Let me start out by reading you a small excerpt from the baby diary:

Dear baby Vin,

When you were born mommy and daddy were so excited! So much so that your daddy decided to celebrate the occasion by drinking beer 3 days in a row. In another country.

To save face, we told your big brother Mo that daddy was on vacation "doing sports and swimming". Of course we did not elaborate that doing sports meant lifting liters of beer and swimming was really referring to the ocean of beer being consumed.

Do I sound a bit annoyed*? Well only because I haven't had a beer in what seems like ages and will not be partaking the rest of the year due to the milk production facilities that currently house themselves on the premises of my person. ***If you're concerned, mom-in-law spent the entire weekend with me and the kids so we were very well taken care of.

• • •

Back to the beers...
If you were ever curious what it's like to be at the famous Oktoberfest in the lovely Munich, Germany we've got just the reportage for you. First, a history bit.

Once upon a time, on October 12, 1810 to be exact, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (I can't pronounce it either). To celebrate the happy occasion the Prince threw a mega party and invited his closest friends, or rather all citizens of Munich to come along, drink and be merry! There were horse races, pig roasts, folk entertainment and lots and lots of beer. Ever since then it has been a yearly celebration. In Germany Oktoberfest is actually called Theresienwiese, meaning Theresa's meadow, because the original party was held on the fields in front of the city gates. Locals to this day call it "Wies'n" for short.

• • •

So now that we've got the basics down, let's get to the tough decisions...

My oh my, what to wear!? The theme is peasant "chic" as you can imagine. Imitating how Alpine peasants used to dress. For gentlemen, Lederhosen (Leather overalls) with checkered shirt in red or blue. Fedora with a happy feather and very sexy white socks to the knees.

Looking sharp boys! Looking sharp! (My Vito is the ginger one in the middle.)

• • •

For the ladies, the go to outfit is a dirndl dress. A circular cut dress with a boustier type top. There is usually a white blouse that leaves your ample bosoms on display, you know to show off the plenitude of Bavaria. A cute little apron and you probably want to braid your hair a la Heidi for the full effect.

Nicely done ladies!

• • •

Now on to my favorite part! Drinking and eating!

This is the whole point of this shindig after all. The beer for Oktoberfest are produced by the following brewers who call themselves "Club of Munich Brewers": Augustiner-Bräu, Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner-Bräu, Spatenbräu, and Staatliches Hofbräu-München. Now days the beer is golden, but originally it was a strong dark brew called "Marzen" named after the month of March which is when it was brewed and then left to ferment slowly over the summer months.

*Please note the time of 9.15 AM. Breakfast of champions - redefined.

Now obviously if you start your day with a liter of beer at some point you'll need to eat. So what's on the menu? How about a very manly pork roast? Or as the locals would say Schweinebraten!

After you've devoured that beast, you can nibble on a whole roasted chicken... called Hendl.

But a real manly man will STILL be hungry, so it's only fitting to grab a Würstl sandwich!

Or a Weisswurst with cabbage...

Belly finally full, it's time to be entertained with some music, and order another round.

And then... things will get fuzzy, very fuzzy... and perhaps a grand leaning tower of
beer will be constructed?... I think putting beers on your head makes you smarter.

Well I hope you've enjoyed this little manly visit to Oktoberfest in Munich. Are you inspired to come and be part of this crazy volksfest next year? Fret not if you won't be able to catch a plane to Bavaria, your very own city might be hosting a version of Oktoberfest so check it out!

Oktoberfest near you:
Amsterdam / New York City / Chicago / Beijing / Hong Kong

Ahh, no beer for me this October, but don't you worry, I shall console myself when I go on a shopping trip to Paris with the girls. I'll be taking Vito's credit card with me. ;)

• • • LESSONS LEARNED • • •

It takes teamwork, support and care to raise a child,
and sometimes also a few beers.

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