New and Improved
This is the picture that didn't show up on my last post!
This is a sign in the subway, so that no one gets lost. Getting lost is pretty much impossible, though, because everyone in the world is on their way there. Follow the crowd, or at least all the dirndls and lederhosen, and you'll make it:
If you follow this crowd, they will lead you to a beer tent, which is actually more of a huge building with flags and very serious security personel, where you can only get in before 9am or if you have a reservation. Of course, I would never have gotten in on my own, but Gitti and Hasi, the couple we stayed with, were meeting friends with reservations, so we did, in the end, get in. Good thing, too, because the beer is inside the beer tents!
This is Gitti inside the beer tent. Behind her are people in trachten (dirndls and lederhosen) dancing on tables. If I remember correctly, this was while the amazing Bavarian polka band played a very Bavarian rendition of Country Roads. It is an extremely popular song there - I must have heard it a thousand times.
While it played, Laura and I were treated to a couple Masses of beer, an enormous pretzel, and half of a roasted chicken. Unfortunately my fingers were all sticky, because there is no silverware at Oktoberfest, so I didn't take pictures of these.
Outside the beer tent is pretty standard state fair kind of stuff, only German. Rides and food and more rides, some games of chance, and a real live flea circus!
I didn't think these were real.
You will be glad to know, though, that I did see more of Munich than beer steins and pretzels. This is the Rathaus, or city hall:
If you follow this crowd, they will lead you to a beer tent, which is actually more of a huge building with flags and very serious security personel, where you can only get in before 9am or if you have a reservation. Of course, I would never have gotten in on my own, but Gitti and Hasi, the couple we stayed with, were meeting friends with reservations, so we did, in the end, get in. Good thing, too, because the beer is inside the beer tents!
This is Gitti inside the beer tent. Behind her are people in trachten (dirndls and lederhosen) dancing on tables. If I remember correctly, this was while the amazing Bavarian polka band played a very Bavarian rendition of Country Roads. It is an extremely popular song there - I must have heard it a thousand times.While it played, Laura and I were treated to a couple Masses of beer, an enormous pretzel, and half of a roasted chicken. Unfortunately my fingers were all sticky, because there is no silverware at Oktoberfest, so I didn't take pictures of these.
Outside the beer tent is pretty standard state fair kind of stuff, only German. Rides and food and more rides, some games of chance, and a real live flea circus!
I didn't think these were real.You will be glad to know, though, that I did see more of Munich than beer steins and pretzels. This is the Rathaus, or city hall:
Here at 11am and noon every day, there is a Glockenspiel, complete with little statues of jesters and dancers that come out and spin, and mechanical knights on mechanical horses that joust. The whole thing lasts about 15 minutes, and is quite the tourist attraction. The building itself is lovely, but the bells sounded a little...drunk. This is a blurry close up of the Glockenspiel:
I also went to the Hofbraue Haus, which is a brewery/restaurant/bar, allegedly the oldest/biggest/best in the city. Good fun, beer, more pretzels, drunken Italians, and another band in lederhosen playing Country Roads.
Now I'm home, safe and sound, just in time to avoid a German train workers' strike. We're working on the apartment, and in the past two days have acquired a washing machine, internet, and a landline! As soon as we figure it out, I'll let any interested parties know my phone number (my own line!), but now that I have internet we can also converse via Googletalk or Skype. Hooray!
Meanwhile, I have two weeks of vacation from school. Not sure what I'll do with myself...ideas?
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