The Oktoberfest 2015 – Half-Time

Wow, it’s the second week of the Oktoberfest already – who knew? We almost didn’t notice, as one beery, sunny day blends into the next, each with roughly the same schedule and only really distinguishable by the colour of our shirts or aprons: there’s almost no difference between, say, a Wednesday and a Saturday. And, to be honest, that’s fine: if all our Wednesdays were this great, we wouldn’t need any other days of the week.

You’ve got to really look to see the signs: like the rapidly diminishing number of Italian tourists on the second Monday, or the gay chaps gathering outside Fischer Vroni for their annual “Prosecco Wiesn” (the Italians always seem to leave something behind). You can hear it too, when a brass band serenades the passing of the first week and the beginning of the second at the feet of the Bavaria statue on Sunday. And you can feel it in that rich Indian summer sunshine that generally accompanies much of Week Two.

And we feel it in our own tired bodies, our croaking voices, our latent headaches – and in our willingness to go all the way, to make it through to the final Sunday.Daher werden wir uns nun schonen und Worte gegen Bilder eintauschen.

So for that reason, with no further ado, we’re going to leave you with some pics and rest up for a few hours. But before we do: we’re obviously not the worst off here, because the annual set of dentures has already made its way to lost-property…

Oide Wiesn: This traditional part of the Oktoberfest is always worth a visit – and all the more so this year since it will have to make way for the quadrennial Bavarian Farming Show next year.

The rides: Every year, we say never again. And every year, we do it again.

The Marstall Tent: Just as unnervingly shiny and new this year as last. Definitely more of a Michelin restaurant than a beer tent: “Rack of venison calf with chanterelles in juniper cream, mini haselnut dumplings, cranberries, and romanesco”, anyone?

Armbrustschützenzelt: This is our discovery of the year! Long decried as boring, either this tent has changed a lot, or we have. But who cares: we ended up there this year by accident – and had a great time!!

Bavaria statue: It’s always nice to see her again, especially when the sun is shining!

That’s the Oktoberfest 2015 for us thus far; tune in next week for our final summary!