Auf der Wies’n
Oktoberfest 2006Ach! Kofschmerzen! Oh my head. But it was worth it, I think. Yesterday, we celebrated the Oktoberfest with Alex’s company. They had reservations like last year only this time I brought it up a notch. How, you say?
Meet the pink Dirndl with my lighter shade of pink Schürze (apron). It’s tons of fun dressing up in Tracht (traditional German Bavarian costume). But it didn’t come without the overwhelming male attention. That I hate because I feel like an amateur every time I encounter the next guy who thinks he’s ‘fallin’ after the 3rd Mass. It would be nice to tuck my good nature in another place for a while. It didn’t seem to matter that I was arm in arm with my man. They’d come by anyway, strike up a conversation about their fiancé being away and it being ‘hard’, or develop a permanent neck crick. I get uneasy with that type of attention. But Alex was a super regulator for the evening. Mein Held!
The evening was a mix of German and English conversations. By half a mass, it was easy enough to switch between both. The conversations ended up being a blend of both, probably a nightmare for one who knows only one or the other. I spoke with another American about the difficulty adapting with some aspects of German culture and maintaining identity with the American stereotypes, especially those loud American visitors who flaunt their ignorance on the streets. But he also found it hard because he knows that he will return to the States sooner or later. I told him the same advice I received before I left for Germany: Keeping the idea that you will be returning to your home country some day, so what’s the point? will turn to thoughts of regret. Make the most of each day in your host country as if you were there to stay.
Our reservation included a half a Hendl (chicken) for everyone and a couple of mass a piece. However, the kitchen didn’t count on the number of people that evening (yeah, it’s Monday but morgen is a holiday, duh!) The server told us we could go to the office and turn in our ticket for cash or wait an hour. That was a six o’clock and the Euro is pretty filthy tasting. So we waited. 1:30 hours later, tipsy, we turned in one ticket for wurst, sauerkraut & potato salad. Sauerkraut was not happening that evening. Still no chicken. Our compadres were bouncing on the tables by then.
Finally, one organizer took charge and ruffed up the manager of the kitchen. The manager said the kitchen was out of chicken but we were to receive the last dozen from the spit. But while they were being prepared, the manager gave us ice cold samples of 38% alcohol content Schnapps. Brilliant. Just what I need on a beer filled stomach! But we got our chicken at 9:00 pm. It’s all good. We were having a great time singing and dancing with the band.
Till next year! Happy Anniversary König Ludwig and Königin Therese!
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Oktoberfest
Click to view more Okfest picsSO if you like beer a whole lot or even just a little everyone should experience the Oktoberfest once in their life. Normally, I am not a fanatic of large tourist events, but this is one of the exceptions. The Wiesn reminds me a little of the Strawberry Festival and the Florida Football Games, for the food and the camaraderie. You don’t smell fried foods too much here but lots of meat. I just walked through the Wiesn and had me a Schweinhaxn’ Semmel for lunch, aka fatty pork with a bun. Yum Yum.
Last year, I saw pictures of the Bierzelte (Beer Tents) and they really don’t do them justice. There are 12 different Bierzelte at the Oktoberfest, each tent serving one of the 6 beers brewed in Munich (there are two other Zelte for wine and other beers not brewed in Munich). The 6 Brauereien are: Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Hacker-Pschorr-Brau, Spatenbrau, and Paulanerbräu. Sorry no Erdinger…but it’s in the neighborhood. Each Bierzelt takes about 3 months to construct over the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s fields). I have pictures of the start of construction in an earlier blog.
Naturally, people come for the beer and lots of it. Over the 2 week festival, approximately 6 Million people come to visit and consume about 6 Million Maßkrüge (basically, it’s that big mug that’s as big as my head). I made the mistake of calling it a “Stein” but the Bavarians correctly call it a “Krug”. They are made of glass or cermaic and hold about 1 Liter of Bier. There was talk once about converting to plastic for safety reasons but the people had a fit. I would agree, the glass is better. There is nothing like singing “Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit!” and smashing your Krug against your neighbor’s.
And your neighbor could be anyone from around the world. Just around my table, I met a handful of people from California. I sat with my classmates and they come from Burma, Spain, Japan, and Venezuela. We ended up share our Bierbanken (the table benches) with some local Baviarian men dressed in the traditional Trachten, that is, die Liederhosen. There is something about the Liederhosen I find attractive, now if only I could convince Alex! The women wear a dress called, das Dirndl. The Dirndl style ranges from very traditional to that’s-just-sleezy. Also there are house rules; one of them happens to be NO Dancing. But after about 5 pm there is nothing to stop the people from standing on the tables and shaking their booty to the YMCA! A Maß of bier costs between 6,80 – 7,25 Euro and people like to steal the mugs for a souvenir so the security people check your bag to retrieve the property.
Next weekend is Italien Wochende, where droves of Italians come to the festival. They even bring their own police because most of the drunk Italians don’t speak any German. Alex and I will attend the Oktoberfest together on Sunday, I am hoping to see the rest of the Bierzelte that I missed today, each one has a different atmosphere. Below is a link to pictures taken with my Inligua class mates.
Wish you were here.
Oktoberfest Fotos
