Dan Elliott Everywhere!

What can I say! I love the Oktoberfest! This was my 4th 5th time (1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2010). Our friend Egon, who heard through the grapevine that we were going to be at the fest this year, offered us seats at reserved table. This was the first time I have had that pleasure, and let me tell you, it was NICE! Because our table was reserved, we didn't have to wait in any lines, there was no pressure to leave or for our seats, a dinner was included, it was great! Without that, we probably wouldn't have got in a tent. As you can probably see the night progressed at it should. I loved the dancing on the tables, the singing, the comradery, the music, the dirndl's and lederhosen (which next time, I'll be sportin'). You have to join me next time!

Also, here are some throw back pics from 1999, 2004, 2005 respectively.

These two pictures were on the way to Esslingen. The license plate was just me being immature. The other I liked because of the tower of Smart cars.

We met up with Judith and Thorsten in Esslingen and started the night at a local wine fest where we wined... and dined.

Then we wrapped up the night at the local stammkneipe. At some point I was drunk enough to demand a maß bier... 

Here we are at Würzburger Stadtfest. Hung out with Freda, Steve, Melanie and Ralph. Beer was had. Music was heard. Brats were delicious.

The is die wunderbare Würzburger Hofbräukeller. It is the restaurant belonging to the local Würzburg brewery where you can sit back and enjoy the tasty Würzburger Hofbräu. Had a great time seeing Simone, Katrin, Boje, Freda (again), Steffi, Sven and Matthias. Miss you all!

Then we finished off the night at the Discothek Labyrinth. This bar has a lot of history for us. First off, this where I met Bonnie... the fateful night of the vanishing beer. Most Friday and Saturday nights (after midnight) we would close this bar down after 5am. I have so many awesome memories from this place, I just can't describe all. But if you ever corner me, it might be fun to ask me about a few nights. There's a bunch of you out there that know what I'm talking about.

We visited the baroque Basilica Vierzehnheiligen; a church built in the seventeen-hundreds dedicated to 14 saints called the holy helpers. It was actually quite interesting. One saint was for fever, another for sore throats, two for headaches (one of whom is represented in the photos by the headless statue), and one for the health of pets. Read about it here.

Then, as I was walking around the outside of the church, I found a brewery named Brauerei Trunk complete with a little restaurant. Funny thing about this brewery is the family name translates into drunk; so Brewery Drunk. There's a photo in here with a conveyor to get beer to car. I just liked that.

Then not far from there was castle called Schloss Banz which used to be monastery occupied by a community of monks. We walked all around there. There was a kind of obstacle course closed for the season. You can see an outdoor bowling lane in one of the photos. Also the castle was high on top a hill which lured in some parachuter's. We then enjoyed some food in the restaurant called Klosterstuben Kloster Banz which is part of the castle.

We ended the day home in Schweinfurt for a nice dinner.

We visited Lauscha, home of the Christmas ball (actually called Glass baubles, who knew). Bonnie bought a bunch of them. It ended up being a huge consideration when packing to leave Germany.