London Losers

HELLO!!!!!

I know this post is about two weeks late, but it's been such a crazy two weeks. I've never been so sick in my life- I was in bed for a solid week straight and it was a struggle to even make it to the bathroom. I honestly thought I was going to have to go to the hospital but I managed to get through the week-- with that being said I wouldn't doubt having E. coli (yes, unfortunately I had all of the symptoms). BUT I AM HEALTHY NOW (after a full week of straight school work-- I don't know how that's even possible either). It was an absolutely horrible loss, but we had such an amazing time I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We left Dublin on Friday night and didn't get to London until after midnight; at that point we just went right to our hostel and off to sleep in prep for a full two days of tailgating. Saturday morning we were up and ready to rock on down to Regent Street, which was closed off strictly for the NFL games. The people there were just amazing-- absolutely every NFL team's jersey was present on someone and you could easily spot an American fan vs. the European fans. The Americans were either wearing Steelers or Vikings stuff (and just all around crazy) compared to just people in football gear. Oh! And my favorite: since there are no open container laws, we could spot a Pittsburgher a mile away carrying a beer starting in the early afternoon. It was seriously just a huge gathering of football fans and everyone was happy. Around 1pm Coach Tomlin and some of the Steelers made an appearance on Regent Street-- it was more of a thank you for coming, enjoy your time here, and lets go Steelers! Even the Rooneys were there!!! Everyone spoke except for Troy, it seemed as though he was incredibly stage fright (he just waved and went to the back of the stage). It was also so incredible to watch the players film the crowd and crowd reaction to them. Check out some pics:

WHADDDUP MEAN JOE GREENE

A really cool display showing the Steelers greatest moments

 So we met so many people on Saturday. My favorites were the Duquesne Alumni (they bought us plenty of drinks and were just great company). But we also met people from Copenhagen with Steeler tattoos and just everything else you could imagine. It was time to head back and get ready to go for GAME DAY!

Sunday morning we woke up and heard that people and Wembley Stadium don't tailgate like at home, so we figured we would go sight seeing some more. After doing the river walk past London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, we grabbed some fish n chips then it was off to Wembley. I felt like we saw so many more Pittsburgh fans, but I know it's because we travel well. Just throughout the day I met a Brentwood graduate, a girl who lives in TJ, another couple from Homestead, a family from Murrysville (who knows my roommate!), and lots of Duquesne alumni-- it was truly amazing. Anyways walking up to Wembley was just awesome and we were so ready for the game.


Now to get in the stadium is nothing like at home- you have to be at the correct gate to get in or else your ticket doesn't work. Also there were bars you had to walk through (not turnstiles) after you scanned your own ticket-- nobody was there to check your ticket. But of course then there was security but not nearly as intense as the States (which was surprising considering it's Wembley). We made it to our seats just in time for the pre game show. It was mainly the Viking Cheerleaders and Drumline (which was major KILLIN' IT!!) It is crazy to know that since the Vikings had home team advantage, they were treated like gold (or just the Steelers were treated like dirt). Under every single seat there was a Vikings flag- which is probs why it looked like so many Viking fans were there. And when the teams came out of the tunnel, if you weren't paying attention you would've had no idea the Steelers came out (UGH!).

Roman Steeler fan!

Everyone is fresh from da BURGH!

Just having a good ole time

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER GAY JERSEY EVER & I WAS SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED- obviously she was a native, too (for those of you who don't know, I am a proud owner of a William Gay jersey #22!)

 

It was a rough loss, but atleast lots of points were scored and it was exciting until the last seconds (literally). So we lost but who cares we still had a great time-- and the best part was that both teams were 0-3 going into the game so it was the battle of the London Losers.

Leaving the game was just a crazy mad house and the Vikings fans weren't even happy the won-- WHAT!!!!! Hey, atleast Buffalo beat the Ravens, right?!

We just had such an amazing time, even with the loss, that it didn't matter. My only hope is that now that the AMAZING BUCCO POST SEASON is now over, the Steelers can rake in some wins.

I went to mass already, had brunch, did some work and shortly we will be leaving for the pub to watch the Steeler game-- LET'S GO BOYS!

Happy Steeler Sunday!!!!

Ky xx

Ein Prosit!!!!!!

Happy Day!

The good news is that I am sitting here typing this from Dublin- so I made it home! The other phenomenal news is that Oktoberfest was by far the best weekend of my entire life. There are so many great stories I have- some appropriate and some not- but I guess we shall start at the very beginning... Friday Morning.

Friday Morning: Going off of 3 hours of sleep, thank goodness we were packed before going out, we woke up at 5:30 and got in the cab around 6 AM. We arrived at the airport no problem, got through security and had plenty of time to grab breakfast before our gate was posted. Since Ryan Air doesn't have assigned seats, when our gate was posted we booked it to get the front of the line in order to get those emergency exit seats. Well here it goes: the guy at the gate looks at our boarding pass, then looks at our passport, and without hesitation denies access because our boarding pass wasn't stamped (WHAT-- of all my travels I've never heard of this). He told us to run back to the check in gate to get a stamp and hurry back. With major panic we immediately bolted the whole way down the airport, back through security to the check in counter. Completely out of breath, all four of us completely oblivious student travelers threw our passports and tickets to the lady working the desk and thankfully she just stamped them with no questions. Our five seconds of breathing time was over and we sprinted to the security line. The guys were nice enough to put us in a speedy line but we still had to get searched-- it felt like we were waiting for years. I was the first to get through-- I just remember yelling "I'll see you all at the gate" and ran. I wasn't the first to get there, but we all made it literally by 2 minutes. WHEW! We walked on the plane all dripping with sweat and faces beat red, but an older couple from the Netherlands welcomed me to sit with them. What a relief.

Ok so now we can fast forward a little to our arrival in Munich.

We had an easy hour ride into center city, which I occupied my time with the infamous Candy Crush game. They even gave us a free Oktoberfest hat- Woo!

Finally we could breathe on an easy 10 minute walk to our hostel, had a nice check in, followed by a much needed nap. Dinner was in center city at a traditional German restaurant. My Oktoberfest Eve dinner was a sausage plate with sauerkraut and potatoes followed by the house beer- YUM!

I'm just so happy we made it!!!!

Oktoberfest Eve Dinner!

 After a good night's sleep, we were up and ready for breakfast at 6:30; we ate and then headed straight for the tents. Thankfully it was only a 5 minute walk.
 7 AM: We spotted the well known  Hofbräuhaus and decided to stand in line.
7:15 AM: Met a grand guy from the Netherlands who has been coming to Oktoberfest for the past 8 years. He took us under his wing for the whole day
9 AM: Doors opened-- madness began but we got an awesome table
11 AM: Parade started
12 PM: FIRST KEG WAS TAPPED!
12:01 PM: We were the first table in the entire tent to have a beer (and yes our beer maid was seeing the money)
12:05 PM: Yours truly was standing on the table chugging her beer while the entire tent was cheering (no worries I did it and people congratulated me the entire day)

The rest of the day was just so incredibly fun. It was a huge party and everyone was just so happy to be alive. Just talking about the festival doesn't do justice until you are there.
Day 1:

FIRST BEER!

Day 2 we enjoyed at the Armbrustschutzenzelt tent-- first beer 9 AM. Hours of sleep the night before-- 1.

PROST!

I'm sure you could tell we had an absolutely amazing time and I can't wait to go back! Our flight home was definitely a struggle but being home in my own bed was the best feeling ever.

PROST!

Ky xx