Zinzinnati Oktoberfest 2014

We always look forward to the third weekend in September because that means that we go to Oktoberfest in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Zinzinnati Oktoberfest is the world’s second largest with only Munich’s being larger.  Oktoberfest started in Munich in 1810 as a wedding celebration for the popular Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.  Although starting in September, the original two week long party lasted into October 1810.  Even today’s Oktoberfest celebrations begin 16 days prior to the first Sunday in October.

Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest is only one weekend but is no less festive.  There are tons of bands from Germany, the US and other countries.  Dancers, street performers and other acts line five blocks of East Fifth Street as well as out Vine, Walnut, Main, Sycamore and Broadway.  The streets are closed to all but foot traffic.

We met our friends, Rex and Natalie Dillinger, at 9 am to drive down the AA Highway to Cincinnati.  Since we were planning to drive on to Indianapolis, we needed to take a separate car from Dillingers.  We took a break from the three hour drive in Cold Spring, Kentucky at a Gold Star Chili which we all enjoyed.  When traveling to Cincinnati, a bowl of Cincinnati Chili can really hit the spot.  We continued on to the Cincinnati Museum Center to see the Cincinnati Under the Sea exhibit.  Although not a large exhibit, the informative displays illustrated what the area of current Cincinnati was like during the late Ordovician Period (450 Million Years Ago).  

We moved to the Cincinnati History Museum where we saw a model of the city as it looks in the early 1900s through the 1940s.  A large display showed the role of Cincinnati in World War II.  In the replica of the Cincinnati waterfront there was a full sized replica of a riverboat of the late 1800s and many historical interpreters to explain the significance of the items.  We finished up at an exhibit of black and white photographs of the Cincinnati area.  We all enjoyed our visit to the museum especially considering that we had seen only about one third of the exhibit area.

At three o’clock we drove to the Over the Rhine area and, on Greg’s recommendation, we found parking easily at the Gateway Parking Garage.  Although this parking area was further from Oktoberfest than other parking areas we have used, it was very easy to get in and out.  As we were parking we saw J. K., Deanna, Ian and Emily outside the parking garage.  It was great to see them there.  We walked several blocks over to Fifth Street and we were very surprised at the size of the crowd.  In other years we typically came earlier in the day and had much smaller crowds but at 3:30 the streets were packed.  Lines for beer and food were very long.  There were bands on the stage at Fountain Square as well as sponsored tents on each of the streets intersecting Fifth.  Lots of guests were in lederhosen, dirndl, and chicken hats.  There were living statues and even a “naked cowboy” on the street.  We ate goetta balls, goetta reubens, sauerkraut balls, potato pancakes from Izzy’s, Kaiser Schloss, Mecklenburg Gardens, Laslo’s Iron Skillet and other street vendors.
Of course we took part in the "world's largest chicken dance" led by Drew and Nick Lachey (formerly of the band, 98 Degrees) with just under 50,000 people participating.

I was pleased to meet up with my former student Andy Adkins.  Andy was a classmate of Sarah’s and was a star member of our school’s Quiz Bowl team.  It was great seeing Andy and we hope to meet up with him again soon since he is living in Cincinnati. He told me that his brother, Tim, had lived in Cincinnati but is now living in Arizona.

At five o’clock, Greg was part of the Young Professional’s Choral Collective that performed several German songs on the main stage at Fountain Square.  We enjoyed the performance and our visit with Greg afterward.  We left Oktoberfest and said our goodbyes to everyone and drove west to Indianapolis where we had reserved a room at the Sleep Inn near the convention Center.

We were very impressed with the Sleep Inn here.  The lobby borders on luxurious and our room has a king sized bed, microwave, refrigerator and tasteful décor.  With our AAA discount, this motel is quite a find.  We watched a little of Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts on PBS then turned in for the night.

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