CONCERT
We had dinner at Imperial in Ferndale. Let me try and describe the restaurant and bar...all of the tables and benches/chairs are beautiful wood, it's community seating so you seat near strangers, they have fantastic tequila drinks on the menu, the employees do not have uniforms and many of them have fun crazy colored hair, they serve gourmet tacos, hotdogs, and sides served individually. We ordered chips with guacamole and salsas for the table. I was definitely not able to eat two of the salsas without choking and sweating, but I am a wimp and really enjoyed the roasted red pepper salsa. I also ordered their taco of the week for $2.50 which had grilled zucchini, goat cheese, and an assortment of other complimentary ingredients. I paired my taco with a bacon wrapped hot dog in a bun with chorizo chili, cheese, and other things delicious for $4. I definitely recommend the restaurant! And if you go, you have to try an Uno Mas tequila drink with cucumber and a little bit of spice.
BEER
After the concert, we went for drinks and I ordered a Short's Autumn Ale that was on tap. It's a little different than other fall beers because it wasn't as spicey, definitely more malty and bitter. I was happily drinking it until someone at the bar ran into me and dumped it all over me. It was not as delicious on my jacket and dress as it was in my cup. Luckily the bar was not well lit because the dark beer left an awesome strain running down the front of my body.
OKTOBERFEST
Saturday afternoon, we drove the quick hour and a half to Frankenmuth, MI for Oktoberfest. We were dressed in our lederhosen and dirndl, ready to pretend like we were back in Germany. Now don't get me wrong, Frankenmuth is a great little town with family oriented activities, cute houses and shops, and great restaurants, but it is no Germany. It is "Michigan's little Bavaria", just check out the commercial.
*Now the Pure Michigan Commercials on the radio do get sometimes annoying when you hear them repeatedly, but I do enjoy the message they are sending. And then someones makes a depressing parody of the video that sends a very different but real message. Sadly, this is reality. Check it out here.
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So back to Oktoberfest, Ryan and I get out of the car and we immediately draw attention to ourselves because of our outfits. Everyone stares and we were 2 of maybe 25 people in a crowd of 400 plus that were dressed appropriately. One woman looked at us and then said to her husband "Yeah I did see some people in costumes." A man took pictures of us. We met a couple who came to their first Oktoberfest and made dirndl and lederhosen. They also asked to take pictures of us.
FRUHLINGSFEST in GERMANY versus OKTOBERFEST in FRANKENMUTH
-Dinner includes a roasted chicken -Dinner is a buffet of German-American food
-Beer from 1 Liter mugs -Beer from disposable cups
-Real plates and silverware -Disposable everything
-Delicious giant pretzels -American style doughy pretzels (not as good)
-Stage with live music -Stage with live music
-Nearly everyone in lederhosen and dirndl -Barely anyone in lederhosen and dirndl
-Carnival rides and games -A few inflatable bounce houses
-No children in the Beer Tent -Children everywher
-Median age in the Beer Tent - 30 -Median age in the Beer Tent - 55
-Everyone dancing on the table benches -A few people dancing on the dance floor
-Drunk people -Drunk people
-Policemen patrolling the grounds -Policemen eating the buffet
-Nice happy people -Nice happy people
*At Oktoberfest, I did see a whole table of people playing Ellen's Heads Up Game. I have recently become an Ellen fan. The show is not just for the wonderful middle-aged woman. And the app game looks fun!
After spending some time in the beer tent, we also walked around the downtown area, through a craft fair quickly and around the shops on the river. I wouldn't have minded spending more time at the craft fair. In the shops on the river, I tried beer popcorn. The sign outside the window of a popcorn shop encouraged me to come in and try beer popcorn. It was pretty nasty and just made me want a beer to wash it down. I will not be trying that again.
After our buffet dinner in the beer tent, we went to Frankenmuth Brewery. Ryan enjoyed an IPA after trying their Hefeweizen. I enjoyed good old water since I was driving home. The place was packed so we sat at the bar, people watched, checked out their menu, and chatted. I noticed that they make their own rootbeer so I got a case as we were leaving. Their rootbeer is pretty good, not a "rooty" as others but still delicious. And check out how they spell bier on the label.
I still wonder why one of the events at the Frankenmuth Oktoberfest is Wiener Dog Races, but it must be sponsored by Frankenmuth Brewery because I think they have a thing for Weiner dogs. Interesting.
I would like to return to Frankenmuth sometime to check out Bronners, the world's largest Christmas store and maybe do some other fun activities. We also talked about maybe coming back with some friends and staying in a hotel there to party at the beer tent. Either way, we are living here now and Frankenmuth is close so we will probably be back. It is a very different attitude when you are living somewhere for a longer period of time. We are settling here and making it home so I don'd have to hurry up and do everything I can because we are not leaving soon. It will take a bit of getting used to.
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