Oktober Noch Einmal.

Second time in Oktoberfest and it's open season as usual. This year the pretzels managed to grab first stage, the weather was temperamental and the roller-coasters particularly dizzying. Some tents were explored, more nooks pried, less slimy-slippery tarmac traversed.
Why is it though that a hysterically funny night with a wandering Finn and a temporary baker, in utterly inappropriate clothing at a small local bar with only five more people watching the telly, sticks out in my recent memory and how does that reflect on my Mass drinking prowess, I do not know. And I care even less frankly.

Noch Ein Mass Bitte!

There's a little round tent with a colourful, childlike till at the front. A smiling middle-aged lady in a dirndl gives away tiny tickets and before you know it you've entered a place of fairy-tales. With a twist. The round, spinning stage is where men box out of balance, girls try to dodge lassos and swinging mothballs and couples cling onto each other as they flee towards the barriers. The crowd is rowdy and the MC drunk beyond tact.

This is the theme park with the traditional Bavarian games and more modern roller-coasters of Oktoberfest. The big party of course is in the "tents", huge structures of distinct breweries where bands play intermittently and songs ring out constantly, all to the rhythm of an endless flow of beer and roast chickens. Smiling and blushed face all round, smalltalk, dance and singalong, passionate kisses and endless toasts to "Gemütlichkeit" and your head is spinning! You have to wear your lederhosen or your dirndl to feel comfy but other than that it feels like the party of the year without an effort. Ein prosit once more!