The Erlangen Bergkirchweih - Day 2 - Laderhosen, dirndl, cow balloon, busted lip, and an ambulance ride...

Saturday after some much needed sleep, Steve and I met up with the group for lunch. Steve dressed in his laderhosen. I didn't wear my dirndl  (traditional German dress) because I was afraid I would get cold. However, after lunch I needed to go back to the room to take out my contacts (something had gotten in them and was irritating my eye...very painful), so I decided to dress up then.

Oh right, I guess you may be interested to know how Pickle got in his room. At this point, nobody knew. Anyway, after changing and removing my contacts, we went to the Kitzmann Keller where they had a live band. People were standing on the benches dancing and singing along.

They were selling all kinds of stuff, and that's when I decided that I needed a balloon. Everybody needs a balloon sometimes! I chose the dairy cow because one of our members was dressed like this. He found the balloon quite amusing. I left it in his hands as I left to go to the bathroom. When I came back, my balloon was gone... from both his hands and his mind.

"Where is my balloon?"

"What balloon?"

"The one that looks like a dairy cow just like you. You had it tied to yourself."

"I did?"

"You just lost my cow. I expect another one."

Of course, I never got one. My mom says that's what I get for leaving my balloon with a drunk person. Touché. At least it made for some great pictures while it lasted.

"Look! I have a cow!"

Got milk?

They were selling these great hats too! haha

Other than my balloon disappearing, we encountered another issue. When I left, a group of people took mine and Steve's spots and the rest were standing waiting for another group member to leave, regardless of our "Reserved" sign on the table. Also, 3 drunk, young, German girls had moved onto the bench we had previously been standing on. I climbed up, pushing them forward a bit so that I would fit. We had one foot on each of two benches that were side by side. The left bench broke as the intruders, who were rather large, tried to stand up and dance on it. Luckily, Steve and I have decent balance and just had to lift that leg up to avoid falling with them. The German girl in front of me kept turning around to try to talk to me. I know she was trying to be nice, but I just wanted to listen to the music, not her drunk babbling as she swayed toward and away from my face. I eventually had enough and asked Steve if he was ready to go. I got a bad feeling about those girls and told Steve I didn't want to be around them anymore. He agreed and as we climbed over the next table, the lost luggage couple decided they would go too. We were all hungry and tired of working so hard to keep our seats.

As it turns out, my intuition was correct. We found out later that Pickle stumbled into the girls, which pushed them off the bench. They landed on the table next to them (the people who stole our seats... oh Karma you work fast sometimes) and knocked over all of their freshly poured steins of beer. This of course started a standoff between Pickle and the men. One of Steve's friends stepped in offering €50 to pay for all of the beer and to take care of Pickle. The man stared at him after the offer and instead chose to headbutt him which split his lip. I know what you are thinking. 'Did they still take the money?' I don't know. I forgot to ask. It seemed unimportant at the time.

Anyway, Steve and I and the lost luggage couple decided to find food. On the way, some drunk girl grabbed Steve and tried to kiss him. Great (insert sarcasm). Steve's response to her was to yell and push her away. Steve's response to me about the incident, "I've stiiiiiilllll got it." Oh boy...haha.

Anyway, we all decided to get "pizza" which was actually a piece of fried dough that was smothered in garlic oil, melted cheese, ham bits, and sour cream. It was fantastic! I was really enjoying myself until the girl on the steps next to us started puking.

"I think it's time to move."

"Yep" (in unison)

After eating we holed up in a small keller that had a one-man-band playing. He had a guitar and a sound track. He played 80's music and was really good!

Back at the hotel, we shared stories with the group over a few more beers. Along came Pickle. He stumbled into the bar saying he was hungry. We told him that we were too and thus, he should go get us pizza. He turned and walked away despite our shouts to "Stop" and that "We were kidding! Nothing is open!" An hour and a half later, Pickle stumbled back to the bar. He leaned toward us, swaying, and said, "Hey! I just got a ride in an ambulance!"

"Oh my gosh! Why? Are you okay?"

"I don't knoooooww!" Pickle replied, "But they brought me to the hotel."

We still have no idea why he was in an ambulance or if maybe it was actually a police car instead of an ambulance. At least he made it back. That was about 3 AM.