Germanic regression

To be honest, I never thought that I might like the Oktoberfest. Too much stereotypical has been reported about it before, too much to make me think (forgive me) that it is ONLY about drinking and eating and pulling the money out of people's pockets. And to a certain extent, that is VERY true. There IS a lot of drinking and you can fill your stomach with all kinds of delectable foods to the point of bursting and all of this comes with a hefty price tag.

But above all the glitz, the lederhosen and dirndls, the money craze and the occasional speck of something unidentifiable on the ground, there is this general atmosphere of simple bliss and gleefulness. And you can only understand it once you've been there and seen it for yourselves. And like me, you can set the picture straight and maybe, only maybe, admit that you kinda liked it. A lot. Maybe a little bit too much - otherwise the next day would've been a little bit nicer and I might have been a little bit more of my usual self. Maybe that had something to do with the - unintended - second round of beer that a friend procured for us PARALLELY to us being served the first round by a waitress. You know, we mistakenly thought we might end up without beer. Silly us! That would never happen at an Oktoberfest (though you might end up looking for a beer for a while, if you are - like we were - looking for a place to sit down). Anyways, there we were, happily paying for the first round of steins, when our friend returned with YET ANOTHER round of beers. Oh my, there goes the pious hope of only having one beer. :-/

Let me just say that the evening ended in much lighter spirits than anticipated. We did find our way home, though. Even though some might claim that we were stopped by very stupid police men on our way out (did they really have to take away those two steins?). Even though my very honorable offer of help to some subway guards helping an injured guy (guess, he was hit by a stein on his head) was a bit marred by me getting defended by the same guy who had previously lost his souvenirs. Even though we didn't make it through more than one Ramazzotti and two small shots of cherry brandy back at my friend's place before calling it a night. Even though all of that might've lowered our spirits (or physical well-being?)... it did not succeed. And in the end, it was a great trip to Munich and a great first Wiesn-experience for me. Note - my first, but most probably not my last. ;-)
Oh yeah, and it almost goes without a saying that we also had gorgeous weather to justly frame our Wiesn-experience with some great hours while exploring Munich itself.

Hanna

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Bliss is a mosaic picture,
composed of many inconspicuous little delights."

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Das Glück ist ein Mosaikbild,
das aus lauter unscheinbaren kleinen
Freuden zusammengesetzt ist."
(Daniel Spitzer)