Oktoberfest - Septemberfest
Firstly, let’s get something straight. Oktoberfest is in September. ‘K?
‘K.
It lasts for sixteen days (or, depending on when October 1st falls, seventeen, or even eighteen days), finishing in the first weekend of October. It is held to commemorate the wedding of King Ludwig I and Therese and was first held in 1810; therefore 2010 will be the bi-centennial Oktoberfest. It is held on a 42 hectare site called the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s meadow) which was donated by Lud to the city as a greenbelt area in honour of ‘er indoors, and so there would always be somewhere to have a bloody big party. Apart from twenty-four years when there has been warmongering going on, disease, or something else pretty drastic, Oktoberfest is held every year, without exception. Oh, and only breweries that have their facilities within the city limits of Munich can hawk their beer on the site.
But, Why is it called Oktoberfest if it’s in September? I hear you chunter… Well, quite a simple explanation, really. Originally, it was held in October, because Lud and Terri got spliced in early October but, it was moved forward because the weather in Bavaria at the end of September is really quite nice and hot and it makes people drink more. Simples!
OK a few stats and then I’ll shut up (more or less). Munich is the third largest city in Germany, with around one and a quarter million inhabitants. During the two weeks of Oktoberfest, more than SIX MILLION visitors come from all over the world to get pissed as farts 24/7, eat, amongst other things, Schweinshax’n (a big lump of roast pork), Hendl (chicken), Würst (sausage) of all shapes and sizes, Knödeln (dumplingy things that look like tennis balls), Sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), and Brez’n (Pretzels (bread, not the little crunchy wotsits)). This year, somewhere in the region of EIGHT MILLION Maß (that’s a liter of bier, which sold for around 8.90€) were sold.
Oktoberfest is the largest people’s fair in the world. You cannot even begin to describe how big it all is. It is gobsmackingly huge. Some of the tents can hold 10,000 people, many of whom can barely stand up by early evening, although before 5.30pm they keep the noise to a rambunctious 85db. After that, well, you just gotta go with the flow, or get the hell out of there. It is an experience that nothing can prepare you for. The only way I can even think of coming close to describing it is to use the following analogy: you have seen old black and white films of the Blackpool promenade in the old days, where it is just a sea of people, and the beach is just packed with folks so that there isn’t an inch of space? Well, it’s sorta like that, but everyone is as drunk as an empty glass of water. That’s Oktoberfest.
Now, the pictures. They pretty much tell their own story.
Click here for the next bit
‘K.
It lasts for sixteen days (or, depending on when October 1st falls, seventeen, or even eighteen days), finishing in the first weekend of October. It is held to commemorate the wedding of King Ludwig I and Therese and was first held in 1810; therefore 2010 will be the bi-centennial Oktoberfest. It is held on a 42 hectare site called the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s meadow) which was donated by Lud to the city as a greenbelt area in honour of ‘er indoors, and so there would always be somewhere to have a bloody big party. Apart from twenty-four years when there has been warmongering going on, disease, or something else pretty drastic, Oktoberfest is held every year, without exception. Oh, and only breweries that have their facilities within the city limits of Munich can hawk their beer on the site.
But, Why is it called Oktoberfest if it’s in September? I hear you chunter… Well, quite a simple explanation, really. Originally, it was held in October, because Lud and Terri got spliced in early October but, it was moved forward because the weather in Bavaria at the end of September is really quite nice and hot and it makes people drink more. Simples!
OK a few stats and then I’ll shut up (more or less). Munich is the third largest city in Germany, with around one and a quarter million inhabitants. During the two weeks of Oktoberfest, more than SIX MILLION visitors come from all over the world to get pissed as farts 24/7, eat, amongst other things, Schweinshax’n (a big lump of roast pork), Hendl (chicken), Würst (sausage) of all shapes and sizes, Knödeln (dumplingy things that look like tennis balls), Sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), and Brez’n (Pretzels (bread, not the little crunchy wotsits)). This year, somewhere in the region of EIGHT MILLION Maß (that’s a liter of bier, which sold for around 8.90€) were sold.
Oktoberfest is the largest people’s fair in the world. You cannot even begin to describe how big it all is. It is gobsmackingly huge. Some of the tents can hold 10,000 people, many of whom can barely stand up by early evening, although before 5.30pm they keep the noise to a rambunctious 85db. After that, well, you just gotta go with the flow, or get the hell out of there. It is an experience that nothing can prepare you for. The only way I can even think of coming close to describing it is to use the following analogy: you have seen old black and white films of the Blackpool promenade in the old days, where it is just a sea of people, and the beach is just packed with folks so that there isn’t an inch of space? Well, it’s sorta like that, but everyone is as drunk as an empty glass of water. That’s Oktoberfest.
Now, the pictures. They pretty much tell their own story.
Click here for the next bit