"Can you imagine Ocktoberfest here," Yamila wondered out loud this morning as we stood in the madness of the Hauptbahnhof train station where all walks of life converge in a caffeinated frenzy. Ocktoberfest? People here don't need a special reason to celebrate. They do well enough without it. Muchen's central train station is a great place to people watch. In the brief 48 hours that we've been here I have observed the following:

Kaffe --- There are no Starbucks Venti size to-go cups of coffee here. The smaller-than-normal cups of kaffe are designed to save you from yourself. Their brew is super strong. I had two of them with that half of danish (both pictured in yesterday's photos) because it was so tasty. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I still had a caffeine buzz at 3 am the next morning. (Yes Nancy that was me posting on Facebook live at 3 am.) Note to self, don't do that again -- at your age you need all the beauty sleep you can get.

Fruit stands -- Did I mention there are fresh fruit stands everywhere around here? I've not seen a line at one of them. In fact, I don't recall seeing anyone actually BUY fruit. There are the typical "don't touch" signs posted. But touching or BUYING doesn't seem to be a problem.

Pizza -- In a study published earlier this year, it was estimated that Americans eat an average of 48 slices of pizza per year. Judging by the number of pizza stands in Munich, I think the Germans have one over on us. My guess: 68 slices per year.

Lederhosen -- OK is it a national holiday? A lot of dudes are walking around here in those leather shorts. We're nowhere near a forest for a volkesmarche and Ocktoberfest is still weeks away. Maybe they're all waiters?

When in doubt, write it down -- Up to this point, the Colombian and I have traveled to places where she speaks the language (Spanish) or tries to fake it (Franglish-French/Spanish, Italanish-Spanish/Italian). No such luck here. She can't fake German. So for the few times we've crossed paths with Germans who don't speak English (taxi drivers/vendors), we've gotten what we needed just by writing it down. The Germans humor us and are always kind and generous.

Beer the breakfast of champions -- Did you know beer is actually a breakfast food? Well, it is. It's served at the breakfast bar at our hotel. Plus we've seen several locals tossing back some cold ones first thing in the morning. Kinda strikes me like eating fish (lox) for breakfast. Must be another cultural thing (although I think my nephew Joey regularly practices this custom). It's also socially acceptable, to do shots in the morning. They call them "energy drinks." No kidding. Proseco or Schnapps. In an emergency, I might be able to swing it.