Oktoberfest is Coming! Time to Drink Up, Eat Well, And Study German

From September 20 to October 5 of this year, Munich, Germany will once again celebrate Oktoberfest. With the myriad of food and drinks offered during this sixteen-day festival, it's a good idea to learn German to be able to pronounce them.

Oktoberfest will once again be held in Munich, Germany from September 20 thru October 5, 2008. The Oktoberfest is a very valid reason to study German online, if just for the pleasure of actually being able to eloquate the myriad of food and drinks available in the 16-day event.

Food and Delicacies

The numerous kinds of "wurst" (German sausages) are never far behind when you envision Oktoberfest. The frankfurter is the most common sausage, but you will also appreciate the bratwurst (pork, beef, and/or veal), knackwurst (pork or beef with fresh garlic), and bockwurst (pork, lamb, turkey, chicken with salt, paprika, white pepper, chives, and parsley), among other sausages. To avoid making a fool of yourself, learn German in order to eloquate the German names of these delicious sausages.

You'll also have the opportunity to try the many kinds of spatzle, or noodles, the perfect accompaniment to beer. These noodles are made from common ingredients such as salt, eggs, milk, flour, and diverse spices. You should absolutely try the kasespatzle - cheese noodles with fried onions. These are so scrumptious that studying German, if only to show your gratitude, is a must.

You can also sample other German dishes like hendl (roasted chicken), sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), and Apfelpfannenkuchen (apple pancakes). As if these are not sufficient reasons to study German, wait until you get to the beers.

It's All About the Beers and Wines

The Oktoberfest is a festival famous for its wines and beers, perhaps much more than its food, music, and costumes. If you have a fair grasp of the German language, you'll be able to distinguish the plethora of wines and beers offered by the fourteen tents in the Oktoberfest.

You can go for sekt, sparkling wine that's fizzier than most because of high carbon dioxide levels. Go for the Deutscher Sekt, or sekt formulated from Riesling and Pinot black grapes and gris for special occasions.

You can also get intoxicated on German wheat beer. There are numerous types, including the traditional and unfiltered Hefeweizen, Kristallweizen (crystal wheat), Dunkelweizen (dark wheat), and Weizenstarkbier (strong wheat beer), to name a few. Alcohol content is usually higher with darker wheat, and the monikers hint of the alcohol strength, so learn German quickly so you will not confuse them.

Most of all, get drunk on the marzen (pale lager), a specially-brewed Oktoberfestbier. During the Oktoberfest, there are many more kinds of beers and wines available, with as many as 15 wines offered by the Weinzel tent alone.

Obviously, to drink bacchanalian pleasures, eat great food, meet new people, and appreciate Oktoberfest, you need not learn German. Still, if you want to be heard over the Oktoberfest raucous, learning German is a benefit.

Of course, to drink bacchanalian pleasures, eat great food, meet new friends, and enjoy Oktoberfest, you need not learn German. Still, if you want to be heard above the Oktoberfest noise, learning German is a benefit.

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Ocktoberfest 2008 Dates

The 175th Annual Ocktoberfest in Munich, Germany will be Held from September 20th - October 5th 2008.

Why does Oktoberfest begin in September you ask ?

Here's the Answer from the Official Oktoberfest Website:

The festivities began on October 12, 1810 and ended on October 17th with a horse race. In the following years, the celebrations were repeated and, later, the festival was prolonged and moved forward into September.

By moving the festivities up, it allowed for better weather conditions. Because the September nights were warmer, the visitors were able to enjoy the gardens outside the tents and the stroll over “die Wiesen” or the fields much longer without feeling chilly. Historically, the last Oktoberfest weekend was in October and this tradition continues into present times.

Oktoberfest 2007 opens in Munich (München)

Munich, Germany - Munich opened the beer taps on Saturday to launch Oktoberfest, with an estimated six million people expected to attend the beer celebration over 16 days. Munich Mayor Christian Ude ordered the tapping of the first beer barrel, the ritual kick-off for the 174th edition of the party. The festivities are held at Theresienwiese, a 31-hectare (12.4 acre) park with 14 large tents where drinkers, many wearing traditional Bavarian costumes, take their spots at long wooden tables. In line with tradition, the first mass, or litre, was served to the minister-president of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, who is set to leave office at the end of the month after 14 years in his post. Last year more than six million litres (13 million pints) of beer were drunk.

How To Celebrate Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest kicks off tomorrow, September 22, in Munich and will keep the city buzzing till October 7. Historically, the holiday started with the October 12, 1810, wedding of Bavaria's Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen...

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The Official Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy

The Official Michael "Vick" Dog Chew ToyLet your dog begin chewing today!The Official Vick Dog Chew ToyIs it different you ask? You bet it is! The Vick Dog Chew Toy is made of state of the art "dog" material. The Vick Toy Doll is so strong and flexible, it will challenge even the most aggressive breeds. Especially The Pit Bull.Unlike Slick Vick, our manufacturer is so sure of its durability they guarantee it against the most aggressive dog destruction. It Bends. It Bounces. It Flies. It Floats. And best of all, it lasts through the whole season and more!Get Your Official Vick Dog Chew Toy today!

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Oktoberfest 2007!

