Lady at Oktoberfest
Blog: A Lady in London - 6 October 2009
My first ever beer wasn't the normal American first-beer experience. It wasn't a light beer in a 12 ounce can that tasted more like water than malt and hops. It wasn't at a high school prom party or a college frat party. No, it wasn't any of those things. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was a full-flavored Bavarian beer. It was served by a hearty German waitress in a dirndl at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. And it came in a glass mug that measured a liter in volume. It was a serious beer.
I've never forgotten my first beer, and when it came time for Oktoberfest this year I couldn't resist the opportunity to head back to Bavaria for another. My boyfriend and I arrived in Munich on Saturday morning and got to Oktoberfest just after noon. As we approached the festival from the park above, our eyes glowed with visions of carnival rides, gigantic half-timbered tents, bratwurst vendors, and throngs of lederhosen-sporting masses.
We descended into the chaos and found ourselves in the Käfer tent. Despite having heard that it would be impossible to enter tents without reservations, we had no problem at all. We ordered beers and giant pretzels, then met up with some friends outside. The weather was gorgeous, and it was the perfect day for a beer garden.
Later in the afternoon we went in search of food. After passing a sign with a very unhappy looking cow sandwiched between two slices of bread, we settled on a pork-based solution to our hunger. Half-meter bratwursts were the winners. Coupled with the two sausages I ate for breakfast on the plane, it brought my daily brat count to three.
Not satisfied with just three sausages clogging my arteries, I took my boyfriend to the Paulaner tent. After a short wait in line, we cleared the entrance and found ourselves in a beer garden full of...well...beer. We begged two beers off a waitress who wasn't supposed to serve customers without seats, then wedged ourselves onto a bench and ordered four more sausages on a bed of sauerkraut. Seven sausages in one day; my heart was loving it.
That evening we made our way over to a third Oktoberfest tent: the Schottenhamel tent. Huge and rowdy, the tent was classic Oktoberfest. There was a band playing traditional music, people standing on benches and dancing in aisles, and beer flowing like milk and honey. We had found the promised land.
We got ourselves a bench to stand on and some beers to facilitate our singing voices, and joined the masses in celebrating. Oddly, all of the songs we knew the words to were seemingly unfamiliar to the German revellers around us. While we belted out the lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Highway to Hell", they stood somewhat silent, even sitting down. Then when other English-language songs were played, we were at a loss for words while everyone else seemed to proclaim them as their all-time favorites. Strange.
The next morning we woke up ready for more Oktoberfest. We walked back to the park and into the Käfer tent, where we got a table outside and ordered six more delicious bratwurst and another heaping portion of sauerkraut. Oh, and beers. More beers.
Following lunch, we spent some time walking around the carnival area. At that point our stamina for all-day beer drinking started flagging, and we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and head to the Munich zoo for the afternoon. The animals seemed to like the weather too; the big cats and the bears were much more active than normal. My only complaint was that there was no red panda, but as they're known for escaping zoos, I'll assume that the creature was taking the day off to check out Oktoberfest.
Our flight back to London wasn't until 9pm, so we met some friends at the Seehaus in the English Garden before heading to the airport. I couldn't handle any more beer (or sausage, for that matter!), so I stuck with hot chocolate. It was a good choice, not least because it consisted of around fifty percent whipped cream.
When it was finally time to leave, I waved good-bye to Oktoberfest with a heavy heart and über-clogged arteries. I think it will be awhile before I have any more beer, and I won't be able to look at a sausage again until the next time I return to Germany. Perhaps that will be for Oktoberfest next year.
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