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Oktoberfest

DE
By Spice Adventurer, 06/27/2019 - 12:00

O'zapft is! Beer festival starts every year in Munich, Germany. It is tradition since 1810 that the mayor of the city has to open the beer tank with a hammer and fill the beer in the mug and shout the traditional "o'zapft is":

Many visitors from around the world come and drink beer at the Oktoberfest which Bavarian people called it "Wiesn" = Theresienwiese (a field where the Oktoberfest is held to promote Bavarian Agriculture). The festival begins from mid or late September to the first weekend in October (16 days).

There are many fun activities such as rollercoaster, swings and others to try like in any fun park. The festival opens and ends with parade of carriages and music bands which makes it even more attractive, especially for tourists to take a look at the different styles of outfits (so called "Trachten") and so on.

Let's look at food & drinks at the Oktoberfest, although most people just get drunk in the tents.

1. White sausages:

It is served with sweet bayern mustard (commond found in Supermarkets in Germany and Bayern speciality shops in Munich):

2. Half of the whole grilled chicken with potato dumplings and sauerkraut:

There are other bayern dishes with meat such as crunchy grilled pork legs (Schweinshaxen), roast pork (Schweinebraten) and meat loaf (Leberkäse). The cheapest main menu with meat is meat loaf :

3. Brezeln or Pretzel, it is traditionally served with Obatzda (Bavarian soft cheese with paprika powder).

4. Apple pie/strudel or Apfelstrudel in German:

5. Magenbrot or spiced bread, sold at any kiosk or traditional food booth in the festival area:

It is a gingerbread covering with herbal and sugar (or with honey):

The name "Magenbrot" in German, literally means Magen = stomach + Brot = bread. Strange, isn't it?? So it must be good for your stomach. Or is it actually a warning that your stomach would be able to handle it? As it is gingerbread, it cannot be bad for your stomach, except that you would have instantly high sugar levels after consuming it.

There are other sweet items that are usually found in any festival such as marshmellows, cotton candy, popcorn, roasted nuts with sugar (almond, peanut, haselnut) and fruits covering with chocolate.

By the way, buying food at kiosk is not possible to pay with any credit card. Please see the sign before buying!

That means you have to prepare some cash with you although you did not want to lose your wallet at Oktoberfest. In this case you should have lunch or dinner in the beer tents which they surely accept credit cards.

Interestingly, the hard-working waitresses wear impressive traditional bayern drindles to attract customers carrying many beer mugs at a time to your table. Typical bavarian beer is called "Weissbier", normal beer is made from barley, hopps and malt. Weiss beer is made from wheat instead of barley and so on.

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Some visitors wear Oktoberfest necklaces or Gingerbread Hearts and buy it as a souvenir, it can be bought at kiosk as well :

Women wear traditional clothes, so called "Dirndl" and usually have hats and her own Oktoberfest necklaces. If you cannot find one, browse at our products or accessories. We offer for men and women unique necklaces during this time.

The text says "Fesches Madl" (Good looking girl) and "Fescher Bua" (Good looking boy) respectively.

Men usually wear leather hats and short pants with gingham pattern shirts (red or blue), it depends where you go for Oktoberfest. Traditionally, red gingham shirts are more popular in Oktoberfest in Vienna (Austrian flag is red) and blue gingham shirts are common found at the Oktoberfest in Munich (Bayern flag is blue).

You will find local and non-local Music bands enjoy drinking beer in the tents as well.

A popular song at the Oktoberfest is "Hey baby" from Dj. Ötzi. The singer actually is from Austria and took his name from a location in Tirol. The "Ötztal" (Ötz valley) became popular in Media as the remains of a prehistoric male human in the nearby Alps (Ötztaler Alpen) have been found. Investiagtors came to the conclusion that this man was not killed by an arrow because the arrow's shaft had been removed before his death. It did not take long until the newspapers reporting about the finding came up with a catchy nickname for the glacier mummy: "Ötzi".

When the people get drunk, they start dancing on the table, especially at the end of opening hours:

Afterwards, they go to discotheques (if they still can dance) or go home/to the hotel (if very drunk and unable to walk straight). Trains seem to run after midnight, but not often. Check time table of the train or take a taxi. There are many other beer tents in other countries that are nice to visit such as Switzerland. However, Oktoberfest in Switzerland has nothing to do with traditions and there is no parade on the street like in Munich. If you would like to have fun, only beer, music, outfits and food, why not joining Oktoberfest somewhere else and visit other countries in the world?

If you would like to join the Oktoberfest without being spotted as a tourist by others because you did not take anything "folkloristic" with you, don't forget to browse our products for Oktoberfest.  Keep an eye on your belongings! Oktoberfest in Munich is a long tradition and always has the same schedule each year. (Watch our old VDO about the Oktoberfest parade in Munich 2005)

Please check out our adventure program during the Oktoberfest in case you would like to join Oktoberfest in Switzerland: Oktoberfest Special Program

* 5-21 September 2019

Oktoberfest Munich Parade / Münchner Oktoberfest Umzug