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This morning we went to the Oktoberfest opening-day parade, and spent the afternoon at the fairgrounds themselves. We were delighted to have the company of Gina's good friend Minnie and her fiance Rich, who live in Munich, as well as Edwin, who arrived the night before.
The parade was unique and definitely worth seeing -- carriage after carriage drawn by beautiful, decorated horses, in many cases pulling a wagon full of revelers. The parade participants threw flowers to the crowd, or walked over to the crowd offering drinks. A team of men demonstrated the fine art of musical whip-cracking. Marching musicians were interspersed with the carriages and as the parade wore on, everyone had to step carefully because the horses had been there first and left souvenirs on the road!
The Oktoberfest fairgrounds were huge and hugely crowded. The event is largely a carnival on the outside, with beautiful and unusual rides, the likes of which we haven't seen in the US. Inside the so-called "tents," revelers jammed the tables and made it impossible to find seating, and this was in the early afternoon!
We had dinner off-site, on the shopping street in Munich, because it looked like we'd never get a table at the fairgrounds. Outside the Augustiner restaurant, a five-piece combo was entertaining people in the street, making a nice ending for the day.
Edwin took a bunch of pictures, too, and we will be adding a link to his pictures when we get home.
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