For those of you who missed out on the fun (and missing out is putting it lightly), the ones who would not mind an aided recall, or for the ones who just want to walk down the memory lane, in the following a glimpse into the revelry that was again an Oktoberfest to remember:
What else was expected at Döner Bistro than party alarm right from the start, this time with a new band and a new tradition: Bavarian duo “Liab’ und Schneid” performed for the first time ever at the restaurant Thursday evening and rocked the Bier-Boot Party (which we consider – thanks to all participants – an institution at our annual celebration already). For those of you not familiar with it, the Bier-Boot Party involves a group of people (sometimes friends, sometimes later beloved strangers) sharing a glass boot-full of liquid goodness ;-) The goal of the game is not to be the second to last person to drink, since that means you pick up the tab for the round. Believe it or not, the ladies rocked the competition! The game was such a blast, that re-plays were on for Friday and Saturday night with knots of people around the competition table cheering on all participants!
On Friday we all celebrated the start of the weekend with an after-work party steamed up by DJ Timo playing the newest Oktoberfest hits and all time classic disco songs. It was exciting to see most party-rockers dance through the night until closing time – Thanks everyone for heating up the tent :-)
On Saturday, known to be “Family Day”, the young ones got things started by showing off not only their cute Bavarian dresses, but also their moves to the traditional music mix. And even some four-legged family members joined in on the fun…
Walter came by again this year to ring his bells twice and let everyone join in by singing the Edelweiss song. He explained the story of Oktoberfest (did you know it began as a wedding ceremony?!?!) and entertained everyone by showing off his dancing skills by spinning around with his wife – Thank you Walter! !
The Chicken Dance and YMCA played throughout the day really brought everyone to their feet! As usual, “Who the (Heck) is Alice” called for a lot of vocal cord action – a fanfare of raucously celebrated Oktoberfest magic that brought us a well-earned little noise complaint just before closing time at 12am ;-)
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, but what a great end it was! Since our friends from the “Alte Kameraden” Band closed out Oktoberfest with a rousing four-hour performance.
Every last morsel of food was quickly gobbled up. As usual, our menu featured platters of weisswurst, bratwurst, schnitzel and Bavarian meatloaf with sides of potato salad and savory sauerkraut, as well as our imported pretzels and authentic potato pancakes with apple sauce (new this year). Sometimes it’s best to be last, though, as some of you got double meat portions and extra brötchen to make up for the food that had already run out...
Of course, the BEER was one of the most popular attractions! More than 1,500 liters of Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest Bier was consumed that weekend.
That is one big old truckload full of the “liquid gold”!
…But since (we mention this for you portable restroom avoiders out there) “you do not buy beer, you rent it” our well-lit Port-a-Potties were still reportedly “the cleanest” one customer had ever seen :-)
Thanks everyone for your patience in manning the lines to open and close your tabs - especially on “crazy crowded Saturday” when most of you were standing rapped around the Mighty Midget for an hour or so due to the stampede of eager Döner-Oktoberfest-Lovers ;-) Thank you also, for supporting Teague who rocked the register by himself nearly seamless from beginning to end during most of this year’s celebration!
Well, the countdown is on!! Until then, raise your steins to good times past and good times to come!
Your fellow Döner Bistro Team
FUN FACT: Some of you think we celebrate Oktoberfest too late, as in Munich the festival is celebrated at the end of September, but this is just due to better weather conditions around that time. The original Oktoberfest celebration came to life exactly 200 years ago on the 17th of October!!! Well, aren’t we a punctual bunch of celebrators ;-)
