Day 1 - The Arrival

An early (4.30am) start to the day, timed showers, shared bathroom, wolfing down toast, then the maddest dash to platform 13 at Clapo Junno. All this with a 13kg back-pack on her back was a little too much for Chesty. She nearly didn't make it. But with her last ounce of strength she managed to climb that last flight of stairs and hurl herself onto the departing train. A beautiful beginning which set the tone of utter madness that was Oktoberfest 2007.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a sea of tents and a vast arrays of accents, namely Australian, Kiwi and the odd Saffa thrown in for good measure. Singing, drinking, chanting, drinking, shouting, more drinking and the odd bit of nudity. Had we been mysteriously teleported back to 'The Church'? No this was Thalkirchen, the infamous campsite that teems with antipodeans here to participate in one of their favourite pastimes, drinking booze. And as the saying goes when in Thalkirchen, drink, so we did.