A cherished tradition and the biggest and best Oktoberfest in Frankfurt aviation was held this week on Wednesday, September 27, at “Anglerheim Moerfelden” located in a bosky dell quite close to Frankfurt Airport. Hosted by Ingo Zimmer and Dagmar Hanau, the fifth “ATC Oktoberfest” greeted more than 500 guests in attendance.
     Here was a veritable “who’s who” of German air cargo, gathered together to enjoy a grand tradition and an unforgettable evening.
     There was great food, beer, music, dirndls on the ladies and lederhosen on the men, and everyone took a step back to celebrate the air cargo harvest of 2017 with pied piper Ingo Zimmer as the Grand Marshal.
     In the quiet, forested setting, ATC arranged cartoon portrait booths, a coffee cart, a shooting gallery, and even a contest that offered therapy from everyday tension by pounding a nail into a log, with a shot of Jägermeister as reward.
     There was a good feeling here, a buzz of excitement, and a palpable, collective release of everyday concerns in the air as the evening filled with friends, good food, and music that lasted well into the night.
     Inside a gaily decorated tent, heaping plates of local delights included traditional fare from Bavarian chicken and Weisswurst to Leberkäse with potato salad and other delicacies. All the food was delicious and sumptuously prepared, but special attention must be paid to the heavenly mushrooms that filled plates this special evening. Grown on the hills around Frankfurt and harvested at this time, alongside the various sweet and dry white grapes that make the Riesling wines, the "Pfifferling mushrooms" simply can’t be beat. The exceptional small trumpet Pfifferling mushrooms (also known as chanterelles) were presented in a cream sauce that to our taste are simply out of this world, and good on the plate all by themselves.
     And, of course, wherever you turned there was great German beer and local wines, plentiful and always within arm’s reach.
     “The end of summer is a good time to take stock of things as winter approaches and to say a simple thank you in a relaxed and supple atmosphere, to the people who support our efforts and mean so much to us,” Ingo Zimmer declared
     “This is our fifth Oktoberfest gathering and for all of us an assemblage of people in the community that we work with and admire daily,” a beaming Dagmar Hanau, ATC Marketing Manager told FlyingTypers.
     Gemütlichkeit!
Geoffrey