We are moving a bit slowly today, because of last night.
Last night we dove head first into German assimilation.
Last night we gathered with some close friends and took a big German bite of ….Volksfest.
Volksfest is Stuttgart’s answer to Oktoberfest. We hear it is just as good as Oktoberfest in Munich – but without the tourists to crowd it up. I can tell you this – I cannot imagine how Munich could improve on what we did last night.
We walked into a tent full of approximately 5000 people (no exaggeration) who were gathered around tables with benches, all placed around a stage where a band was playing. Many were in traditional dress (dirndls and liederhosen) and all were swinging a huge beer (called a “mass”) and singing along and toasting each other. Each mass holds a liter of beer (approximately 4 bottles) and our price of entry came with 3 mass and half of a baked chicken.
We found our group and didn’t even bother to sit down. Everyone - every single person - in the whole tent was standing on their bench. They were singing and dancing and toasting and laughing. They saw us approach, reached down and pulled us up..and the rest was history.
We had a fantastic time. Good friends. Great music (everything from German drinking songs to eighties songs to JOHN DENVER). Everyone was kind to each other. There were no fights. No women dressed in a ridiculously provocative manner. No slobbering drunks or crying girls. It was a huge group of people, enjoying themselves and respecting each other. The beer disappears quickly. There’s so much toasting and glass swinging that you don’t really realize how much you’re drinking until you’re empty. The glasses are large – and HEAVY! Even when they’re empty they’re heavy! My forearms and hands are actually a little sore from holding my mass…er masses…all night.
We got home after midnight, hoarse from singing, tired from dancing. Our clothes smelled of smoke and spilled beer. We slept in (waaaayyyy in) and kind of shrugged off our list of things to accomplish today, opting only to run the errands we needed since the stores will be closed tomorrow. The rest will still be there tomorrow and a veg day on the couch is definitely in order!
I don’t know if it’s good news or bad – but we have tickets to go to Volksfest with some other friends next week too! We’ve already made our plan for next time: We’re both going to shave one mass from the number we drank last night. No sense blowing another Saturday!
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