True Friendship

Normally it's not until after you've had a few liters in one of Oktoberfest's beer tents that you start spending money on admission to the flea circus, pointed felt hats, late-night kebabs and other German oddities you regret in the morning.

But for one British man, identified only as 30-something Dave, the spending spree started in Portsmouth, England, where he climbed into the first taxi in the rank and asked for a ride to Bavaria.

Cabbie Mick Hogan said he thought it was a joke when Dave said he needed to get to Munich right away for a friend's stag party but after seeing a wallet full of cash he started the engine and headed for the English Channel.

Hogan told the man it would cost him 1,700 pounds (2,186 euros, $ 2,958) for the 750-mile (1,207-kilometer) trip, 250 pounds for the channel tunnel trip plus a hotel.

"He was obviously in a hurry and showed me his wallet with notes in it so off we went," Hogan said.

The pair then traveled through Belgium, Luxembourg and across Germany before arriving in Munich.

"I assume he found all of his pals because he was on the phone to them trying to find out what bar they were in when we got near Munich," Hogan said. "I didn't need to give him a lift back because he said he still had the ticket for the return flight.

"It felt a bit weird as we set off but it was certainly better and more profitable than being sat on the rank all day," Hogan said.