “You can’t get in now,” she said. “There’s a sign on the other side that says the tent is full. You can’t get in until the evening for sure.”

We listened, wondered what was going on, and shivered in the rain. By this time, my stomach was growling. Liesel heard it and said she was hungry too. Keith and his sister nodded, but Marit said, “If we leave here, we won’t have our place in line anymore. If someone opens the doors, we again won’t be able to get in.”

Ken smiled his fatherly smile at her. “How about I go and get us all some bratwurst? They’re sure to taste wonderful here at the Oktoberfest. That way, you’ll keep the line and we get some food.”

Liesel hugged him. “Thank you so much Pappa. You’re the best.”

So Ken went and brought us back a bunch of bratwursts with plenty of buns and mustard.

We ate and waited some more. Finally Liesel said, “This is a waste of time. I’m done waiting.”

I agreed with Liesel.

Marit shook her head. “I want to get into the beer tent. You guys can go if you want, but I’ll stay here.”

Keith, like a good boyfriend should, agreed with her and his sister wanted to stay too.  

Ken, I and Liesel were going to leave.

“How about we’ll meet you in two hours?” Ken said.

Marit smiled at him. “Okay. If we’re not in by then it will be hopeless.”

I thought of an easy place where we could meet. “How about we meet again in front of the Shocker, the scary ride? That one will be easy to find for all of us.”

Everyone agreed, and Liesel, Ken and I took off to ride a few rides.

More about the Oktoberfest soon! 

Two New Reviews for Carnival Girl!

The blog, Uniquely Moi Books, gave another glowing and heartfelt review of Carnival Girl. Please got to this site to read more about Carnival Girl and how the book is making a splash on the Net!

Uniquely Moi Books
 
Debra, at Debra's Book Cafe, also reviewed CArnival Girl, and gave it ten stars out of ten! She said even though she's not a religious person, she not only enjoyed the book, but it also made her think. To read her touching review, click here:

Debra's Book Cafe
 
More about the Oktoberfest tomorrow!

 
 

Oktoberfest Part 4

 

 Welcome to the Wies'n!

I followed the children onto the Wies’n. Something red to my side caught my attention. A red-eyed monster with large teeth hovered at the top of a scary ride, inviting us to enter if we dared. Its eyes blinked red on and off.

 

That was the scary ride on the Wies'n

 

Liesel squealed. “Let’s see if this ride is scarier here than at home,” she suggested, and we agreed. We wanted to see too.

Ken paid 2 Euros each. The girls and Keith sat in one of the little carts, and Ken and I in another. We passed ghosts on strings and an insane asylum where the doctor and the nurses where chopping off the heads of insane wax people. A green monster with red eyes dropped down on us within inches, screeching and exposing wicked long teeth, and an ugly witch beckoned, the warts on her nose twitching. We screamed for fun and giggled the rest of the time, until we arrived at the other end.

By the time we came out again, the rain had pretty much stopped. I looked around. Not far, I saw the Ferris wheel and another merry-go-round. Interspersed with these attractions were small stands where the passers-by could obtain sausage with kraut and mustard, sweets from chocolate to sweet almonds, and more. Every second stand seemed to be a stand where one could buy beer in a large glass which had to be returned.

Marit stretched. “I want to go to the beer tents,” she said.

 Since the purpose of Oktoberfest is the beer, the rest of us agreed, and we went on our search for the tents. 

Octoberfest, Part 3

Finally we arrived at the Munich station, where we left the crowded train. Signs that directed us to the Wiesn, the place where the Oktoberfest was held, were mounted in eye height on the walls of the station. They guided us to the U-bahn, the underground tram, where a train to the Wiesn arrived every two minutes. 

 The Munich Train Station During Oktoberfest

We squeezed in among the other merry-makers on their way to the fest. After two stops, the mechanical voice on the loudspeaker announced that we had arrived. We left the U-bahn and followed the crowds out onto the street.  It was raining. We huddled closer together, since none of us had brought an umbrella.

Young men and women, already laughing and singing, arm in arm, accompanied us on all sides. A blonde girl, hair braided and protected under her umbrella, wore a pink checkered dirndl with a peasant blouse and matching pink pumps.

 They looked a lot like these!

The young man at her side looked manly in three-quarter length Bavarian style lederhos'n topped with a grey jacket piped with green and a perky Bavarian hat. Everywhere I looked, women wearing dirndls mingled with other, more plainly dressed people.

We crossed a large intersection, and the fest lay before us. 

 Muenchen Oktoberfest Attractions

The tops of merry-go-rounds, surrounded by shorter booths decorated in green, blue and red, invited the newcomers to join in the excitement. Canned music competed with the sound of laughter and brought back memories of my childhood where these sounds accompanied my daily life. But this was a very large carnival compared to the tiny one I grew up in.

More tomorrow!

Don't Go to Costco's for Carnival Girl!

Costco's has quit carrying copies of Carnival Girl, so you can't buy it there anymore. Get you copy at Amazon.com, or order it from any bookstore. I'm looking forward to hearing from you about this.

And if you're looking forward to more about our amazing experience at the Oktoberfest in Munich, tune in again tomorrow!

The Ongoing Saga of Our Trip to Octoberfest, Part 2

At the Nuremberg train station, we found the train that would take us to Munich.  People crowded around it, and we had a hard time squeezing through the throngs to get on. Ken and I entered at one side of a compartment, and the girls and Keith at another. Ken and I stood in the aisle, wedged in by many other people, wondering how we would find our children. The smell of beer was even stronger.

Eventually I saw the kids through the window, running along the train, looking for us. They squeezed into our compartment. Departure time came but the train did not move. Instead, two train officials opened the doors and called, “This train has exceeded the limit of people it can transport. We will not leave until everybody standing in the aisles has left.”

Someone called, “But we want to get to Munich.” Other voices agreed and someone clapped.

“There is another train on track five that will leave a few minutes after this one does. Please. Everybody in the aisles leave the train through the doors ahead of you and get into the one on track five.”

Since we stood close to the door where the officials were, we turned and tried to get out that way.

The train official stopped us. “You can’t leave from this door. You need to get out the other way.”

I looked back. Nothing moved. “Please, let us get out,” I said in my best American accented German. “The line isn’t moving and it will take forever to get out the other side.”

“This is a security door, but, well, go ahead,” she said and stepped aside so we could leave.

We left, grateful for the fresh air, and along with a large group of other travelers, hurried to track five, where we found another train, maybe half full, waiting for us. The announcement board above the track didn’t say this train would go to Munich, but the people inside assured us that it would stop there.

We found a set of free seats and settled down for the second leg of our trip to the Oktoberfest.