Tipsy on life :)

Day 3 - A very merry Munich! :) Oktoberfest!! Awesomeness... all u beer guzzlers, come see what guzzling actually means.

September 18, Saturday

Munich

Oktober Fest! The million pictures we saw, the many travel stories we read, all the amazing tales we heard, nothing could ever match up to the real thing. We lived Oktober Fest! And how!

Catching the fest on its first day was perhaps, the best thing we decided to do. It seemed like the whole world was headed there -- girls dressed like pretty, medieval maids of the meadows in cleavage popping dirndl dresses and guys goofing around looking awful in their lederhosen -- suede breeches. Munich looked like a page out of some fairy tale.

Pretty maidens...

Goofy men...

A 30 euro Bayan Pass took us to the Munich Hauptbahnoff. And once there, all we had to do was follow the crowd. Young men already high on beer, ladies all dolled up and merry, kissing couples, giggling teenyboppers, everyone just moved like one large, happy creature, towards the site of the Oktober fest.

Our welcome to Munich by a quirky Hindi-speaking Reisezenturm officer, who called us ‘Haseena’ was totally something else. In true European fashion, he flirted with us chivalrously, told us what to do in Munich and to our delight, could even place Hyderabad on the map. Reminding us of the spicy khana back home he said “hume India se mohabbat” hain… He was talking of the same India we didn’t even want to think of right now. Perspective.

Hunger pangs can’t be ignored even if you are on the tightest backpacking budget. So, food was first on our minds. After hunting for budget-friendly lunch in at least seven different bistros and cafes, we found the perfect little Turkish diner. The place was packed, but we managed to catch the eyes of the man att the counter. He spoke zero English. We of course, spoke zero German. We said “vegetarian”; he said “aurbegine”. We said “with what”; he said, “Rice”. We said, “how much”, he said “5 euros”. We said “bring it on baby!” J

Just what we needed!

What he finally brought us on a large serving tray filled our eyes, and tummies. There was a decent serving of piping hot, buttered rice, served with a yummy, almost desi-like, tasty, brinjal and potato curry and a basket of soft, freshly-baked Turkish bread. Hallelujah! We shared one meal together ‘cos we wanted to save up for the lil’ treats at the Oktober fest beer tents.

Refueled, and rejuvenated, we slipped into the crowd and resumed the walk again. A good half-a-kilometre before the actual venue, we heard the buzz of the happy Oktober Fest people. It was a nice, heady hum and we were just drawn into it.

Merry in love :)

The world inside the Oktober Fest tent was golden-hued, merry and high on beer, which came in 2000 different kinds. Hours of people watching, photo clicking and miles of walking through the milling crowds later we took a break for our first treat. And no, it wasn’t a brewed variety. Our eyes caught snow white candy floss, sold by an impossibly pretty meadow-maiden looking lady. We got a small one; 2 euros. Next temptation came in the form of a glossy, glazed, red candied apple… 

Not as yummy as it looks...

We yielded. It cost us  2 euros and took us 2 whole minutes to realize we just couldn’t bite into its rock hard sugar glazing. Tragic. There had to be a happy end to this. So allowed ourselves one more little treat for another 2 euros --  white chocolate coated blueberries and raspberries. Bliss.

All this while we were looking for a tent where we could buy our share of Oktoberfest beer, for cheap. And after walking in circles ogling at all that German tamasha, for hours, we found a bustling lil’ tent sold cola, Russian and regular local beer for 5 euors a glass. We asked for the smallest glass, and the lightest beer. “We have only big, BIG, glasses,” the lady behind the counter beamed, pouring out a tall glass of Russian lime-favoured beer. “The lightest,” she vouched, with a wink.

Two teetotalers sipping on a tall glass for hours together... 

As we sat on the cool green grass sipping our lemony beer all we could feel was the happy high around us. A certain hellishness we left behind seemed so far, far away. And so, so intolerable. No, it was not the beer. Hell, no! When a whole nation steps out  and gathers in one place to say cheers to life, love and whatever they are, you know something’s definitely right. And whatever that is, I wanted to take back with me.

As Munich danced and sang and made merry while downing gallons of beer under the bright September sky, we put our Happy Feet up, took a long, hard sip from our shared beer and said cheers to life.

--C