40 things to do before you’re 40 - Number 6!
6. Drink a stein of beer at Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, is the biggest and best beer festival on the planet! You’ll never forget sinking a litre of frothy Bavarian beer in a huge tent packed with thousands of thirsty companions. Locals and visitors sing side by side, ‘Oompah’ bands play and everybody clinks steins in a mass public cry of “Prost!”
Until you visit the Oktoberfest, it’s difficult to comprehend the scale. The numbers? 16 days, 6.5 million visitors, 6.9 million litres of beer, 500,000 chickens… it’s absolutely massive!
Known by the locals as Wies’n, Oktoberfest began in Munich in 1810. Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese and invited locals to celebrate with a horse race in a field outside the city, and from these humble beginnings the modern festival evolved.
It originally started in October, but in later years the beginning was brought forward to September. Today it boasts 14 large beer tents, smaller tents which also serve schnapps and wine, and a huge fairground complete with rollercoasters.
Only local beers are represented, including Löwenbräu, Paulaner, Augustiner and Hofbräu. The tents (more accurately giant wooden halls) all serve hearty food to soak up the beer; think roasted pork knuckles, rotisserie chickens, pretzels, sauerkraut and sausages, while the atmosphere is helped along by house bands who kick off the drinking songs.
All locals and many visitors wear traditional (and seriously cool) Bavarian dress; lederhosen for men (leather trousers) and dirndls for women (cleavage-enhancing dresses). The crowd is an international affair, although locals take the Oktoberfest very seriously and try to attend as many days as possible.
With beers served from as early as 9am it’s no wonder that things get misplaced! Common lost property items include wallets, keys, ID cards and eyeglasses (whose owners were presumably blind drunk)…
In recent years, kindly souls have handed in a lost electric wheelchair, a copy of Playboy signed by one of the centrefolds and even false teeth!
Charles Reinbold, who oversees lost property at Oktoberfest, has seen plenty of the latter. He told German newspaper Der Spiegel in 2012 “I think the adhesive has improved for false teeth. The year I started we had five or six sets of false teeth in, and a pensioner walked in and tried them all on. Unfortunately, his weren’t among them.”
Musical instruments are frequently found at the start of the Oktoberfest when the Bavarian marching bands stage their ceremonial processions and then flock to the beer tents. “They get drunk and when they get home that night they say where the hell’s my trumpet?” Herr Reinbold added sagely.
As all Bavarian men know, too many litres of strong Oktoberfest beer can seriously affect your trumpeting performance!
But pace yourself properly and you’re in for the time of your life. There’s little wonder the Oktoberfest is so adored, it’s a knees-up like no other in a marvellous city. If you ever get the opportunity to attend this amazing festival, make sure you take it. Prost!
Topdeck Top Tip: There are so many for Oktoberfest! Here’s a couple:
- You must have a seat at a table to get served
- Always tip your waitress, or else she won’t come back and serve you again
- Text your mates, don’t call! The tents are far too loud for a phone conversation
- If you’re not a big drinker, try a “Radler” – half beer, half lemonade
Official highlights of Oktoberfest 2011 from the Munich city website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSTY-Aan7Q0
A selection of Oktoberfest galleries from the official site: http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/navitem/Galleries/
Tags: festivals, germany, munich, oktoberfest, topdeck, topdeck travel, travel bucket list
