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We arrived in Munich and found our tram. A stop later and we picked up a bunch of people leaving Oktoberfest. One of them, an English guy, was really drunk and was being looked after by an Ozzie couple so he didn't get in to trouble. We got chatting with the Ozzies and turned out they were staying at the same place. The Tent, as it was called, was in full swing with a big campfire and lots of people drinking and talking. Wazza wanted to drink more but we had no money as we hadn't been to an ATM yet. However Wazza wanted someone to drink with and wouldn't take no for an answer, so Sam had some drinks with him. Soon it was midnight and time to get some sleep!
Tuesday was the big day for us to finally go to Oktoberfest. Sam was rearing to go and kept telling Brenda to hurry up! We arrived at 11am to a decent number of people and an amazing sight. Beer tent after beer tent with food shops, carnival rides and souvenir shops everywhere. The word 'tent' doesn't really do a beer tent justice. With capacity for a few thousand people, they are massive with hop decorations and a stage for the traditional band. We went to Hofbrau first, being probably the most famous it fills up really quickly and gets pretty rowdy. We had our first mass (stein) here and Sam had a traditional meal. He also got a Bavarian hat and some souvenirs. The bar girls were mainly older strong women who could carry up to six mass at once (that we saw!). Then we went for a walk to see all the crazy carnival rides but didn't go on any. Then we decided to go to the smallest tent that had been recommended as the quietest and most authentic. We forgot the name but it contains Filshe (or similar) and serves Pauliner beer. This tent was fantastic and super authentic. It was amazing to see families, elderly and disabled people enjoying a beer together. We sat at a table and started drinking. We were joined by two Peruvians, who were mother and son. We spent the entire afternoon drinking, chatting and singing with them - lots of fun! Then it was time for them to leave for the airport and we left too, feeling quite boozed. The other problem was that all the tents are booked after 5pm and it gets really hard to find a spot. Everywhere was packed with people so we decided to call it a day. We sat on the grass for a while, watching people wander around. Then back at The Tent we had more beers around the campfire and chatted with some Americans, some Ozzies and a couple of Kiwis (Ozzies are everywhere!).
The next day we were tired and lethargic, though not really tired. We did make it in to town for a look around and to get train tickets. We went back to Oktoberfest but just had a wander round and people watched on the grass again. We stopped at a pizzeria beer garden for a pizza and a real radler which was nice.
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