What are Lederhosen and the Dirndln?

I went to the Octoberfest in Oakland Saturday, (09/30/2023) to shoot (with a camera) some people wearing Lederhosens and Dirndlns.... Well, the event took place in a location of Oakland where a lot of German immigrants used to live, namely the Dimond District, just below the old Altenheim, in the area of MacArthur Blvd and Fruitvale Ave. As it turned out, it wasn't anything like I had expected. First of all, VERY FEW LEDERHOSEN AND DIRNDLS. Plus, most were fakes or substitutes. I quickly realized it was just another street faire, albeit one with a lot of beer. Not to worry, nothing like the real thing, where the Fraeuleins serve you with a one liter "Maßkrug" and where you never have to wait in line. (The modern spelling would be Masskrug, which is a glass with a handle on the side. A Mass is actually a unit of volume). By real beer I mean what the German Reinheitsgebot and tradition demand: One Liter of brew with a specific gravity of 1.044 to 1.056. One liter should therefore weigh slightly more than one kilogram. The krug must be full of liquid, no large "bloom" or "flower" on top. Of course, it's difficult to get any foam on American beer anyway, so there was little to be concerned about that. You'll see on the pictures, that the glasses available in Oakland were tiny in comparison to any krug. Consequently, the line for refills was always long. There was no umpta-music, no polkas for dancing. Keine Blaskapelle oder Schuhplattler, but there were lots of other performances and performers, like mariachi, hip hop, breakdancing, etc., In any case, what happened was that all had a good time, which, in the end, is what really counted. Have a look:

All Photos © Hans Siebert, 2023
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