Oktoberfest

Today, my cousin, her husband, 3-year-old son named Ahren (a complete darling) and I went to Muenchen (Munich). The festival of Oktoberfest is going on right now, until October 7, and so far, the last week brought a record of 8 million people to Muenchen for the fun. I think that the best way I can describe it is as a large Midwestern county state fair minus the livestock and with signs posted in German + 12 huge tents, or beer halls full of incredibly sloshed (and therefore friendly) people decked out in traditional German dress, which means lederhosen and beer maid dresses. Add a bunch of German beer maids who each carry 6 1 kilogram beer mugs full to the brim on each hand. To describe how strong they probably are, I'll put it to you like this - I would not want to be in a rumble with one of them, even an older lady! It was quite a sight to see. Yes, I had a few beers - 2 liters, to be exact. But the beer is so fresh and light that although it made an initial inebriated impact on me, the feeling quickly wore off during the 2 hour car ride home. Although the drinking and singing along to traditional Bavarian tunes is fun, what's definitely more enjoyable is to people-watch. Drunk people falling all over each other, old couples dressed in traditional garments who you know have seen this for years, and the frequently sighted foreign (usually in this case, Asian) family who wander around with bewildered looks, hoping that their child never drinks this much beer :) Overall, quite an experience - I am so glad I went. My first Oktoberfest! As cliche as it sounds, seeing something like Oktoberfest does help you understand German, specifically Bavarian culture more. I don't mean that in a silly, "Oh-they're-a-bunch-of-drunkies" kind of way. It's more in how people interact, dress, and what they traditionally ate (a LOT of meat - there's this thing called Haxnbrauterei which is a sandwich consisting of a pig's leg. Not exactly my cup of tea, really). My only regret is that I forgot to steal my beer mug from the tent - it's a daring thing to do, and then you have a cool souvenir (otherwise you have to buy a beer mug for 11 Euros from a gift shop). Oh well, there's always next year.