Octoberfest, Part 3

Finally we arrived at the Munich station, where we left the crowded train. Signs that directed us to the Wiesn, the place where the Oktoberfest was held, were mounted in eye height on the walls of the station. They guided us to the U-bahn, the underground tram, where a train to the Wiesn arrived every two minutes. 

 The Munich Train Station During Oktoberfest

We squeezed in among the other merry-makers on their way to the fest. After two stops, the mechanical voice on the loudspeaker announced that we had arrived. We left the U-bahn and followed the crowds out onto the street.  It was raining. We huddled closer together, since none of us had brought an umbrella.

Young men and women, already laughing and singing, arm in arm, accompanied us on all sides. A blonde girl, hair braided and protected under her umbrella, wore a pink checkered dirndl with a peasant blouse and matching pink pumps.

 They looked a lot like these!

The young man at her side looked manly in three-quarter length Bavarian style lederhos'n topped with a grey jacket piped with green and a perky Bavarian hat. Everywhere I looked, women wearing dirndls mingled with other, more plainly dressed people.

We crossed a large intersection, and the fest lay before us. 

 Muenchen Oktoberfest Attractions

The tops of merry-go-rounds, surrounded by shorter booths decorated in green, blue and red, invited the newcomers to join in the excitement. Canned music competed with the sound of laughter and brought back memories of my childhood where these sounds accompanied my daily life. But this was a very large carnival compared to the tiny one I grew up in.

More tomorrow!