Nothing else to say but...OKTOBERFEST

When Americans think about Germany, the stereotypes that emerge always include beer, lederhosen and dirndls, and sausages...all can be found at OKTOBERFEST.

Naturally we Amerikaners couldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend the festivities in Munich, and the fact that this year was the 200^th anniversary of Oktoberfest (or Wiesn as the cooler locals call it) made our attendance even more imminent. In so many ways Oktoberfest was just as I had imagined it…four million people raucously celebrating in beer tents, listening to traditional German bands, and drinking beers almost too heavy to pick up.  Total toll.

We arrived in Munich early Friday morning after taking (for me) an almost-sleepless night train. First stop: a Trachten store. (Trachten is the name for lederhosen, dirndls, and all the traditional Oktoberfest clothing). Fifteen minutes later and joyously donning a dirndl, I headed to the Theresenweise, the grounds of the Oktoberfest.

What we came to looked like a gargantuan state fair, with carnival rides and food stands everywhere. And spread amongst all these things were numerous huge beer tents and beer gardens, probably numbering 20 or so. It took about 20 minutes to walk from one side to the other…not so pleasant when you’re wearing a dirndl and it’s raining. We had delightful weather Friday and Sunday, but Saturday was wet. Good thing we were mostly inside :)

The next three days all went something like this: Wake up super early in the morning from our not-so-classy tent campground in the outskirts of Munich, put on dirndls and lederhosen, and then race to the grounds to attempt to get into a beer tent. On Friday we had good luck getting into the Schottenhamel tent, the main and supposedly the best. We stayed there from early morning through the late afternoon listening to the band playing traditional German music and occasionally some American favorites (“Country Roads,” anyone?). As the day progresses, more and more people stand up on the benches and dance. Glee.

I’ve been in many crowded situations in my life, but this took the cake. As non-reserved seats in tents are a bit difficult to come by, the early morning opening is a mob scene. You gotta know what you’re doing and where you’re going, otherwise you’d definitely fall behind. A bit of a war mentality, and the prize – a seat at a table -  is definitely worth it.

The oh-so-famous Oktoberfest beer ladies do exactly what you think. They come to your table, take your beer order (most tents only had one selection – a one liter mass of their special Oktoberfest beer), and then are required to carry every single person’s order back to the table at the same time.  We saw women with 20 huge beers somehow contained in their arms. My wee hands wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Oh and the food…the lecker, lecker Bavarian food. During the weekend I had more sausages than I’d like to reveal, much potato salad, a pretzel bigger than my face,  something called pork bread, many succulent half chickens split with the group, and a plate of kase spätzle in ode to my Swiss grandfather. Nomnomnom.

 On Saturday and Sunday we visited tents named Himmel der Bayern (sky of Bavaria) and the Paulaner tent, respectively. Himmel der Bayern was probably my favorite, as the whole tent was painted as a sky.

 Riding the afternoon train back to Bremen on Sunday I was exhausted and dirty but quite content…give me a few years (or 50) and I may just be back to the festivities again.