[Squantos]

“the mayor of Munich will kick off the 16-day extravaganza of beer-swilling and sausage-gobbling to the accompaniment of an oompah band.” .....

Pic confirms it !

I miss the Oktoberfest ...was stationed in Germany many times. I miss the Hofbrau haus ...

[oyez]

In the not so distant past, a few choices of beer and sausage at Oktoberfest meant that getting the coming winter was really going to be a bitch. It stands to reason that factor is somewhat relevant in present the time, as well.

[Ax]

I went there in Sept 1970. Managed to sink a few steins. I speak/ understand very little German. One of the barmaids figured out that I was Yankee, and started lighting into me. She yelled that some drunken American soldiers started a brawl and did several thousand dollars of damage. Naturally, it was my fault.

[Traveler59]

Stationed in Germany for many years. Went to the Munchen Oktoberfest just once and got turn off. Too many foreigners becoming “stupid drunks”. However a German girlfriend of mine showed me where the Germans went for Oktoberfest... The Bad Cannstatt Volksfest (near Stuttgart). The Germans are “fun drunks”. Had a great time there and went back every year until I was transferred back to the US.

[wvguy]

I miss the Hofbrau haus ...

I was there in July. Most relaxing fun I've had in a long time. My 17 y.o. son had his first liter of beer. Got looped. :-)

Getting the rental car up to 110 mph on the autobahn was fun too. :)

[Erasmus]

I miss the Oktoberfest ...was stationed in Germany many times. I miss the Hofbrau haus ...

Imbibed there once on a business trip with my host, who was a local. Unfortunately, my trip had been postponed a month so it ended up being in November. Weather was cold and a little dreary, but at least not rainy like it had been in Vienna the week before.

A friend and colleague back at the home office in Texas, a Scot, considered Munich (around the beginning of October) to be his home away from home.