Gone Camping....

In forty years my grandkids are going to ask me to tell the story about how I went to Munich, Germany and slept on the floor of a circus tent. I'll have a tale to tell then.

Welcome to The Tent...
We heard about this place from some guys in our program that were in Munich a few weeks before. "So, there's this park in downtown Munich, it's called The Tent, and like 200 people come and spend the night there. You should try it out," they said. After a quick glance among everyone else who would be traveling with me next week, I consulted my travel guide which said the same thing, "join 250 international 'campers' under a gigantic tent in a series of bunk beds or on the wood floor." Oh yea, we were definitely going to have to try this out.

Fun fact about me #1, I've been camping twice in my life at Lake Forest Ranch when I was in the 5th and 6th grade. Camp was only for a week, I had a bed, lots of pillows, and air conditioning. The only other camping experience I had was when I went rock climbing with my youth group in the 7th grade, I think I cried the entire first night (this should be new information for everyone who was on that trip with me btw) and by night number 2 I'd vowed never to go on another outdoor adventure again (I was down to plotting a sabotage of the trip by night 3). Yet, I thought sleeping on the wood floor of a tent was a good idea. Well, it was.

The showers/drying towels

The cafeteria/ eating area

This wasn't just a rinky dink little campsite. It had 24 hour reception, cafeteria that served breakfast and dinner, kitchen, laundry, guy and girl showers (with hot water!!!) and a separate sight for campers who brought their own tent. The place was packed with people from all sorts of places. On our last night in Munich we all crowded into the cafeteria to watch the US v Ghana match on a big screen (I was disappointed to find out that everyone from England and Australia was cheering for Ghana! What's up with that?) I met a two girls from England and a Chinese girl studying in Hanover. I had a brief conversation with some guys from Mexico, another guy from California, and, of course, the guy wandering around with the American flag tied around his neck as another Texan. I think this experience is the closest I'll ever get to Woodstock... without the drugs... but possibly with more beer (I mentioned this was in Germany, right? Geez) Point is, this seems to be the place to go if you interested in other people and their stories. Sleeping, however, was a different matter.

When we first checked in it was 11:00 at night, we were cold and tired and didn't much care where we would sleep at that point. The man at the desk gave us a foam pad (the rainbow colored thing) and 4 wool blankets, "come back if you get cold" he told us. I thought I was going to be hot. Here's the part of the story when I tell you that I looked like the city girl come stay in the country when I was unpacking. I had preplanned, coverall all my basis. Really, it's what I do. So I'd also thought to bring my Dreamie (a satin sleeping bag type thing) and not one but 2 pillows. (What can I say I'm spoiled) Anyway, fast forward to two in the morning and me shivering in my dreaming with three blankets piled on top of me. Feet are frozen and fingers are numb. I could have gone and gotten some more blankets but I didn't really feel like getting out in the cold. Finally, I got smart. I climbed out of my Dreamie, wrapped the softest blanket I had around me, then got back into my little caccoon and pulled the blankets up. I survived the night.
By the end of our stay, I'd tamed the cold so much so, that I was sleeping really well. (not sure I ever enjoyed sleeping on the floor before, but it was good) I ended up sleeping in my sleeping clothes, socks, jacket (with a hood for my ears), the soft blanket around me, inside my Dreamie and four more blankets on top of that.

Needless to say my little caccoon was nice and warm and I didn't want to have to leave for Maastricht. But alas, books need to be read, classes attended, and papers written.
Until tomorrow!