Monday, September 22, 2008

Shoulda Been German

I know I’m Italian. My mom’s family is from Sicily, land of gypsies and mobsters. :-) My dad’s family is from England (my maiden name is Thorne), with a little Scottish and Irish thrown into the mix.

I always wished I was French, but I don’t think I have a drop of French blood in me. Knowing my love for La Belle France, Brad told me while we were dating that the name “Gaultney” is thought to have originated from French tribes (Gaul, like early France). But he has since confessed that it’s probably Welsh. Boo.

About once a year though, I think I’m embodied by the spirit of a German woman. I grew up in South Central Texas, which has lots of German influence, so Oktoberfests, Wurstfest and German towns like Kerrville, Fredericksburg and New Braunfels bring back sweet memories for me.

Addison hosted its annual Oktoberfest celebration this weekend, and Brad and I had a great time. He did his research and figured out that if you reserve a room at the Hampton Inn for $49.00, you get:

  • Two free tickets to the festival
  • $10 in food coupons
  • A “deluxe” beer stein

That's not to mention the hot breakfast the next morning and HBO! ;-) Ha.

Since the hotel was within walking distance from the festivities, we went for it! It was a really nice Hampton Inn that felt a lot more like the chain’s older brother, the Hilton. So together Brad and I celebrated our first “stay-cation.” Ha!

We ate good German food – brats, schnitzel, streudel, kraut, etc. – and drank good German beer. We rode a Ferris wheel, I got a temporary tattoo of a dove (lame, I know), we listened to German folk music and people-watched.

When we walked back to the hotel there were a bunch of Addison Police Department cars in front of the hotel… Apparently some guests had enjoyed Oktoberfest a little too much and were being rowdy when they returned to the hotel. Anyway, one of the police officers who responded to the scene was a friend of Brad’s from college and we stopped and talked to him for a couple of minutes. Funny coincidence.

Here are some pics from our time at the festival. Loved it! Really sweet, light-hearted fun with my best friend.



I spent the morning of the festival baking bread at home to get into the German spirit. I went with a braided yeast loaf with sea salt on top. Yummo!

5 comments:

Abigail Boatwright said...

I love that photo of you with your beer stein!! Looks like y'all had fun!

Jashley and Grant said...

I love this post! I'm half German so I love going to things like Oktoberfest! How fun!

Stephanie said...

why are you two the most interesting people I know?!?! Seriously. Who does this stuff on the weekend?! I slept in and studied this weekend. boo.

Your photos are GREAT! LOVE them!

That's hilarious that Brad told you his last name was French. What a trixter! Trying to win you over, eh? Yeah, the last name Gahm is German. yawn. Not interested in a German last name. Ballard was at least British.... sigh. Oh well, maybe I can make up for it by naming our kids French names. :)

Erin said...

That sounds like a great sta-cay...
staying in hotels is such fun!!
And you know, it's not a party til the po-po show up!

Alison said...

Looks like you all had lots of fun! We are glad to know that you are fellow festival lovers...maybe next time we can all go together. That streudel sure was delicious!