Oktoberfest (brauchst du Erklären?)

so, i knew i wouldn't hear the end of it if i spent a year in Germany and did not go to Oktoberfest. enjoy.

the day after the Bodensee Exkursion, i got up at 5am so our 20some group from the Startkurs could leave on the 6.30 train to München (gotta have the real deal and not the Stuttgart spin-off). it was still dark outside! after the first train, we were packed like sardines in Tokyo. some people were already drunk.

[playing with bad exposures on the train]

because we left so early, i didn't eat more than a pear and, because of the packed trains, had no time to grab a Brezel between stations. i ended up by Patrick (from ECU) on the last leg and fell into the trap of speaking English. it was about sailing, though, which puts it up a tiny notch on the 'acceptable' scale. classic East Carolinian, he brought along a bottle of Cap'n Morgen. oh boy.

arrival: our group was too big, so we split at the station. Patrick followed me with Diana (fellow Ami, from Colorado) and her brother Pete (who lives in München) and a couple of his friends that were visiting (for Oktoberfest, of course). the whole day was out of the ordinary, because usually i avoid English speakers like the plague. but, what happens happens. still had fun.

[fliegend Bavarien]

it was like a State Fair, but a million times better. kitchy game booths, food vendors, portable amusement rides... didn't matter. all the Lederhosen und Dirndls made the experience worth it. i was expecting kitchy and fake, but it didn't feel that way. maybe it's because men look absolutely amazing in Lederhosen! yum.

the enormity of everything was pretty impressive too. just now i found an aerial shot on Wikipedia. whoa. and i walked through that big mess! all the walking was not as bad as all the standing. the morning after, my arms hurt something awful and i was very confused before i remembered that i had spent the whole day holding a liter glass full of beer.

[ein Festzelt]

i only consumed two, thank you, but i didn't eat until after that. bad idea. i guess i was too distracted by everything going on. i didn't get sick like the guy in the album, but had a 15min 'nap' in the city park. Pete claimed my camera, and so you have it: Sabrina passed out in public. had to share for the sake of entertainment and consequences of my actions. =) the lighting is pretty nice as well.

[16.00ish]

we had walked to the town center and checked out the giant Glockenspiel before the park (which had a couple beer-bikes? circling around, sorry no pictures). other than that, it was pretty much just the festival and Diana getting to see Pete. all was very enjoyable, though little Deutsch. i don't know how much of the day Patrick remembers. according to Diana (when she was the sober one), "at least you didn't speer bill."

the ride back was 5hrs instead of 3 and EVERYone was at least tipsy this time around, if not completely belligerent. the trains were running late and we had to run to the next platform at EVERY stop. once, i tell you. only once.