At the moment, Munich's world-famous Oktoberfest is in full swing. Over the course of 17 days, over six million people will visit the festival and drink almost seven million liters of beer. I've heard mixed reviews of Oktoberfest. Some have said it's the cultural experience of a lifetime that cannot be recreated anywhere else. Others have said you just drink lots of very expensive beer with lots of loud, sweaty strangers. Either way, I couldn't make it to Munich to see for myself, but I did get over to the town of Oberreifferscheid, home of 117, for their autumn town festival, Kirmes.
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| Just chilling with Joseph at the local castle. |
Joseph, a fellow Saxon, is currently living in Oberreifferscheid. There's Reifferscheid (population 518), then there's Oberreifferscheid, which means "above" Reifferscheid. Long story short, it's kind of out in the sticks. However, that does not stop all 117, well, with Joseph I guess now 118, Oberreifferscheidians from having an awesome town festival.
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| All of the street signs in Oberreifferscheid say "Oberreifferscheid." |
Joseph invited a few other buddies and me over for the weekend to partake in Kirmes. His family runs a vacation home, but during the festival it's too loud at night for guests to really enjoy the idyllic and peaceful countryside. Therefore, we got the holiday house to ourselves for the weekend. It's a four-star accommodation, and I could totally see why.
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| Hangout spot #1: the glass dining room. |
The view from Joseph's host family's property consists mostly of huge skies, fields speckled with cows, woods, and wind turbines in the distance. Simply put, it's beautiful. His family also has horses, so there's a big field for them to run around. Saturday morning after the first night of Kirmes, we did a search line through the field for any glass people may have thrown during the party. No glass in these horses' toes!
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| Looks just like Oregon! |
Saturday evening, we took a little walk over to Burg Reifferscheid. It's a castle that's been around since the 1100s and anyone is allowed to chill there. They even have a little cafe and some people living at the base. Sitting on the ruins of a German castle and watching the sunset is a pretty unbelievable experience.
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| Joseph pointed out the mountain biking trails from our perch on the hill. |
That night we did Kirmes Party Round Two. Since everyone was either from Oberreifferscheid or Reifferscheid, I got to speak a whole lot of German both nights-- well, more like yell a whole lot of German because it was so loud in the dance tent. I think a highlight of the night might have been when the live band played 99 Luftballons and EVERYONE started singing/screaming along until you could barely hear the band anymore.
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| The dance tent about six hours before the party got going. |
We were outside of the tent for a bit and were blown away by the sky. A benefit of being in the middle of nowhere is that there isn't any light pollution from the city. We could see the Milchstrasse (which literally means "milk street," but it translates to the Milky Way) so incredibly clearly. What with the castle earlier and the millions upon millions of stars, I felt like I'd traveled back in time hundreds of years. Well, I mean, if the year 1202 was underscored by a German lady singing Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money.
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| The view of the Kirmesbaum from the local playground. |
I got to experience Kirmes Friday and Saturday nights, but that doesn't mean it's over. The festival continues throughout the week, featuring daytime events for the whole family. One of the traditions is the Kirmesbaum. It's basically a Charlie Brown Christmas tree on a pole and then Dr. Suess-ified. I'm back in Aachen now, but Joseph will get the chance to see it when they burn it, which sounds pretty awesome.
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| An intact watch + a new gummy bracelet from Joseph's sisters + two Tanzzelt bands = successful weekend |
Maybe I didn't go to Munich this year, but I definitely felt like my Oktoberfest cultural void was filled. Oberreifferscheid sure knows how to throw an A+ Kirmes and the people there are friendly, nice, and just all around fantastic. If you're ever passing through the area in September, I highly recommend stopping by for a little Kirmes.