Hartau May 12th 1988
(Men's day)
Oybin Mountain
Today we climbed the Oybin Mountain. Furthermore we've seen many drunkards today. Some of them sang:
Let’s raise one more,
Let’s raise one more,
As long as we're alive.
And when we're gone for good,
We’ll raise none if we could.
…
In the afternoon we've been to Jonsdorf and hiked from there to the mill quarries.
Men's day (also known as Father's day) is celebrated on Ascension day in Germany and has a tradition of excessive drinking. I feel like it has become a bit better in the last decade or so, but when I was a kid, seeing hordes of drunken men roam the streets pulling carts with beer and schnapps behind them was normal once a year.
However, with the Oybin mountain being somewhat of a local attraction, I guess it were even more than usual.
While today I would try to avoid crowds of drunken men like the plague, it felt rather jolly to me as a kid and I enjoyed the silly songs the guys sang.
I also made a bit of money that day by collecting empty beer bottles for deposit return.
Interestingly enough, the day also left an impression with my parents. My mom just mentioned it to me just a few weeks ago.