During summer, I saw an ad for an Oktoberfest celebration that would be taking place near us in Shoreditch Park. It promised traditional food and music.
We've been wanting to go to a real Oktoberfest ever since we missed it in Munich by a week. Perhaps someday we'll just have to go back.
From the look of the poster, perhaps I should have known better. It did look fun enough, so I ordered us the full package including reserved seats, 2 mass (1 liter) biers, and dinner.
It proved to be a fun time, but it was mostly an excuse for people to get drunk and act silly. I know, what did I expect - that's London Oktoberfest.
We dragged Mark, who had just flown back from a business trip to South Africa that morning, along to the festivities.
The meal turned out to be a joke with hotdogs, instant mash potatoes, and canned sauerkraut. Oh well . . .
At least the bier, which was from a brewery I'd not heard of, was good and plentiful.
And after two of the giant biers, the food didn't really matter, and we were having some good laughs.
There was a lot crazy mayhem going on around us with people stealing other people's beer, and wrestling on the ground.
A few people were thrown out, but mostly, people were just having a good crazy time drinking and dancing.
The following weekend, our friends Jeff and Damien who live in Surbiton, which is just outside London invited us out for a bike ride, and an Oktoberfest style lunch at a German restaurant on the Thames River in Richmond.
London was having what they call an Indian Summer, which is when they get a late heat spell in the early Fall. There were all kinds of boats sailing around the water. It was absolutely lovely.
We biked from Surbiton to Richmond to a restaurant called "Steins". It is an outdoor restaurant right on the river, and they serve wonderful German cuisine.
Tony and I each had a mass of bier. Tony had the Hefeweisen, and I had the Oktoberfest brew. It was almost LA weather that day, and the cold bier was terrific.
For food, I ordered their wurst plate, which came with a couple great sausages, real sauerkraut, and some delicious German potato salad. They also had the sticky sweet mustard to go with it. Fantastic. I can't wait to go back there sometime for dinner. Except it is all outdoors. . . Perhaps they put up a tent in the winter. I'd love to try their apple strudel some time.
It was wonderful day. Great weather, good food, good friends, and good bier. Perhaps this is what Oktoberfest is really all about. . .
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