Of course the highlight of both the spring and the fall festivals has always been the fest tents!  Reminiscent of the cavernous but jam packed beer halls of old world cities, the tents traditionally had been temporary structures to house the massive inflow of pilgrims for Spring Fest and October Fest. Today, the fest tents remain up year round, semi-permanent structures becoming more permanent every year.  Of course, "the beer flows like wine!" Once the band starts up some shanties and folk tunes, the guests stand up on their benches to sway and sing along. "Hey hey, up she rises, hey hey, up she rises, early in the morning...!" The true heroes (heroines) of the fest tents are the wenches and serving girls. Deftly navigating a forest of swaying legs of tipsy sailors precariously perched on rickety benches, the balance their cargo, sometimes 3 to 4 liters in a hand, to keep the tent well lubricated. Beer is clearly the beverage of choice, but then again, a fish has to swim, and a pirate has to drink rum.  There are no enemies in the fest tent. From the far corners of the Brick Seas come mariners, soldiers, traders, sea rats but all are brethren once the kegs are tapped and the music begins.  Long wooden tables and benches crammed in like fish in a barrel... Singing, spilling beers, stomping on benches, serving girls darting between guests, flowers, colorful canvas, flags, guitars... "What shall we do with a drunken sailor?" (I have to say, when I started thinking about this, I just thought it would be a cute idea. But, as a #Murican living in Southern Germany with the last two fests cancelled and no sign of any of us being able to enjoy anything like this anytime soon. This build turned into a tiny little labor of love with some serious nostalgia. Pro Tip: Cool to stand on benches, totally not cool to stand on tables.)