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Bavaria: A Cultural Adventure
Most of you are probably aware a certain Bavarian traditional festival involving Lederhosen, Bratwurst, pretzels, and of course, beer. That’s right, Oktoberfest is occurring at this very moment in Munich! Why it begins halfway through September is still a mystery to me. Perhaps it actually started in October once upon a time, then as more and more people began flocking to the city, they had to prolong the festivities? Whatever the case is, Oktoberfest is in full swing and I’m lucky enough to have made it to and from Munich, safe and sound.
This post is not going to be simply a defense of the debauchery associated with the great Bavarian golden nectar. The fair grounds, tents and Biergartens were swamped with cultures, costumes and languages from (literally) hundreds (HUNDREDS!) of other countries. The population of Munich rises by almost 6 million people over the course of the festival. When you find yourself seated at a sloppy, rickety wooden table surrounded by complete strangers from unpronounceable cities, friendships are formed easily and plentifully; it is just an unavoidable fact that the common denominator for all of these new encounters is, well, a lot of beer.
My friends and I had finally battled our way to a seating area outdoors when we saw something that, even for this particular day, was out of place. We were getting accustomed to seeing Lederhosen, that was true; but none of us were prepared for who came and sat next to us for the remainder of the night: three women absolutely bedecked in head-to-toe traditional Thai clothing. They were covered in silver and magenta bangles and had jewelry dripping down their heads and necks.
Woman who offered us her son
Needless to say, the poor staggering tourists in their Lederhosen did not stand a chance against this trio. We enjoyed the company of this odd group of friends for at least five hours of the night.
We discovered that all three of them had been working in Zurich and spoke fluent, if not heavily accented, Swiss German. A few beers into the evening, one woman of the group (see caption) informed my friends and me that she had a twenty-five-year-old son in Zurich, and promised us to introduce us all some day. We toasted the supposed marriage of my friend to a Thai-Swiss boy and carried on. We eventually realized that the quiet, well-dressed Swiss man who sat peacefully alongside them was this woman’s husband. I was a little bit disappointed that he was only wearing a plain vest and jacket and not a folk outfit, but then again, he wouldn’t have stood a chance either.
Folk festivals invite people to celebrate a unique culture together, and Oktoberfest is one of the most famous. I was honored and thrilled to have been able to attend (yes, of course, it was one of the best weekends of my life) because it is a rare opportunity to have that many people representing that many cultures in one space… and I have to admit that amongst all the leather pants and busty dresses, these three Thai women pulled off their folk costumes the best, hands down.
