My Last Will and Testament

My fellow Oktoberfestians
It is with heavy heart that I must announce that I think I am going to die of this plague I picked up in Munich. I guess it's fairly appropriate that some germ I caught while drinking kills me. Anyway, I would like to leave you all with some remebrances of me....Like who could forget me anyway?
To Jack (you're first because I am convinced I caught the plague from you) I leave a bottle of Jaegermeister....remember friends don't let friends drink this crap.
To Barleyman (my husband) I leave......the kids....Ha, serves you right!!!!
To Mac (AKA speedy civic) I leave my degrees and all the accompanying letters that go after my name. My office is your office, but remember my job is not as exciting as it sounds.
To Designated Walker I leave my love for German beer...makes Oktoberfest much more fun!
To Chugger I leave my cats, since you seem to love herding them so much.
To Einfart I leave all my Micheal Moore books and films, I'm sure you'll enjoy them.
To Candy I leave all my Conde Nast magazines and travel books to help you go all those places on your list.
To Jane I leave my Ann Coulter voodoo doll, have fun with it!
To Barbus and Schlumberger Lady I leave a bottle of Dom Perignon and 2 beer steins to drink it with.
To Grumpy I leave your own set of leiderhosen, I think you will look wunderval in them!
To Bonnie I leave the Italians, the Aussies, the Austrians, etc, and my lecherous heart.
To Ludwig II and Agnes I leave my dictionary of American slang, with an emphasis on California....whatever!
To Sam I leave my dancing shoes.
To Jim I leave a case of Miller Lite.
If I do die, please sprinkle my ashes over the Paulaner tent at the next Oktoberfest, and raise a mug to me while the band plays "Alice"...Ein Prosit!!!!

Dachau Lady

The afternoon we spent in Dachau was an adventure. First, the ZieglerKeller was closed for unknown reasons. :-( Second, it was raining. So we camped out in a Hotel Restaurant and had a great time drinking and eating, waiting for the various groups to show up.

After a while, Grumpy went on a mission to find another drinking establishment. Needless to say, we ended up at a really quaint Irish Bar. In hindsight, it really reminded me of the Cantina from Star Wars. What a collection of characters!

The best being the proprietor, whose head was almost shaved, except for a ring around her face (facing away from the camera above). She also wanted to learn English. We oblidged. All went well in our cultural immersion until Grumpy asked her to join us, which she interpreted to be a solicitation for prostitution, and then he took her lighter and a glass from the bar. (Don't worry folks he was innocent).

For those of you who missed this adventure... her you go. Note the skull on the table. Ahhh Dachau!

Warning...not for export...whoops.

Here are some of my favorites from the trip.

The first is a shot of Grumpy, which should put fear in anyone's heart.


The second is a similar shot to Einfarht's, but I believe I captured the intent of Paulaner Girl a little bit better.. ;-)

Grumpy at his finest!

Wheat Bier Und Eggs

After Mac and Jack discovered the joys of Shakespeare, they join us for breakfast at Paulaner BrauStuebl. Jack has Wheat bier and a hashbrown/sausage/egg dish; Mac has a SchweinHaxn (pig's knuckle.) They had to take a break shortly after this breakfast.

Looking for Cats

Cats? What cats? Where is everyone?

Kelheim

A rainy day. The bus drops us off at the top of the hill across the river (s) from Kelheim. The monument was built in the mid-1860s to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon. The statues number eighteen - one for each germanic tribe. There are 165 steps up a narrow circular staircase to the first external balcony; 38 more to the second.

The view from the top is, well, wet: but stunning.

Couldn't Resist

This one just catches my eye. Barleyman has to investigate.

The snapshot

Well, I agree with the various declarations of good times had at the recent 'fest. Chugger's Good, Bad, and Ugly provides one way to capture some of the reactions. I suggest another might be to nominate, second, and vote on "the snapshot."

My entry is here; although I haven't quite made it through all of the 200+ photos on our two cameras - so I reserve the right to a second entry.

Anyone can play: post one (or more) of your favorites; enter a suggested caption for any of the entries; and when the time comes - vote on your top three favorites. Let the entries begin!

Help!

Would somebody tell me how to get the following song out of my head...


Hey Baby
Chorus:
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
When I saw you walking down the street.
I sad that she's the kind of girl
I like to me.
She is so pretty look she's fine.
I'm gonna make her my oh my.
Chorus:
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
When you turn and walk away
that's where I wand to say come on a baby
give me a world I wana know I wana know.
When you turn and walk away
that's where I wand to say come on a baby
give me a world I wana know if you be my girl.
Chorus:
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
Chorus:
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
Hey hey baby (hu ha).
I wanna know if you be my girl.
repeat (42X)

Chugger, You have a job to do

Chugger, while you may be back in the real world, you still have an obligation to investigate the stranding of Paulaner Girl at the bar by Jac and Speedy.

Back in the real world

So, I still am not sure if I am hung over or just have jet lag. I had a wonderful time (what I remember of it) and would love to go again. To any of you whom I offended with my drunken debauchery, I apologize, and to those of you whom I didn't offend, I will try harder next time :>) It was great seeing all the female members of the drinking team, it's been so long. And who gave me this sore throat, I would like to know?

Future Field Research Team Members

Afterparty

For those that can't get enouth. Here are some great pics. on this site.

http://www.br-online.de/land-und-leute/thema/oktoberfest/oktoberfest-bilder.xml

Oktoberfest 2005 - The Ugly ! !

