Authentic German Oktoberfest

Hi do, Y'all. We went to Oktoberfest in German Village a while back, which, oddly enough, was on the last day of September. German village is also Michelle's favorite part of town. Katzinger's deli, Juergen's Bakery, Schmidt's Sausage Haus, and traditional architecture all bespeak this century-plus-old neighborhood's rich German heritage. Needless to say, we had high hopes for Oktoberfest. The American Bus Association (ABA) even rated this as one of the top 100 festivals in the nation.

The first thing through the gate was a huge tent with a live polka band, dancing, and Schmidt's wide offering of sausages.

That was lunch. We then had desert from Juergen's Bakery, which is when we started to notice some discrepencies. Mmmmmmmm.

Apple strudel, cream puffs, and...

That's right! Cannoli! Holy Cannoli!! Non-secular Italian desserts were not what we were expecting at a German festival. After lunch, it was time to grab a beer and peruse the vendors booths.

One of the major offerings...

One of the U.K.'s finest mainstream beers! This was shocking. There were one or two German beers available, but to even allow a British beer on the premises (with advertising) was unimaginable.

Bass beer in hand, we headed for the vendors' area of the festival. The booths were labeled.


Oktoberfest or Sturgis Motorcycle Rally? The theme for the day grew muddier.

While most of the festival looked like this:

However, the festival had its redeeming qualities:

About half of the festival portrayed campy old Bavarian Germany, and the other half represented the rest of the world... all of it. While only loosely a German festival, it was an interesting time and a nice day outside, but clearly the American Bus Association's travel writers are insane.

So after drinking beer from the U.K., eating cannoli, and looking at Mayan art, we decided to call it a day. It was quite an experience!

Take care, and we'll write soon!