Oktoberfest

Munich... the last weekend in September... must mean we are in the middle of Oktoberfest!

Yes, we had to go to the largest beer festival in the world at least once.  Some people had been organizing a trip and we were able to procure table reservations at the Hofbrau tent.

Outside was these horses hauling a large wagon with several barrels of beer.

And here is one of the most impressive sights.  This is what we saw when we first walked in the tent.

Courtney with Robyn, our friend that did all the work sending faxes in German to get us tickets to the tent.

Brian and I wanted to get traditional clothes for a long time.  Back in the summer, we were in the Bavarian region just a few hours from Munich and saw a small shop on the side of the road.  Well we stopped and picked out Brian's Lederhosen (leather pants) and my Dirndl.  For my apron, the placement of the knot indicates you marital status.  A knot on the left means you are available, a knot on the right means you are taken.

Our table was on one of the balconies which we think was the best place to be because it was rowdy where we were, but even rowdier down on the floor.  The decorations are hops, one of the ingredients in beer.

Included in our tickets were 2 Liters of beer and a 1/2 Chicken.  Here we are with the first round.  Don't worry, I am holding Brian's first beer and he is holding Jeff's.  The 1/2 Chicken may have been one of the best things I have ever eaten.

This was one of the servers that was working a few table down from us.  We saw a few carrying 10 Liters, 5 in each hand with no problem.  They were working hard!

Jeff and Brian enjoying their second or third liter...

Let's just say we didn't stop at the 2 Liters that were included with our tickets.

Me again.

After about 5 hours, our time was up at our table so we decided to check out the rest of Oktoberfest.

Here is the Lowenbrau tent which is famous for the Lion as you can see in the picture.

Here is Paulaner which was the first German beer Brian ever tried when we first got here and is still one of his favorites.

All in all, Oktoberfest may have been the best festival we have been to.  I was a little worried at first, but we had a blast and would definitely go back.