Ein Prosit

All my memories gathered 'round her

Miner's lady, stranger to blue water

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky

Misty taste of moonshine

Teardrops in my eye

- Henry John Deutshendorf (aka John Denver), Country Roads

Memorial to the victims of the 1980 Oktoberfest bombing. Photo RGH

This trip has been all about surprises, and Oktoberfest had many in store for us. First off, we thought it was pretty much a beer festival. We knew that there was a "carnival" as well, but figured it was just a side-show. As it turns out, this was one of the biggest fair grounds we have seen. For those of you in the U.S., think of a state fair; and for those of you in Toronto, think of the CNE. The size of the grounds is enormous. There are roller coasters, Ferris wheels, games of chance and skill, and carnies. Amazing how carnies the world over are pretty much the same, eh?

One of the other surprises ... John Denver songs were playing everywhere. Apparently, Henry John Deutshendorf (John Denver) is German. Who knew?

Of course there are beer tents, too. The beer "tents" are enormous buildings that seat up to 8000 people ... all drinking beer. As you might expect, in addition to providing food, they also have facilities to service 8000 drinkers (the line for the Pissoir was much shorter than the one for the ladies). We thought the buildings would be permanent structures, but they are not. There are 14 "tents" and building starts 90 days before Oktoberfest. The festival lasts 16 days, and all the structures are dismantled within 30 days after it is all over.

On the ground at Oktoberfest. Photos RGH/KAH

On opening day of Oktoberfest, the kegs are tapped at noon and beer is served until 10:30p. Monday to Friday, beer is sold from 10a-10:30p, and on weekends and holidays, the tents serve beer from 9a-10:30p. In total, over 16 million litres of beer are served over the 16 days of the festival.

Yet again, we signed up for a Sandemans tour. Kind of an odd choice, right? Who needs a guide for Oktoberfest? We debated, hemmed and hawed, and ultimately chose to purchase tickets because the price included a reserved table in the Lowenbrau tent, a "welcome to the tour" 0.5L of beer to drink while walking around town, 2L of beer each in the tent, and 1/2 a chicken each. You scoff! Having a reserved table in the tent was worth the ticket price in and of itself. We had the table from 12:00-4:30, at which point the festivities apparently become less "family friendly." Before things got truly raucous, we left the beer tent and enjoyed the carnival rides.

  

In the Lowenbrau tent. Photos KAH/RGH

Any time you sit down for a 4 hour drinking session with 20 other strangers, you are at risk of having things go terribly sideways. We were really lucky. The group of people we were with was absolutely amazing. They were funny and interesting, from all over the world and all walks of life. They were engaging with Jordan, and gave me a little friendly ribbing when they had to wait for me after I got separated from the group. They were people I would gladly travel with and call "friend."

Or maybe that's just the beer talking.

Eins, zwei, drei ...