Oktoberfest in Munich is the biggest beer festival of the year. The festival starts with a twelve gun salute and is followed by tapping of the first keg. Then Oktoberfest has begun and everyone can start drinking beer and enjoying in the festivities. The festival offers roller coasters, festival parades and even live bands. Everyday during the festival is a reason to drink. Some of the problems is that people will drink too much and can be found stumbling throughout Munich.

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Girls @ Oktoberfest 2006

Oktoberfest 2006
Originally uploaded by Leonski

This is the big one! Oktoberfest is the world's biggest beer festival. For 18 days around 7 million visitors come to Munich and consume aproximately 6 million litres of beer in 14 giant beer tents.

Happy people at the Oktoberfest

Nightshot @ Oktoberfest

@ Oktoberfest
Originally uploaded by Fuad

Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September and early October. It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year.

Oktoberfest Numbers

* 30% of the year's production of beer by Munich breweries will be consumed in the two weeks of Oktoberfest.
* 12,000 People are employed at the Oktoberfest. Of these, 1600 are waitresses.
* There is available seating for 100,000 people.
* The six Oktoberfest breweries, (Spaten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräu) sold 6 million mugs of beer in 2005 (5.5 million in 2004).
* Roasted oxen: 88
* Sausages: 219,443 pairs
* Roast chickens: 459,279

(by Wikipedia)

Paris Hilton at Oktoberfest – What You Don’t Know

Now this is quite funny, I have just been informed by a German friend that Paris Hilton's trip to Oktoberfest didn’t exactly go as planned.



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Oktoberfest Panorama

Oktoberfest Panorama
Originally uploaded by Michael Nagel

Very nice panoramic photo of the Oktoberfest fairgrounds the day before opening.

Watch Oktoberfest Bartender fill Stiens

Watch as this guy fills Giant Beer glasses in an amazingly quick and efficient manner, truly great german technique. from Youtube.com

10 hints for Oktoberfest Survival in 2007

Munich Airport has published 10 hints for a successful Oktoberfest survival

1. Get there early so you can pick your seat! Seriously, even though there´s available seating for up to 100,000 people at the Oktoberfest, with many tables reserved months in advance, the earlier you arrive, the better your chances are of getting a place to sit. Together, with your friends, and not by yourself near the toilets. Some people start lining up at 7 in the morning, well before opening time (10 a.m.), then stay all day in order to hold their place in the evening.

2. Secure your hotel accomodations early, too: Getting a hotel room during the Oktoberfest makes getting a seat in one of the tents look easy. If you haven´t already booked a hotel room in advance of arriving in Munich for Oktoberfest, check Survival Tip #1 for information on last-minute hotel accomodations.

3. Learn a few key phrases in Bavarian: Being able to toast a round of fresh-"zapft" (tapped) bier with a hearty, Bavarian-accented "Prost" just makes the whole thing more fun. And if you´re travelling on to OTHER German cities after your visit to the Oktoberfest, it´s a great way to show Hamburgers and Berliners that your heart "beats Bavarian"—just like Pope Benedict the 16th´s!

4. Don´t limit your Munich visit to the Oktoberfest grounds! While partying hard with other inebriated Americans, Japanese, English, Italians and Australians at the Oktoberfest does have its cachet, a safari to one of Munich´s numerous biergartens around town is the best way to sight the native Bavarian in his / her authentic habitat. Our favorite biergartens include: the Hirschgarten, the Chinese Tower in the English Garden and the Augustiner biergarten near the Central Station.

5. Do dress up for Oktoberfest: You might not be a native Bavarian, but donning the traditional "Tracht" dress (lederhosen for men, a dirndl for women) is a great way to fake it. And once you´ve invested in the whole get-up, you can recycle it for Halloween or your hometown´s own mini Oktoberfest once you´ve returned home.

6. Don´t try to keep up with the locals: With Oktoberfest beer packing a walloping around 5% alcohol content, it´s no wonder Bavarians often complain that beer from other countries tastes like water! In short: they grew up with this potent form of barley pop, you didn´t, so if you want to avoid becoming a "bierleiche", which is German for "beer corpse", then pace yourself.

7. Go on the rides BEFORE you drink: This one´s pretty obvious: a belly full of beer and rollercoasters DON`T mix!

8. Crime doesn´t pay (shameless Munich Airport plug, part 1): Although thousands of the traditional, heavy glass beer mugs used at the Oktoberfest get successfully stolen every year, if the police catch you, they can fine you up to 50 euros. It´s easier—and cheaper—to buy a souvenir mug from one of Munich Airport´s Bavarian boutiques upon departure.

9. Pre-Wiesn warm-up drinking is not mandatory, but is recommended! (shameless Munich Airport plug, part 2): Showing up at Oktoberfest can be a shock to the system for many newcomers—the noise, the crowds, the wanton revelry. One of the best antidotes for this is to imbibe BEFORE you set foot on the Wiesn, or even before you leave the airport—the friendly staff at Munich Airport´s Airbräu is waiting to get you into the mood!

10. DO check out the Oktoberfest web sites.

Links to Oktoberfest web sites in english:

- oktoberfest-tv.com
- German News Oktoberfest WEB
- Oktoberfest Shop

source: Munich Airport