October 6, 2018: OKTOBERFEST

It wasn't quite Munich, but it sure did the job.

Today did not at all go how I expected, but for very good reasons! Kat and I met a ton of new people, did things we were not expecting to, AND never got lost!

Alarm went off at 6am and that was highly unpleasant but we survived, made it to the bus station easily, and hopped on our bus. Kat bought me 2 croissant-like things and that was kind and I devoured them. The last 45 minutes of the bus ride were incredibly scenic and I had no idea that Villa General Belgrano was in such a beautiful place.

The town itself was adorable. Very decked out in German things and Oktoberfest-related decorations, but it wasn't gimmicky or very touristy. It was perfect! I'm curious to know why they have an Oktoberfest there... was there a big German population and they decided to have it? Or did they originally design the whole town around Oktoberfest? Who knows. Probably Google honestly.

We asked the tourist information place for some advice on what to do (we had 3 hours to kill) and they recommended a hike so we did it! The entire hike was incredibly scenic, with many points to stop and view the city. It was 1,330 meters to the top and we made it in about 30 minutes! My family knows I hate hiking so I hope you guys are proud of me.

At the top, we met a group of men in their 30s and when they saw us they asked where we are from and then we ended up talking to them for a really long time and we discovered we live relatively close to each other within Buenos Aires. They said they would invite us to a fútbol game!!

We actually ended up hiking back down the mountain with them and they invited us to the cabin they were staying at (like 50 feet away from the hike we did) and to their parrilla, which is where you grill a bunch of meat and then... eat it. No WAY I was gonna turn down free food, especially being in this festival town where they raise the prices a bit for all the people who come.

I absolutely love this about the culture here. It's not weird to meet someone and then hang out with them that day. Turns out it was a group of 11 men total, 4 brothers among them, who have all been friends since they were children. Kat and I insisted that we give them at least a few pesos for all that they gave us and they refused. They were truly so kind and I am going to miss this style of interactions when I go back to the US.

They all left to go hang out at a lake and Kat and I headed to Oktoberfest! I wasn't really sure what to expect but it was basically like a mini German town that sold beer, food that goes with beer, and cups to pour the beer in. There was a main stage with some old man saying some unintelligible things and some lady dressed like a witch tossing out parts of a massive pretzels to her starving fans (us). Don't you doubt that I caught 3 big pieces.

We had the great fortune of meeting three cool guys - Franco, Agustin, and Lucas - right at the beginning and we ended up spending the entire day with them. We passed the day together watching the festivities, walking around a bit, and just getting to know one another. Another great example of the friendly culture here. Just like the group of guys earlier, these boys also invited us to an asado tomorrow so count that as my second free lunch.

This Superman guy pictured above was pretty friendly and also pretty dang weird. Wasn't not gonna take a photo with him though. So we stayed at Oktoberfest from about 2:00pm to 6:30pm and then left with the boyz and walked around the town a little bit. It was so beautiful outside the entire day. Sunny, warm, and good vibes in the air. We stopped at a panadería and bought literally the worst pastries we've ever tried. Everyone who got something was shocked at how bad it was. Lol.

The 3 guys live in Córdoba fairly close to our Airbnb and they invited us over to just keep chilling so we all took the same bus home together and then went to their place. Kat and I were already so tired from having woken up so early so we didn't stay super long but it was fun! Oh, and we stopped to get empanadas on the way over and the 2 that I got were bomb.

We said goodbye to our new friends (but will hopefully eat for free with them tomorrow) and walked home. One mile feels pretty goddang long at 1am, I'll tell ya that much. But I'm very satisfied with the day overall and I definitely feel that going on this trip to Córdoba in general was so worth it.

One last thing I would like to clarify / brag about: I did not spend a single penny on beer today. I did not not drink beer, but I did not ever pay for it. Already a young financial prodigy in the making.

Gute nacht.

Song Recommendation of the Day: "Temptation" by Joey Bada$$