Auf gehts zur Wiesn: Let's Go to the Oktoberfest!

In all actuality, the Wiesn (how locals refer to the Oktoberfest) is a mix between the State Fair and a big Halloween party...with lots of beer:

Ein Maß - A One Liter Beer
(Bigger than Steve's Head!)

For the event, each brewer creates a big "tent" or semi-permanent structure for the occasion. The various tents display each brands' beer drinkers' personalities:

Augustiner - the Traditionalist Tent

(The only tent at the Wiesn that still serves beer out of real wooden kegs.)

Hacker - the Bavarian Heaven Tent

(Because everyone in this tent is on cloud nine...)

Hofbräu Haus - Just Like the Bar
(All the Americans flock here.)


Ochsenbraterei - All Kinds of Oxen
(Seriously...served anyway you are willing to eat it.)

And just like the State Fair, the Wiesn has lots of rides! Heed, some words of wisdom...if you ever come to this fun affair, be sure to go on the rides before you start drinking:

The Swings!
(Waving, Edeltraud and I gear up for a bit of fun.)

At the Wiesn (somewhat like Halloween), people wear fun hats and dress in "costume" (or traditional lederhosen and dirndl). Bavarians living in small villages, mostly in the Alps, still wear lederhosen and dirndl on a daily basis:

Traditional Lederhosen
(Worn by an Oktoberfest attendee.)

Non-Traditional Dirndl
(Worn by a vendor in the Augustiner tent.)

Historically the first Oktoberfest was held as a celebration of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. (I would like to think because of this, but probably just as a capitalist scheme) you can buy gingerbread hearts decorated with sugary icing, displaying various declarations of love, in a Bavarian dialect:

One of the Many Herz (Heart) Stands
(Please advise: These cookie hearts are meant to be worn around the neck
and/or displayed on the wall, not eaten.)

Steve Gives Me a (His?) Heart!
(As it says, "Just because [he] likes me.")

All in all, between the food and drink, the people, and the ideal Bavarian experience, Oktoberfest in definitely worth the trip. Gestern, haben wir viel Spaß gemacht (Yesterday, we had a lot of fun!):

Edeltraud in the Augustiner Tent
(Eating delicious roast chicken and drinking a traditional brew.)


Edeltraud, Me and Kurt


The Bavaria - The Goddess of the Land of Bavaria
(This statue is located at the border of the Theresienwiese
and overlooks the Oktoberfest.)

Nice To Meet You. Where Is Your Gun?

Last night at dinner, Edeltraud and I were trading phrases in our new languages: I told her what I'd learned in German, and she answered with freshly learned English.

After a few glasses of wine, it was time to haul out some textbooks. "Begegnungen" (my German book) was innocuous enough, but Lesson Two in "Interaktive Sprachreise: Englisch" was: Tombstone.

Apparently the first (scratch that, the second) thing you need to know about life in the USA is that there are a lot of outlaws in Arizona. Or as the Germans would say, "Gesetzlose".

So, the next time you meet a stranger while wandering in the desert or visiting the Grand Canyon or in America in general, be sure to mind your manners and say, "Nice to meet you. Where is your gun?" (as Edeltraud's book recommends).

Here are a pair of good German outlaws, Edeltraud and Kurt: