Ochsenbraterei tent at Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

The annual Oktoberfest is going on in Munich, Germany as I type this and I'm really wanting to jump on a plane and take in the festivities.  This year marks the 200th anniversary of the event so you know there will be a big turnout.  If you ever have a chance to experience this event I highly recommend it.  It's the world's largest fair with upwards of 6 million people attending over a 16 day period.  This video is from the Ochsenbraterei tent where they serve Spaten beer.

Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

  This photo is taken in the Temple Bar district know for it's trendy and touristy nightlife scene, shops, galleries, theatre, cafe's, pubs and restaurants.  It's a great spot for live traditional music and dancing.  On several occasions in the pubs I would see a table of friends hanging out and all of a sudden one of the guys would break out into song.  He would sing loud enough for the others in the pub to hear and sometimes his friends would join in but oftentimes he would finish his verse all by himself.  And this wasn't when music was being played.  He would just belt out a tune acapella.  This was always amusing to me because I can't recall ever really seeing Americans do this back home, but it's very commonplace in Ireland.  I'm not sure how much of it was prompted by Guinness consumption or just a desire to sing.  It seems like I remember seeing this in other parts of Europe, but seemed more prevalent in Ireland.  It's a great country with lots of friendly people and it's entertaining to get around by car since they drive on the other side of the road.  And it's not as bad as you might think.  I managed to drive in Dublin without any problems and it's the best way to get around the country since they don't have an extensive train system.  And, yes, I thought the Guinness tasted better over there than here at home.  I had lunch one day in Galway and saw an older gentleman (probably pushing  80) come in and drink a pint of Guinness in about 4 minutes.