Chapter 9- Mugs and Jugs

"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."-  Homer Simpson

Oktoberfest stands proud as the world’s largest fair. Yearly, 6 1/2 million beer swilling pilgrims migrate to Munich’s festival grounds in search of brewed barley. While there, they devour a half million chickens, mow down a quarter million sausages, consume 119 Oxen, finish off 40,000 kilos of fish, chew through 70,000 pork knuckles, pour back 130,000 liters of wine and slam over 7 million liters of beer.

For the less Bacchanalian, a quarter million liters of coffee awaits, a half million liters of lemonade stand to refresh and pretzels the size of steering wheels are sold without counting. 

All these consumables need an exit however, and,as any visitor will tell you, 2/3rds of a mile of urinals and 1000 toilets are never enough. Flushed and cleaned with 107,000 cubic meters of water and lit by 3 million kilowatts of electricity, the removal of nearly 1,000 tons of waste is a feat of engineering.

All this alcohol is not without its effects. 200 phones will ring the next day without their owners answering. 260 people will be searching in vain for their glasses and the users of 500 crutches will somehow miraculously be able to walk away from them without their aid. 4000 items in total will have been forgotten, lost, misplaced and left behind in the alcohol haze. 

Double Zeros point the way to the toilets...a VERY useful thing to know.

Downs an entire liter of beer in one go

Warning. Objects in this photo are larger than they appear.

Going for a liter in one downing.

Barry declares the war as officially over. Plump but pretty, this tipsy Teuton cant keep her mits off French resident Mr. Denham.

My old room mate Martin in red, raises a Mass Krug.

James and Barry, Martin and Andreas