I’ve been trying to find my pictures but have you been to the greatest of all beer festivals; the Oktoberfest in Munich? I’ve been in 1998, 2000, and 2004. If I had the financial means, I would go every year. What a blast! What amazes me is there are 40,000 intoxicated people there and not a single fight. Have you been?
I havent been there yet. Dream trip one of these days. Go to Japan every year and try to get some brews I can’t find in South Dakota (insert joke here). It does seem very crazy all those drunk people and no fights. Next UN conference Munich beer gardens?
Are you sure about that. The Wies’n, as they call it there, sure creates lots of headaches for the local police.
I’ve been in 1999 and 2000, I believe. It’s fun, but I don’t like crowds and it certainly is darn crowded there. I did the boat swings where you can go all the way around but I didn’t managed to get that working for me. There must be some trick to it.
The exchange rate really sucks right now 
Kai
Dear God, I miss Deutschmarks, Shillings, Pesetas, Gilders, Lire, and Francs. Damn, some places were just so damn cheap, it was funny. Like Vienna - I remember 14 Shillings to the dollar back in 2000. And we used to go to a bar in Schwedenplatz called “Tequila 17” that was 17 schillings for a tequila shot with a cinnamon-covered slice of orange for chaser… oh to be 16…
Makes you wonder if those times ever come back.
Kai
I do not think they will.
I suspect the developed countries of the west adopting a unified (or pegged) currency in the not-too-distant future. If Britain and Scandinavia make the switch to Euros, that would really be the first sign that a post-dollar currency may be on the horizon. If commonwealth nations adopt the Euro, as well… not altogether unlikely… then I would strongly suspect negotiations to unify the ECB and the Fed.