Oktoberfest 2010

Saturday, September 25 - Jeremy and I and little Shelby took the train to Munich to enjoy Oktoberfest. Our neighbor girl was nice enough to watch the other 4 kids for us :)

All dressed in our Dirndl and Lederhosen and ready to go! Shelby in her dirndl - isn't she cute!! But guess what took place right after I took that picture of her... I had waited to get her dressed until we were on the train - due to us getting up early, I figured it'd be easier to not worry about getting her dressed and such until we were comfortably on our way. Well, I had just put on her dirndl and tights along with 2 shirts and a onesie- and she looked so adorable that I had to get a picture. She was sitting comfortably by daddy and she decided it was time to do her morning business. It must have been the way she was sitting because it went straight up her back. It soaked her onesie, tights, and one of her shirts. Fortunately it didn't get on her dirndl!!! I couldn't believe it. Can you imagine what it was like to change that mess in a train bathroom (they are similar to airplane bathrooms) which are VERY small...plus with the motion of the train...not easy!! I ended up throwing away her onesie - because I didn't want to deal with the mess of rinsing it out. Fortunately I had brought another onesie along as well as some purple pants she could wear under her dirndl to keep her warm. Luckily I also had one pair of socks for her too, since originally I figured she'd just have her tights on. I tried to rinse out her tights and dry them in hopes that she could wear them - but gave up on that idea. Oh, the adventures of traveling with a baby!!! I was sure hoping our day would get better from here on out!

When we arrived in Munich it was pouring rain. We decided to grab a cab to get to the Oktoberfest grounds. This was much better than waiting for the tram along with most everyone else or getting soaked walking. (The above picture was actually taken before we left, not as we entered, due to the pouring rain when we first arrived.)

We arrived early enough to get in line at one of the big tents. We couldn't believe that we actually got in!!!! It is basically impossible to get in if you don't have reservations (which are extrememly expensive on the weekend) or arrive at like 6am to be the first in line. It was packed inside - loud and festive - but we were in! We soon became the tourist attraction (Jer had Shelby in the Bjorn at this point) as most people were amazed that we'd be crazy enough to bring a 4 month old baby to Oktoberfest! Unfortunately we couldn't find a place to sit, and the security guards weren't too keen on us being in there with a little baby. They stated to us that this really wasn't the place for a baby as it could get a rowdy and would be loud and dangerous for her. So we opted to leave the tent - in hopes of finding another smaller restaurant that would take us in :(

Jer standing outside in the rain (with Shelby) in front of the tent we just left.

We ended up in a smaller restaurant - but we were only allowed to stay one hour - we didn't care - we were just glad to be warm and dry again. We ordered the traditional Bavarian meal of Beer and Weisswurst. It was a nice little place, but shortly after our arrival water started dripping on Jeremy from the ceiling above!! There was just too much rain - fortunately it was only drips - and he had a hat on!

Next we ventured to another restaurant that we had been to last year with Mike and Renee. This place has all crazy stuff hanging from the walls and ceiling!

At first we sat by a family with 2 boys and their friend with another little boy. We were glad we weren't the only people bringing kids to Oktoberfest! When they left we were joined by an Italian couple, Giulio and Veronica. We spent the next hour or so having a great time talking with them. Giulio liked to talk (so much that he didn't even touch his food he had ordered) and Veronica was just so sweet! They adored Shelby and couldn't believe we had 4 more kids back home! We may even make another trip to Italy just to visit them:)

Finally the rain stopped and we enjoyed a few festivities outside. Jer wanted to test his strength, but first he had to help the guy running the booth fix the platform. All the bolts were coming loose and it wasn't working properly. Maybe from all the hammer-hitting!?!

Afterwards Jer stated the mechanism was still not working properly - but he did take home 5 roses for helping!!!

Next we headed to the Wildstuben restaurant. Jer took a photo of me in front of the building - check out the guy behind me in the photo - he apparently wanted to get in the shot as well! Hilarious!!!!

We also met a great bunch of people here (we shared a large table with them). That is one of the best things about Oktoberfest - hanging out with people and having a good time!