Oktoberfest

Inside the Augustiner tent late at night.

One of the many gorgeous beer carriages going down the Munich streets.

Having fun in the Augustiner beer tent with some locals.

No revelry is allowed near the bannister due to a falling hazard.  Inside the Spatenbrau tent.

Day drinking is abound in this absolutely crazy Hoffbrau tent.

The common site of liter beers ready to be consumed.

What a typical tent looks like: the Spatenbrau tent late at night.

The beer servers rush to meet the demand inside the Spatenbrau tent.

               People don’t think of it as a fair, but that’s exactly what it is: a huge fair.  For two weeks in late September and early October (the fair runs for only a portion of October due to weather concerns as the cold comes early in Germany), six million people from all over the world descend on the Theresienwiese field of Munich to revel in beer tents and pretzels. 

                Oktoberfest initially started in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese (hence the name “Theresienwiese” meaning Theresa’s meadow) which included horse races.  In fact, the horse races would be a focal point of the event until 1960.  A carnival atmosphere with booths and rides would begin shortly after the inception of the event.  For the last 200 years, Oktoberfest has been held every year except in circumstances of war, high inflation, or plague.

                The signature aspect of the event is the beer tents.  There are fourteen beer tents housing up to almost 10,000 people during the crazy weekend times, which belong to the largest beer halls and beer manufactures in Munich.  These tents take ten weeks to build and are dismantled after the festival finishes.  To see these in person is quite impressive.  The tents sell merchandise, food, and beer in liter sized steins.  You can only have beer; there are no cocktails or wine, and you can only have the tent’s beer (i.e. if you are in the Hoffbrau tent then the only thing sold is Hoffbrau beer). 

                There are other elements to the festival including contests, rides, and food.  There are modern roller coasters and crazy spin rides on top of more traditional Oktoberfest rides including a slide and simple wood spinning wheel.  The typical carnival contests are here too, and there are booths selling all types of German food.  If you want to get into the tents (particularly on the weekends), I advise heading early to Oktoberfest (10 AM) to get the most out of your time here.