OKTOBERFEST 2008

peter’s boss invited me to join taiyo europe and guests at the hofbräuhaus tent on thursday, 02 october. our group was probably the most diverse, composed of germans, japanese, swiss, italian, togolese, english/american and filipino. the reservation was from 12.00 to 17.00 and I was assured that the crowd at this time was not a wild lot compared to the nocturnal ones. well, of course, there’s always an exception to the rule.



however, i will always appreciate the fact that oktoberfest pilgrims get drunk as a skunk and yet manage to ‘behave’ (although some guy tried to tickle me on my way out of the bathroom and someone from the table next to us asked for a small peck on the cheek). people switch to the let’s- drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we-all-die mode without getting into petty fistfights. i couldn’t vouch for the same if this were to take place in the philippines … neither could peter, in the UK.

and so another oktoberfest unfolded … six million visitors from all over the world gulping down around 7 million liters of beer. but hey … there are only 347 days left until the next one!

in the meantime, i shall savor the memories of the not-so-distant inebriated past and try to: (1) let my hands recover from the bruises caused by holding one-liter mug properly when doing the “prost” and (2) give my respiratory system a respite since the ban on smoking in public places was lifted during the occasion.


aloisius, hofbräuhaus tent's mascot - thank you, elke, for going through the trouble in translating the story from bavarian to english.