Our 2nd day at Oktoberfest. We started by watching the Hunters and Costume parade, which is a very long, very large parade that continued throughout the Oktoberfest grounds through midday. It went right in front of our hotel, which made it easy to relax at the hotel’s outdoor seating area. We didn’t watch for long…we made our way back to the grounds and the parade was heading that way too.
Then Dave and I enjoyed a maß at the Paulaner Biergarten before wandering over to the “Teufelsrad”, this spinning disc that folks ride on. Whoever stays on the disc the longest wins (bragging rights, at least). Neither of us rode on the disc…
We met our tour group at mid-afternoon for the walk over to the Hofbräu tent…the largest of the Oktoberfest tents. We had a long reservation there — thru closing! At first I was COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED by the crowds and noise but after a maß or two of beer, it suddenly didn’t seem so bad ???. It was very warm, though. The band in this tent tends to cater to the international visitors, playing every popular singalong song you can think of. You end up standing on the benches for the last couple hours.
It was a late night…and we had an early start coming up on Monday for a Berchtesgaden tour for our last full day in Germany ??????.
#oktoberfest????
While Dave and I took some video of the Devil’s Wheel, there are much better ones on YouTube. In this one, you can see the ropes and wrecking balls they break out on the last few on the wheel.
Walking into the Hofbräu Festzelt is worth discussing on its own. It’s an incredible sight, kind of an assault on the senses — the noise of the crowds, the beer, the happiness, the band. I’ll start with a video, in which I pay hommage to that famous scene in the movie “Goodfellas”, where Henry and Karen are on a date, walking through a hotel basement, then kitchen, to get to the performance venue. All one shot.
