"Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit....."

We made it to Oktoberfest this year. School was out on Wednesday for a teacher work day and Matt was able to take the day off as well. So we hopped a train in the morning and headed to Munich with some friends and no plans!

Here is MK and some Hohenfels friends on the train to Munich. They are wearing their traditional dirndls to the Fest.

One of the first things we saw upon entering Oktoberfest were these Bierwagons. They are loaded down with a number of Bier barrels and pulled by six to eight large working horses. All of the major Breweries have their own Bierwagons.

Here we are in the HofBrau Bier Tent. There are over 30 of these giant tents, and a number of smaller tents as well. They hold anywhere from 2,000 to 11,000 people and are extensively decorated. Our group mangaged to find a table to seat all 16 of us. The Hofbrau tent is known as the "Foreigner's tent" to the Germans. This is the tent that all the tourists to migrate to. Just like us! We enjoyed a special Oktoberfest Bier, brewed especially for the Fest, and some lunch.When you go to a Oktoberfest, you must enjoy one of these giant pretzels, or brezens in German. They take the edge off your hunger while you are waiting for your food to arrive!This is Aloisius. He is an angel sent to Munich on an errand from God. The legend was that Aloisius was a train porter in Munich. When he died and went to heaven, he was very disappointed that there was no beer or snuff in heaven. God got tired of all of his complaining and sent him back to Munich to be an emissary between heaven and the government. When he got to Munich, he made a beeline to Oktoberfest and there he stayed, drinking beer and enjoying his snuff! Aloisius hangs from the middle of the tent and as the Fest goes on, somehow becomes covered in underwear! We didn't see any underwear this trip. However, we did hear that if you are seated under Aloisius, you may get sprayed with beer!

Here is the Hofbrau Bierwagon.

After enjoying our lunch and bier, we made our way over to the Fest part of Oktoberfest. We were able to get in three of four rides before having to catch a train back to Parsberg.On the way home, everyone is pooped! We had so much fun this Oktoberfest! We would really like to go back to Oktoberfest one more time before it is over.