Oktoberfest

Occurring from September 17 through October 4 this year, Oktoberfest is a beloved event that takes place in Munich, Germany every year. It began in 1810 as the marriage ceremony that took place between Princess Therese and Prince Ludwig. Everyone in the town was invited to the event and a huge party was thrown afterwards. This was held for five days in front of the city gates. The tradition has continued for over 210 years in the form of Oktoberfest. Here’s what you can expect at this year’s festival.

Dates And Attendance
Oktoberfest always begins on the second to the last Saturday in September. Munich’s mayor starts the festivities at noon by tapping on the first barrel that’s located at the Schottenhamel Tent. He yells out “O’zapft is” which means “it’s open”, while doing so. There are 14 main beer tents at this event. Six of them are large and around 12,000 people each day visit them. Only 6 breweries are allowed to participate in Oktoberfest. These include Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulaner and Spaten. For those that aren’t much of a beer drinker, there is some wine located in the Weinzelt tent as well as various vendors selling non-alcoholic beverages located around the festival grounds.

A Massive Amount Of Preparation
It takes a lot of preparation to get everything ready for Oktoberfest. Each year it is held at the Theresienwiese grounds. Starting in June tents are set up and construction on the foundations begin. In total there’s around 420,000 square feet of space that needs to be setup in preparation for the 7,000,000 people that will be in attendance.

About The Beer
You can purchase beer anywhere from €8 and €10 per liter. This works out to be about $10-$13. While you may think this is pretty pricey, remember that the beer served has an alcohol content of at least 6%. The average alcohol content of American beers is only 3-5%. What this means is that you can drink a lot fewer German beers in order to get a good buzz going. Something else to remember is that the drinking age in Germany is only 16 years old for distilled alcohols. So don’t be surprised if you see a teenager sitting next to you drinking a beer.

Beer Tent Reservations
One of the mistakes newbies make who are attending Oktoberfest, is that they don’t realize that they will need to book reservations for the beer tent. It’s almost impossible to get a reservation when it’s busy. However, sometimes you can find a table outside or find a spot in one of the sections that are not reserved.

Other Things To Do
You certainly don’t have to go to Oktoberfest just to drink. You can partake in all of the delicious German food and watch all of the activities that are going on. There is plenty of singing and dancing and if you want to feel like a kid again, there is a rather large area where there are carnival games and rides. During the opening weekend the Costume and Riflemen’s Parade takes place. It features around 7,000 musicians and performers, all in costumes, as well as farmyard type animals and horses in the parade.

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