The German Embassy hosted Oktoberfest this last Thursday and Friday nights.\u00a0 We hailed a taxi and arrived about 7pm.\u00a0 The German Embassy has a large tent set up, probably used for various gatherings.\u00a0 It would be hard to determine how many people were there, but I understand the tickets get sold out within a few days.<\/p>\n
I was expecting this would be like one of the balls we had attended in the past, where many large round tables were set up for about 10 to 12 people.\u00a0 Here, the seating is picnic tables set up end to end, filling the huge tent.\u00a0 Each table had scatterings of pretzels and cheese.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere was eating, drinking and singing.\u00a0 As the beer was consumed, the dancing began.<\/p>\n In truth, beer is something you never buy, it is simply rented.\u00a0 So as is expected with the consumption of beer, you will also see a strong need for a urinal.\u00a0 With the number of people renting the beer, the need for many urinals was great.\u00a0 Someone in the Urine Industry has invented a nifty way for three men to use a pyramid shaped urinal at one time.\u00a0 No need to use the porta-potties seen at construction sites.<\/p>\n Now, evidently it takes women longer to rid themselves of beer, so fidgety women are always standing in line waited to use their facilities.\u00a0 As a result, many simply went into the men\u2019s side and stole use of the porta-potties.\u00a0 …\u00a0 I saw no man complain.<\/p>\n To help put the celebration into proper prospective, several vendors set up booths selling clothing and souvenirs of the Festival.\u00a0 So my lovely wife went and purchased a dirndl dress to help celebrate.<\/p>\n![\"20131011_211937\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dknolte.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/20131011_211937.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Each of the four corners of the huge tent had a beer tap.\u00a0 It was turned on and left running.\u00a0 One man would take a tankard, (or mug) and fill it with another waiting under it.\u00a0 As soon as one was filled, it was picked up by a waiter or passerby.\u00a0 There was wine for the choosiest of the people and plenty of cartons of juices for the non drinkers.\u00a0 Elsewhere on the tables were rows of bottle water.<\/p>\n<\/a>I have never seen so many people, consume such great quantities of beer in the hours we were there.\u00a0 Every now and then, I would see 4 or 5 waiters carrying kegs of beer to the taps.\u00a0 About 8 o\u2019clock, waiters started placing plates of potato salad on the tables.\u00a0 Many plates.\u00a0 The eating was family style.\u00a0 You just found a place to sit and started grabbing the food.\u00a0 About 15 minutes later, they brought out trays of sausages followed by chicken legs.\u00a0 Everything was perfectly seasoned.\u00a0 I ate a lot of sausages and chicken.\u00a0 During the actual festivals in Germany, many other types of German food are added to the menu, most notably sauerkraut.<\/p>\n<\/a>No one really sat at their assigned tables, so we gathered with others from the American Embassy. \u00a0At our table, there was an old couple who had been to many of these festivals, evidenced by the fact they knew all the songs and knew when to raise their tankards.\u00a0 They did not speak English, but they smiled and toasted with everyone like we were family.<\/p>\n