Yi er san， cheers
By Edward Cox－Bisham

“一、二、三，干杯！”德国慕尼黑啤酒节是世界有名的啤酒狂欢节。厦门海景酒店已连续十一年举办该啤酒节，今年更邀请德国Muncher Musikanten乐队来厦表演，让厦门市民在家门口领略了德意志民族的豪放和快乐。

The evening of September 30 saw the 11th German beer festival take place at Xiamen’s Holiday Inn. The event was held in a huge outdoor tent filled with rows of benches where beer fans from all around the world sat and enjoyed the show. The first things that struck me as I entered were the three different flags hanging from every possible part of the tent. Two of the flags, Chinese and German, were instantly recognizable, but the third flag may not have been so familiar to non-German beer drinkers. It was only when I checked with a German friend later that I discovered the blue and white check was the flag of Bavaria — the traditional home of beer in Germany.

With beer being the theme at the festival it seemed a good idea to line the stomach with some typical German cuisine first. Good sausages are hard to come by in China so I was happy to see all different kinds of tasty bangers. Another German favorite is sauerkraut, which is a kind of cabbage and an excellent accompaniment for a banger. Once dinner was over it was time to focus on the beer. Not surprisingly the beer in everyone’s glasses and pitchers was Tsingtao.
The show began with the German host during a pretty good job of singing the Chinese national anthem, and one of the main themes of the Festival became apparent. The crowd were encouraged to stand up, join in and clap along with the band. This kind of audience participation remained throughout the evening. Every so often the band would play a 30-second song that by the end of the evening had become very familiar. The song would climax with a cry of “yi， er， san， ganbei!” to which everyone would raise their glasses. Jorg Dellacher, MC and leader of the band "Munchner Musikanten" gave us singing, yodelling, guitar, zither, cow bells, musical saw, alpine horn, xylophone, spoons, whip cracking and jew′s harp like a magician and won loud applause.

The band has been of 6 professional musicians, one of the finest bands playing Bavarian music for the Munich Oktoberfest for the past 13 years. 11 years ago they were invited for the first time to Xiamen, followed by performances in Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenyang, Jinan, Shijiazhuang, Hangzhou and Zhengzhou. This year is the fourth time they have come to Xiamen.
Music is a gerat way to overcome any cultural gap. Arguably the finest example of this was when we meet “Miss Germany”. Now Miss Germany may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but she certainly got the crowd going. When I first saw her I thought, she’s kind of big for a woman, but she does have lovely hair. It was only when I got a closer look and say her stubbly chin that I realized Miss Germany may in fact be a Mr. As Miss Germany skipped around people’s tables everyone laughed and clapped along with the band. Afterwards she sang a song in a suspiciously feminine voice with a couple of men on either side. For me Miss Germany’s song was the funniest part of the evening. It summed up the beer festival and what it stands for: a celebration of German culture, traditional food and beer, all enjoyed in a big tent with everyone clapping along to the band.

Vocabulary
banger 香肠
sauerkraut 酸泡菜
pitcher 大杯
zither 扁琴
xylophone 木琴
yodel 奥地利山歌
cuisine 饮食
Bavaria 巴伐利亚