Three generations ago Pat's and my great, greats came from Germany. Our only ties to our ancestral homeland are German potato salad, beer, occasional forays to German restaurants and Oktoberfest. Oh, did I mention beer? Beer and wine. Oktoberfest is the time when I bond with my Germanness. Everywhere we walked there were guys walking around with green shorts and hats. No matter where you were, you could hear a polka band.
There was a sand sculptor making a giant sand sculpture of Odin, Thor and those guys. You can tell my knowledge of Norse gods is pretty sketchy. It was the coolest thing watching this guy sculp freehand. Just up the midway were artists working with chalk, also very cool.
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra had a Beethoven and Wagner concert to cap the evening off. They finished with Sousa. There must be a Sousa German connection somewhere. Maybe the Kaiser made him an honorary German, or maybe Sousa just liked Kaiser rolls. I know I do.
Not a green vegtable to be found at Oktoberfest. How these guys tried to conquor the world twice last century on this kind of food makes me wonder. I wanted to take a three hour nap after eating this. Boy, it was tasty. Germans do fried balony right.
I find friends everywhere.
3 comments:
Our local Oktoberfest is always at the end of September - but never at the beginning of October itself. I, too, have resigned myself to not understanding it, but it is still pretty odd. =D
Jim, this looks like lots of fun. They do have Oktoberfest in Lake Geneva, we gone several times, but I can't remember if it is in September or October!
It has gotten quite expensive with lots of activities (that you pay for) for the kids.
Eileen
This looks like big fun! Especially the food!!!! I am a big lover of fried anything, especially fried balongna!!!!
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