Family Friendly Oktoberfest

As with any social event, alcohol and partakers of often can cause a scene that is less than respectable to some. There has always been a rising issue surrounding the alcohol consumption of younger participants and how they behave there after. Those that cannot handle what they have consumed are called Bierleichen, which stands for beer corpses in Deutsch, and when the inebriation reaches a point of passing out they are brought to the medical tent where they can be looked after.

The most recent development towards creating a more family-friendly atmosphere during Oktoberfest contains two parameters. In 2005 it was purposed and accepted no Schlager will be drank until 6:00 in the evening. Likewise, pop music would not be played but rather a soft melody of traditional wind music would float across the atmosphere. Seemingly successful, many families have enjoyed the comfort of a child-appropriate setting with which they can enjoy with their families.

Do's and Don'ts at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

If you're planning to visit the Oktoberfest for the first time, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Following these tips will help you to have a pleasant stay at Munich's famous beer festival.

Do's

1. Always take a friend or more with you
Even though most of the people are friendly and peaceful, there is the occasional drunk that can cause you trouble. Being with a friend makes your stay much safer (especially a woman should never go alone). Furthermore, it's a lot more fun to celebrate with your friends than with strangers.

2. Drink a lot of water
The old rule "one beer, one water" also applies for the biggest beer festival in the world. The beer tents are hot and you'll be thirsty. Drinking only beer makes you drunk much faster than you even notice, especially when you're not used to the strong German beer.

3. Be friendly to the waitress
Waitresses in the beer tents are the secret queens of the Oktoberfest. They decide if you can stay or have to leave. And they definitely decide if you get a beer or not. Remember that you can only order beer once you sit at a table. No beer is sold to persons standing in the alleys.

4. Do everything that requires coordination before the second beer
It's not funny to be trapped inside a roller coaster after the second or third beer. Owners of the attractions will not let you inside anyways, because they know what can happen.

5. Enjoy!
Dance and sing as much as you want and have a lot of fun.

Don'ts

1. Don't bring valuables
Bring only the amount of money you're planning to spend. Don't wear expensive jewelry. Wherever there are masses of people, there are also pickpockets. Be on the watch out.

2. Don't drink and drive
Use the public transport for your sake and the sake of everyone else who could be involved in an accident with you. Drunk driving will cause you to lose your drivers license and get you into a lot of trouble. Germans are very tolerant with alcohol but not in connection with driving.

3. Don't try to get into the tents at the main entrance
Despite their size beer tents fill up quickly and are closed for security reasons. Chances to get in through the main entrance are nil. Your luck will be better waiting at the side entrances where security sometimes lets people enter when someone else leaves. To avoid closed tents either have a reservation or come early, preferably during weekdays.

About the Author

Marion Kummerow is the author of http://www.inside-munich.com/oktoberfest-2006.html . She's been living in Munich for many years and has intimate knowledge of the city and the famous Oktoberfest.

German Bavaria: The Wonder Land!

I was seated in one of the chairs at the beach - end table facing the Indian Ocean.

I had hardly seen any objects in the Ocean, but the shining stars in the far distance and the Bavarians near me triggered my thoughts back into the good old Bavaria over the Alps.

Now I could see the several beautiful rivers across Bavaria. The Danube, the Main, the Isar and the Inn were passing so silently. I could also visualise the largest lake in Bavaria, the lake Chiemsee with other picturesque lakes Starnberger and Ammersee near Munich and in the little distance the lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden, which is surrounded by the impressive mountains of the Alps. The lake Bodensee, one of the largest lakes in Europe, which belongs to Bavaria, is silently shining to sun beams.

The scenic panorama of the Bavarian beauty in the vicinity of the Alps lasting for many centuries was saturating my mind. Now I could see with my inward eye the very impressive Alps Mountains with its highest peak Zugspitze offering a breathtaking panorama across several hundreds of peaks with a scenic view of four countries, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Bavaria is one of the oldest states in Europe.

The ethnic group of the Bavarians had come to be mixed with Romans, Celts and Teutons some 2500 years ago. The Otto of Wittelsbach founded the State of Bavaria. Hitler took over power in 1933 and Bavaria became no longer an independent state. After Germany's capitulation in 1945, the American Forces occupied Bavaria.

The events were moving in my inner eye one by one towards the present day Bavaria. Fredrike Wagner has inspired me a lot on Bavaria and the Munich on our tsunami visit to the Northern part of the Island. When I remember Fredrike Wagner, my mind used to recall the legendary Richard Wagner who revolutionized German opera by making the music secondary to the dramatic action. Still in Bayreuth every year the Wagner festival takes place - a high society event. Wagner's most famous works "The flying Dutchman", "The ring of the Nibelungen" and "Tristan and Isolde" are such fascinating works which could inspire any one in the world.

Bavaria is the largest land of the federal republic of Germany with nearly 18 million people. Munich, the capital of Bavaria with more than 1.2 million inhabitants is one of the dynamic cities in Europe and in the world. A number of German Praktikum (Internship) students from Bavaria told me that the culture in Bavaria is very distinct from the rest of Germany. They have told the differences are very marked still in the rural areas but are less significant in the major cities.

The religious faith in Southern Bavaria is the predominant faith of Roman Catholicism, contrasting with the more Lutheran-Protestantism in the Northern parts of Bavaria. The students told the typical expression of greeting in Bavaria and Austria is: "Grüss Gott!" which means God greet you. Bavaria could be proud of the present pope, Benedict XVI, his name being Joseph Alois Ratzinger who is from the Marktl am Inn in Upper Bavaria.

But when I asked Fredrieke Wagner which religion she is practising, she told simply, "I don't have religion". I wondered and couldn't make out whether she does practise a religion in the Catholic-dominated Bavarian region or she had expressed a mere pleasantry.

I heard that Bavarians resemble the inhabitants of Latin countries and tend to give great attention to their personal appearance, while folks in some other parts of Germany dress more casually. It is fascinating even at business meetings to see southern Bavarians wearing traditional clothing.

Bavarian cities and towns, whether they are rich or poor, are the best looked-after locations in Germany. The students also told me that Bavarians are very proud of their different dialects and most of them speak with a Bavarian, Franconian or Swabian accent.

I also heard from some of the German students and others that the Christian Social Union, which has ruled Bavaria uninterruptedly since 1957, is arguably the most inward looking of the major German political parties, which combines socially conservative positions with an advocacy for extensive involvement of the state in its economy.

About the Author

Rajkumar Kanagasingam is author of a fascinating book on German memories in Asia and you can explore more about the book and the author at AGSEP