The Weather

Oktoberfest 2005 - The Bad ! !

Didn’t make any new BDG2M visits

Herding Cats - Coordinating a group of 17 is rough

Another 2 year wait to do it again

Several closed Bier Gardens…
- Waldwirtschaft Großhesselohe
- Zieglerkeller (Bräustüberl) Dachau

Final weekend crowds

Oktoberfest 2005 - The Good ! !

Fun can be had at any place and any time, regardless of the weather

No casualties; except for Chugger's voice

The bus trip to Kelheim and boat to Weltenburg

Getting to a tent at 8:10AM and getting a table when they open is definitely another must do

A wonderful dinner in our own PRIVATE BUILDING at the Isartal Bahnhof

Nice to see virgins get indoctrinated

Late night Gyros

Ohio Contingent is home!

We made it back to Dayton ahead of schedule. Had plenty of time in Atlanta to catch an earlier flight.

Kudos to everyone, especially the newbies. A good time was had by all, and it appears the same number that left for Munich arrived from Munich; but only time will tell about the newlyweds and Grumpy.

Overall reviews, critiques and lessons learned to follow.

Time flies when you're having fun !!!!!!!

We hardly can't believe, but when we woke up this morning we realized that we had to leave and did not all what was planned. We like to thank everyone. We really enjoyed. For those we haven't seen when leaving and those we did, we say till the next. Which is: 2007: 22.09. - 07.10.
From Schlumberger Lady & Barbus

Made is back

Far to short, but with some very good memories, made it back. When getting to the airport in Dusseldorf I had no clue where the car was parked. Agnes was no help either. Sure, we were suffering from a "temporary" stage of Korsakov. By the time I forget what car I have I'll start worrying.
It was great to be with you all, and our only regret is that it was far to short.
have a pleasant and save journey back home. Don't wear your October attributes to work and don't even try to explain to any non-October what it was like.

Have I seen the singer before?

Greeting
Ludwig II,5

Chugger, Penalty Round Please

After a day at the Weis'n, a fine dinner at Augustiner Keller, and a glass of wine back at the hotel, Paulaner Girl and I decided to head out to meet Speedy and Jack at Shakespeare. As they begged us to do.

While Einfahrt could not make it, we trudged through the rain, to help Speedy meet the girl of his dreams.

When we got there..... No Speedy or Jack.

Penalty round, please.

The manager at the bar was disappointed as well.

Final day at Oktoberfest

We started for the grounds at 7:45. By 8:10 we we in line to get into a tent. By 9:05 we were drink a beer. Breakfast? Salami sandwich, of course.

We ended up getting 2 tables to accomodate everyone, and it gave us enough room to switch around, and dance on the seats when the music started at noon. We left the Weis'n at 6:30, 9 1/2 hours after we began. A new record.

Here's a photo of Grumpy, in his full regalia.

Great time had by all, good friends, food, music, and of course, beer.

See everyone in 2007.

Don't blame us!!!!

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Despite having an extra day to celebrate, revelers drank less of Germany's favorite tipple at this year's Munich Oktoberfest tribute to beer which ended Monday.
Some 6 million litres of beer -- enough to fill around six Olympic-sized swimming pools -- were downed by the 6.1 million visitors to the festival in the Bavarian capital. That was about 100,000 litres below the 6.1 million litres in 2004.

Off to the Wiesn

What more can we say. It is 7:45AM and away we go.

Day 4 photo

Kudos for Einfahrt and beating me to the post for Day 4. Weltenburg Klosterbrauierai was founded in 1050 AD and is the oldest Monsatic brewery in the world.

Here's a photo of the monastery, which sits on the banks for the very fast moving river (Donau).

Tomorrow... we hit the tents at W'eisen early to try and get a table.

Good luck !!!

For those who start 3rd Oct. This should have been the time...... (Barbus Clock)

So

A very great evening. und day,

Rainy all day. We went to Kelheim, via an arranged bus. Herding 17 cats into a bus at 8:00 AM is very diffucult. 13 here, somebody need coffee, 15 here somebody need tylenol, 14 here somebody need to go to the bathroom. Arrgh!

Eventually we got on the arranged 18 passenger bus. We got a surprise gift (um.). A tour guide that had some ideas about our schedule. We took about an hour twenty to get to Kelheim. We took an unexpected tour of the monument to the defeat of the French in 1813-1814 (Wellington, the Deutsch, und the Russians.) We went to the monument, up the many stairs, and saw the wonderful view of the lower valleys und the Donau. Then we went to the city of Kelheim and got a tour of the inner city. Walking, leaving some behind in the bus, we saw the four towers, the place where the very first Weiss Bier was brewed and is still in operation, and the place where King Ludwig I was killed, which caused the transfer of the capitol to Munich. (skipping for others to fill in details) Then Weltenburg, great ride back to Munich (involving bier) und a dinner suprise for my Birthday. All-in-all, a great day, even though it never stopped raining.

Enough for now. More later.

Day 3 Round up

We ended up hitting the Oktoberfest grounds first thing in the morning. Much to our chagrin, all the tents were full and we could not get a seat. We ended up at the Hippodrom and sat outside next to some folks from Michigan. Many rousing renditions of the Michigan fight song! Go Blue. We then went to Dachau, where some of us went to the camp, the rest sat in the Gasthaus and had some beer. The Ziegler Keller was closed, for some unknown reason, but the local proprietor was helpful and set us up nicely. It's really hard to find a table for 17.