An Oktoberfest in Reston

One of the things that I constantly make sure Ian knows is on our bucket list is to plan a trip to Europe before any kiddos come along. Luckily, until that day comes, we are lucky to live in an area where we can have just about any kind of cultural experience within a short car drive from home.

Obviously, now that Fall is upon us, there has been no shortage of Oktoberfests around the DC area. On Saturday afternoon, antsy after a day of football watching, I was ready to get out of the house into the crisp Fall weather. Finally: a perfect day for leggings, boots, and a coat and scarf! (Not to mention straight hair. Heaven!)

We actually had a few Oktoberfest options on that particular day, so after about twenty minutes of driving around and indecisiveness (definitely not from me....hmmmmm) we decided to take the trek out to Reston to see how the Restonites (?) celebrate October. Or, excuse me, Oktober. Turns out they do so with an abundance of beer, food vendors, and old people dancing to polka music. Imagine that!

After circling around several times, we decided on a very German feast of chicken kabobs, rice, and naan. We had just had bratwurst for dinner the night before, and the line at the German booths were so long. With our beer in hand and empty tummies, we figured some food in the stomach ASAP was probably best. And I topped off my dinner with some homemade baklava which was absolutely divine.

The polka dancers wrapped up and gave way for the next act on stage, a cover band comprised of people my parents age. We enjoyed our Indian food and sipped our Autumn beer to the sounds of Crocodile Rock as we watched little kids on the dance floor and creeped on the cute dogs that people brought.

An authentic German experience indeed. But seriously--so fun!