Oktoberfest!!

No smart titles on this one. This is Oktoberfest, a one of a kind occasion, not to be messed with. The largest and most popular beer festival in the world. It had been a dream since the day I saw it on TV for the first time. So its obvious that it was very high on my to-do list when I embarked on a 3-month trip to Europe.
By the time we got tickets to Munich, Oktoberfest was about to end which meant that we could get there only on the last weekend. The scale of the event and the build-up meant that expectations were sky-high when we got there.
It was raining when we got off at the train station in Munich which meant that we were soaked by the time we got to the venue. Thankfully we got there by 10 am, so getting a place in one of the tents was easier. What was our tent called again? Damn, cant remember the name. These long tongue-twisting German names! Anyway, we settled in quickly enough and got down to business. Eight mugs of beer, holding a litre each, were promptly brought to our table. And it got better when we were told that it was Paulaner beer, specially brewed for Oktoberfest! The beer was accompanied by the quintessential Oktoberfest snack, the Pretzel. Freshly baked and salted, it was the perfect accompaniment for the beer. The beer was so good, that the beer back in Toulouse tastes like piss now!
Meanwhile hunger pangs set in and it was time to order food. This reminded me of the delicacies I had seen on TV and I promptly ordered the full roast chicken. It disappeared off the plate quickly enough but frankly, I've had better chicken. More beer was being ordered and somewhere between my second and third litre, I decided to go for Schweinhaxen, the German style pork knuckles, another Oktoberfest special. And again it was ordinary. Some of my friends ordered Frankfurter sausages with mash potatoes which were good enough. But the day was saved by the Apple Strudel. Just sweet enough, creamy enough, it deserves all the superlatives.
Meanwhile most of us were on our fourth litre and some of us were truly sloshed. Dancing on the benches, taking random pictures, singing loudly with German strangers, it was all happening. A while later though, the party reached an anticlimax. One of my friends passed out after his fourth mug and promptly slumped on the table. That did it and a waitress asked us to leave the hall immediately. And thats how our Oktoberfest ended.
My verdict on the event? The best beer in the world, great party atmosphere, ball of a time! Food is a disappointment, but that shouldn't stop you from going to the biggest party in the world!