A Detour

My adventure in Vienna has begun.  Before I talk about that I want to share a little about a side trip I went on yesterday.  Due to some oversight by the train staff on our travel from Rome we had a free day on our train ticket so a few friends and I decided last minute to take a day trip to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest.  We left early Sunday morning and four hours later we found ourselves surrounded by lederhosen and dirndl.  Now Oktoberfest in Munich is not just any Oktoberfest, but the Oktoberfest, the very first and the largest.  It really was quite an experience.  Luckily we met a local couple at the very beginning that spoke English and they were able to run us through the basics of Oktoberfest.  It is something that really cannot be described.  It's loud German music, gigantic pretzels, brightly decorated tents, huge families all dressed in their Bavarian best, and of course "der Maß Bier". 

The crowds outside.

What it's like inside one of the tents . It's even louder in person.  

The way it works is, you walk around and as soon as you see a free seat at a table you sit down.  Then the waitress brings you a beer and whatever food you want.  The beer comes in one size called a maß, as you can see it is quite huge.

 Yet another tent. They all have there own themes and decorations.  This one is called the Augustiner-Festhalle.

A common sight.