A weekend at the Berg

This weekend (and yes I think I will now officially start considering Thursday evening part of the weekend), the glorious, unmatched, beer-fueled fun fest known as the Bergkirchweih began here in Erlangen. I didn't bring my camera to any of our numerous outings there, but thanks to a website which translates to 'Pictures of the Night' (where I've been featured before after the infamous karaoke night which resulted in my bra collection increasing in number by 1).

Its kind of like Summerfest, only with excellent beer at reasonable prices (7 Euro for a liter), no fat people in spandex, better food, and more fun. Also, copious numbers of Germans in lederhosen. Raf and Eric arrived from the Medical Physics conference in Berlin on Friday, so we immediately set of for the Berg, which is conveniently located about a mile from my apartment. I was in awe. Not only was the beer spectacular, but despite the teeming masses, there was no pushing, no fighting, because life is good when you have a liter of beer in your hand, surrounded by friends and have decent bands covering all the feel good songs you ever want to hear. So, we met up with some of Bjorn's and Ada's (hmm, maybe I haven't introduced her - she's Bjorn's girlfriend). There was lots of dancing on tables, I prevented many falls by one fortunate soul who had been there since 1pm, whom I was also able to converse fairly fluently in Spanish with. Someone needs to do a study on the relationship between foreign language skills and consumption of alcohol. I peaked at about 2 liters.

The Berg closed at 11, so after that, it was of course time for the clubs. A couple of us wanted to continue the dancing, so we set off for a club while the others stayed at a bar. I was convinced that I would not be allowed in as by this time I was down to just my beach shoes (which resulted in GIANT blisters the next day), shorts, and an A-shirt (my t-shirt having fallen to the ground after laying it on some railing and then subsequently apparently used as a convenient deposit for someone's snot - a nice surprise). The girls assured me I would be allowed in. Of course, I wasn't. So, we walked back to the bar. By the way, not only can you drink beer in the streets here, but during the Berg, all the bars set up windows or stands so you don't have to go inside to get a beer, so you have at least 500 people hanging out outside the bar. We did manage to get a little dancing in at the bar, and after an ill-advised rum, headed home to wind down the night sitting outside, listening to music, and nursing beers. All and all, an excellent start to the weekend.

Saturday included a near perfect BBQ, the arrival of Jim and Shannon from the conference in Berlin (unfortunately right as the German Soccer Championship match was occurring - featuring the nearest top level club, Nurnberg, who won). But I didn't see the game, instead we went off to the Berg again. It was more low key than Friday, but still a very good time. I dropped Jim and Shannon off at the apartment and rendezvoused with the soccer revelers. I was generally derided when I chose to end the evening at 2am. But, in my defense, the bar we were in sucked, and I was tired. I guess I could have manned up, but I didn't.

And I'm glad I didn't, because then, there's no way I could have stayed out dancing at a club until 4 am on Sunday. Its all a give and take. So yes, the night began at the Berg again, after eating some of Raf's gumbo and leftover BBQ food. We explored the fair area of the Berg more, a fun house was visited, and beer drank. At closing time, it was off to a pub to rendezvous with the girls who had been in the 'funner' area of the Berg where all the bands and dancing are. From there, Raf, Ada, myself and Katrin (the Spanish-speaking occasional table-faller-offer from Friday night) went to E-Werk, a massive club. The first room was playing much to much techno music, so we went upstairs were there was some moshing going on. I stayed on the outskirts longing for hip-hop. We eventually went back downstairs where the music had improved, not ideal, but at leas with the mix of techno and old school dance-pop tunes, I didn't tire myself out as I do with hip-hop. Around 2 am, I noticed water dripping on me from the ceiling. I was originally thinking, oh, that's not a bad idea, just a little shower action to cool us all down. Shortly thereafter, I realized, no, its not a good idea, its sweat that has evaporated, condensed on the ceiling, and then dripping back down. Eck. Of course, it didn't matter much as my shirt was completely soaked anyway. So yeah, dancing fun till 4 am and then a nice 12pm wakeup on Monday. All in all, a great weekend.

I'll hit up the Berg again on Thursday and Friday, and then I'm off to Salzburg and then the German Alps on Saturday and Sunday. Here are a couple of other pictures from the Berg.