Oktoberfest 2009

We have survived a few firsts in the past few weeks: our first Oktoberfest in Munich and our first visitors from the States. These two events overlapped quite nicely in the latter part of September and first weeks of October.

My biggest take-away from our first Oktoberfest might surprise you-yeah, there was a lot of beer (admittedly consumed by my friends and me...), packed trains and tourists....but my main take-away from the Fest is camaraderie.

You don't meet a stranger at Oktoberfest-you share tightly packed tables with people who become old friends within minutes. You sing and dance and eat with your new community of friends. People are happy and jubilant-and it is infectious!

We met people from several different countries-Italy, France, Germany and the US to name a few-who allowed us to pause for a moment at their tables to order a Mass...one of those moments in particular turned into a few hours, where we bought rounds and they bought shots of Jagermeister and a fig liquor that was as sweet as the Jager was medicinal.

We were lucky enough to have tickets for a table on the closing day of the Fest at the Schutzen Festzelt tent-where we met wonderful people-a potential dog-sitter, a few military personnel, a blogger whose blog I follow: each of them new friends.

Our first Wiesen was terrific. Old friends, new friends, a lot of beer and some half-chickens....and, at the very end, a ride on the Ferris Wheel-with a beautiful view.