I have a nice recollection of a German "Fest" in Munich in my teen years. It was bloody hot and it was probably August. We as a family were visiting Germany (as we normally did in those years) with the caravan. We decided to go to this "Fest" that had been organized in Munich and I think it had to do with an anniversary of the Stadium, the beautiful stadium which was built for the Football World Championship in 1974, and that I am afraid doesn't exist any more, with its beautiful "sails" covering it. It must have been between 1980 and 1985, so maybe the tenth anniversary.
I remember those quite Junonic woman bringing absurd amounts of 1-litre glasses on each arm. That would have been the subject of some verses by Homer, Virgil or Tasso. We two male children got 1 glass each. It was the first time in my life (and probably the last) I had a 1-litre glass in my hand. The beer was fresh, very light, refreshing, thirst-quenching, and delicious beyond belief. Both I and my brother were surprised on how easily it went down the tube (MUCH easier and faster than water really).
After that, we went to the "lady" (more resembling a night-club bouncer, truth be told) to give back the glasses, but she told us that we could keep them, we asked "how much" and she told us "nothing, it's all done" (the deposit was paid in advance, so we could keep the glasses, they were paid). We couldn't believe the small price for 2 litres included the glasses.
We were slightly sleepy for an hour that extremely hot afternoon thereafter: beer or hot weather? Who cares!
From that experience I got two long-lasting impressions:
a) German draught beer is absorbed by your body as if water was the imitation of a really refreshing drink;
b) In Munich, ANY excuse is good for laying long tables of beer drinkers outdoor. There were probably two more "Fests" happening that very same day in Munich. Oktoberfest is just for tourists. "Fests" are everywhere everytime. The 20th anniversary of a nice building in town? Let's make a beef festival.
One cannot help loving those guys!
The two glasses are still there in my kitchen as a recollection of that day.