Oktoberfest

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I awoke this morning feeling much better. Somehow, beer, which usually aggravates my sinuses, seemed to help them. Today was going to be a great day to go to Oktoberfest.

The weather was a bit cool in the morning and there was a chance of rain so I packed up my small backpack with an umbrella and jacket and headed to the subway station nearby. The train was not all that lively, mostly because it was only about 10 am. I was told that’s the best time to go since the crowds won’t be there yet and it will be easier to find a seat in a tent (and thus get served).

When I got to Theresienweise, the tents had not opened up yet but would be shortly. Small crowds waited outside the doors of the larger tents to ensure a place. I loitered in a few of them, listening for English speakers. Well, I guess that sort of counts as stalking but I wasn’t concerned. I really didn’t hear much English being spoken and moved on to a couple more tents. I was actually a bit worried that I would end up at a table with a bunch of people with whom I couldn’t converse.

The tents had just started to open when I ducked in the Spaten tent to survey the crowd. I found an open seat but was rejected by a guy who was allegedly saving seats for friends. I walked around a bit more and tried again, this time finding plenty of open space at a table. There were only two guys there at a table that could fit 10. And they spoke English!

Roger and Dale had just arrived that morning from Atlanta, GA. Roger is a retired judge and Dale is a friend of his from the Atlanta area. Roger had been to Oktoberfest a number of times and was taking Dale to his first one. So I had someone who knew the ropes. Perfect.

We spent the next few hours shooting the breeze and kicking back beers by the liter. Around noon the band started to play and that’s when we, along with the crowd, started to get really into it - standing on the benches, chanting and singing. At various times, someone would start the chant like the ones at college football kickoffs and the entire crowd would erupt. There was even some German song which sounded very patriotic that was played frequently. Everyone, even the bunch of us who knew nothing of the words, would stand and sing boisterously, mimicking the words of the crowd.

Shortly thereafter, a group of Ukranians joined our table. The two of them who sat next to us, Boris and Igor (you can’t make that kind of thing up), were born and raised in Munich but were of Ukranian descent. With them was family from out of town.

We shot the breeze with Boris and Igor for quite a while. At one point they ordered food and I joined in. The Spaten tent is known for its oxen so I had to get the house specialty - roasted oxen and potatoes. It was very good but could not compete with the pork knuckle from the night before.

Eventually, 3:00 rolled around and we had to vacate the tables since they were reserved in the afternoon.

Roger had the great idea of testing our motor skills at the nearby bumper car ride. We traded blows for a couple minutes and then parted ways.

Still somehow hungry, I came upon a smoked fish stand that was part of the theme of one of the brewers. I had to try one. Pointing at one, I was eventually served some sort of fish on a roll with pickles and onions. Tasty.

It’s at this point I should have called it a day and returned to my hotel. But I had left Rationale back at the hotel. I was on my own.

I somehow maneuvered a crowd and got into another tent. After walking around a bit, I saw an open spot with some guys dressed up in their best Bavarian garb. After introducing myself, I became an honorary participant with the locals.

After standing around the table and conversing about the Oktoberfest customs, I lost track of my backpack that I had placed under the table. It was gone. Someone had taken off with my backpack. And in it were my coat, iPod, umbrella and sunglasses (cheap Wal-Mart ones) in the case I borrowed from my Mom.

I guess it shouldn’t come as that big of a shock. Anyone on their own with a backpack not on them at a drinking event is a very easy target. The natural distractions are more than enough to put you out of your element, and the effects of the alcohol sure don’t help. People can prey on that.

The trip back to the hotel was not a pleasant one. All the fun earlier in the day was now hampered by this unfortunate event. It naturally has left a bitter taste in my mouth but I will still remember the fun I had that morning. I’m most thankful that I was smart enough not to have my wallet, credit cards, passport, train pass or anything that would be more difficult to replace in the bag.

I was pretty ticked at “foreigners” that night, placing blame where it probably is most deserved. And I don’t believe it was the Bavarians that did it. I later read that this sort of thing happens a lot. But a valuable lesson was reinforced the hard way that night. Had I not taken the bag in the first place, this whole thing could have been avoided.

Tomorrow I’m going to sacrifice another day at Oktoberfest to see what I can do about the missing pack (probably nothing) and replace the essentials before I leave Munich on Sunday.

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Photos

Me at Oktoberfest
These are some huge beers.

The crowd
The crowd standing and cheering.

Dale
Dale hoisting three and a half liters.

Our waiter
This guy came around all too frequently. But he did a great job.