Oktoberfest 2007: Day 1

First day of the fest.

After a whirlwind of activity yesterday that involved Marc arriving at 7am, a train ride to Munich and a frenzy of dirndl and lederhosen shopping, we were all decked out in our fancy (and still clean) new clothes.It was time to head off to the Hoffbrau tent for our first day of Oktoberfest madness. I could try to explain exactly what happened on this day, but truly I think that the pictures do a much better job of demonstrating what happened during our experience beginning with the enormous beer steins (yes they really are bigger than your head). Everyone's excitement was practically palpable as we strolled through the streets of Munich on our way to find our tent.

Probably the best part was as we walked down to the festival, people stopped to take pictures of us in our outfits. I guess we were quite a sight, all 10 of us in full German traditional clothing. I have to say, we did look pretty fantastic. But again, the pictures are perfect evidence of it all.

Birgit was once again our fabulous guide in getting us to the right place at the right time to actually begin drinking beer our of glasses bigger than my head. And yes I will have to say that again because it is true, I have never seen anything like this in my life. Not even in Wisconsin where I think they take beer as seriously as the Germans do.

After a full 12, yes 12 (!!!!), hours of drinking, some of us decided maybe it was time to head home, but about half of our group decided that the smart thing to do was to head out to the carnival rides. So off we went, all 10 of us, ok 9 because we lost Ben somewhere along the way. But there we were, heading up into one of those crazy rides that whips you up to the top of a very, very tall pole and then drops you down in sudden bursts making you think, well god knows what you're supposed to think. Honestly after three or four steins of beer (more than you think after 12 hours of drinking), I could barely feel a thing so it seemed like the most ridiculous ride ever. But hey! I was game.

After our brief jaunt on the rides, Marc and I decided we were ready to head home, so off we went with most of the group although we did leave Jeff, his sister and brother-in-law, and TJ behind. I have a feeling there are going to be some pretty funny pictures that come out of that decision.

I can't believe there's another full day of drinking after this day. I think my dirndl is going to be slightly worse for the wear as well. . .