Oktoberfest

Living in Munich, it is our duty to visit the Oktoberfest. Hic ! We did, first day fist show types. Attended the parade, visited the beer tents and got drunk.

According to Wikipedia "Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair held annually in Munich. It is 16-day festival with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. How it all started was with a celebration of King Ludwig-1's (Prince then) wedding. The locals were invited for the festivities. There was a horse race at the end of the event which everyone enjoyed so much that decided to have it every year. Hence, Oktoberfest was born.

Now the only horses that we see are in the Parade, which marks the beginning of the fest. I am sure no one remembers the race or the marriage. Now Oktoberfest is all about beer and b**bs. The traditional Bavarian attire for a woman, a Drindl, makes sure the women flaunt what they have.

Like I was saying, we did see the parade. It is a good experience. People dressed in their traditional clothes, the band playing local music and different beer companies in their buggies with horses, ladies dressed in their best, standing on the open buggies throwing flowers at the crowd. It was a superb experience. The number of people that were there to see the parade was unthinkable, in fact some locals had a brilliant idea to catch the parade. The picture was taken from a humble phone but check out the balcony of the house.

I tried my best to upload videos here to help you understand the experience but failed. Here is a picture of the entrance. This much I could manage ;)

Inside there are many rides, shops selling t-shirts, crazy hats and souvenirs, food stalls and of course BEER.

These hearts below are supposed to be made of ginger bread. They have different messages on them and are worn around the neck like a necklace. It could also be used as a cheeky way to propose or share your feelings as Oktoberfest is I think the biggest dating spot in the world. The numbers of people who meet their partners here is equally proportional to the beer served.

And of course the post is incomplete without the pictures of these ladies carrying 10-12 masses of beer together. A mass is one litre of beer and the glass is pretty heavy.

Our friendly American table sharer with a crazy beer barrel hat.

This t-shirt worn by a visitor describes very well what people at the beer gardens and halls are feeling. hic !

Time for me to quench my thirst for more Oktoberfest experience ;) ;) ;)

Pictures tell a story

Have found some truly interesting signs for bathrooms / WC , in Munich. Like this one is in the famous restaurant Ratskeller. Typically a Ratskeller is a restaurant located in the basement of the Rat Haus or in English 'The City Hall' of the city.

I loved the detail of how the Mouse is trying to protect himself ;) from the warm showers being bestowed upon him.

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Another interesting phenomena I realised as an Indian staying abroad-  For the world India means Gandhi, Yoga and delicious food. A restaurant in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, combined two of these together:

Never imagined that Ahinsawadi (peace lover, believer of non-violence)  Bapu (means father, as we fondly call him) would be a trademark for Tandoori food somewhere in the world. 

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Some of you must have seen the next one many times. For those who have not- what you see below is basically a bag dispenser. And it is no ordinary bag, this is a bag especially designed for you to pick up the poop of your beloved doggy and dispose it off properly. If you notice, there are very clear pictorial instructions of how to use the bag.

I found this interesting particularly because we in India are so used to throwing garbage everywhere. if we are eating something in a car, then the wrapper goes out of the window as soon as we open it. Empty chips packets, bottles and even used condoms can be found on the road. When we go abroad, our habits change completely, no littering at all. And when we go back to our motherland we praise how clean and beautiful 'foreign countries' are. I fail to understand what stops us from practicing the same civic sense in our own land?? 

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I have no particular story behind this one. It is a picture of a picture. We (me and my husband) spotted it at a tiny yet charming Italian restaurant in Valldemossa, a village on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands.

The place was full of paintings of legs and shoes in bright colours, which was a delight to watch. This was the only picture and that too in black and white. We loved the expression of the kitty.

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Here is the picture of that restaurant wall :   

The date Today

Certain dates become special to us. The reasons can be a million, the day we met some one for the first time or the day we were supposed to meet someone for the first time, the day we entered college or the day we graduated, the day we fell in love or the day we fell out of it. Whatever the reason, we just remember certain dates.

I remember today- it is close to my heart. The reasons changed over the years, but the day remained special. Since the first 16th September that I noticed, I have started something new every time this day came.

For me 16th September is a date for new beginnings and new hopes.

Today,
I promise myself to do better than I did the last year.
I promise myself to grow.
I promise to expand my horizons.
I promise myself to touch more lives.
I promise myself to share what I can.
I promise myself to fall in love more deeply.
I promise myself to create life.
I promise myself to take care of my plants.
I promise myself to be true to who I am.
And above all,
I promise myself to keep all my promises.

This day is a promise, like all the other days.