Oktoberfest 5

 We joined the crowd that was walking away from the Twist and Twirl and the other rides and their blaring music. A bit later we arrived at an intersection that pointed to the different beer tents. At the other end of the Wies’n, we came across beer tent number one, and saw that it was a long, low, wooden building. The front doors, large wooden gates, were closed. A line of people were queued up in front of them, drinking beer, talking, singing and laughing in the drizzle that had started again. It was obvious that the beer drinking had gone on for a while already.

  Outside of one of the Oktoberfest Beer tents 

We waited with the crowds for about a half hour. Suddenly, Keith Pointed into the crowd that was moving past the people who waited in front of the tent. “There she is. I told her to meet us in front of beer tent one.”

A young girl, dressed in a warm jacket with a shawl and a knitted cap ran toward us and hugged Keith. After we got introduced and talked about Italy, where Keith’s sister lived, the kids wanted to get into the tent, but the gates wouldn’t open, and we couldn’t find anyone in charge to ask what was going on.

A young man, who was waiting next to us with his girl, smiled at us. “Don’t worry,” he said in German accented English. “The doors will be open shortly.” His girl nodded and added, “Yes, I’m sure.”

One of a group of older men shook his head. “You need to go around the backside of the tent.”

Another old man with a while goatee, holding a bottle of beer, nodded. “That’s right. They only let you in on that side.”

From the other side, a young woman spoke up, obviously happy to practice her English. “You can’t get in now,” she said. “There’s a sign on the other side that says the tent is full. You can’t get in until the evening for sure.”

We listened, wondered what was going on, and shivered in the rain. By this time, my stomach was growling. Liesel heard it and said she was hungry too. Keith and his sister nodded, but Marit said, “If we leave here, we won’t have our place in line anymore. If someone opens the doors, we again won’t be able to get in.”

Ken smiled his fatherly smile at her. “How about I go and get us all some bratwurst? They’re sure to taste wonderful here at the Oktoberfest. That way, you’ll keep the line and we get some food.”

Liesel hugged him. “Thank you so much Pappa. You’re the best.”

So Ken went and brought us back a bunch of bratwursts with plenty of buns and mustard.

We ate and waited some more. Finally Liesel said, “This is a waste of time. I’m done waiting.”

I agreed with Liesel.

Marit shook her head. “I want to get into the beer tent. You guys can go if you want, but I’ll stay here.”

Keith, like a good boyfriend should, agreed with her and his sister wanted to stay too.  

Ken, I and Liesel were going to leave.

“How about we’ll meet you in two hours?” Ken said.

Marit smiled at him. “Okay. If we’re not in by then it will be hopeless.”

I thought of an easy place where we could meet. “How about we meet again in front of the Shocker, the scary ride? That one will be easy to find for all of us.”

Everyone agreed, and Liesel, Ken and I took off to ride a few rides.

More about the Oktoberfest soon!