OH, SO MUCH FUN! LOTS OF PEOPLE! TRADITIONS! GREAT FOOD! BEER…

LOTS OF BEER!!!

OKTOBERFEST! 

It all started in 1810 when Crown Prince Ludwig I married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Their wedding took place in what is known today Oktoberfest, in Theresiewiesen, a large open space named after, yep, you’re right…Therese of Bavaria. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t last (he had too many mistresses!), but hey, the tradition lives!

“Bier, and Prost”

Today, Oktoberfest is celebrated with fun and games, food and yes, lots and lots of beer…locally brewed German beer…MUNICH BEER!. Back in the days, beer was more suitable for drinking than water. Let’s face it, Water was yucky, and full of bacteria. Water was a total NO NO! Beer? YES! So, beer it is! Mind you! It’s stronger than the norm, but believe me, you’ll drink it. You’ll drink it because you love it, you want to be part of the fun, you want to say “cheers” and make a toast to everyone, and you want your Beer mug to cling, cling, cling, constantly with someone every time you say “Prost”! Heck, you toast constantly for no reason! It’s pure happiness! You can’t talk about your problems! It’s no place to bring people down. Actually, you can’t, even if you tried! So be happy!!!

 

“Lederhose and Dirndl”

These are the typical Bavarian Costumes worn during Oktoberfest. The “Lederhose” has pretty much stayed the same for over 200 years, but the Dirndl has changed over time with Fashion. Either way, expensive or cheap, you will look great on them!

 

 

The “Oktoberfestherzen”

The Oktoberfest Gingerbread cookie symbolizes the love of Ludwig I and Theresa, hence, Gingerbread cookies in the shape of a Heart. If you like Gingerbread, then, you’ll love them, otherwise, these are great to keep at hand when drinking all that beer!

 

 

The Brewery Horses

 

There are 6 breweries that produced all the beer served at Oktoberfest and their horses are the ones that bring all the kegs to this humongous party! These gorgeous Belgian horses carry the Beer Barrels representing their breweries and served at the tents. There are, I believe, 14 big and small tents. Some can fit up to 10,000 people! That’s a lot of people under a tent.

 

“Familientag” 

Parents wanting to go to Oktoberfest and don’t know what to do with their children? (That sounds horrible, but trust me, you’ll love this!). “No problemo!” It all depends on how you plan it. First of all, you must stay at a hotel that offers babysitting services in order for this to workout for you. You may end up paying a little bit more than at other hotels, but I rather pay more than to run into inconveniences at the last minute. In my opinion, I’m glad we brought our daughter because she had fun during the day at Oktoberfest, and we had fun during the evening at Oktoberfest. It was totally a win win outcome for us!

We made arrangements with the Hotel to have a Babysitter for a couple of hours. This was the first time we used babysitting services recommended by the hotel, so it was a bit scary at first, (not gonna lie) but when we arrived, everything was great. Besides, I called to make sure everything was okay while we were out having fun!!!

 

Oktoberfest during the day: Have fun with your children! There are tons of rides for children, especially in the “Familientag” section of Oktoberfest. This area caters to families. It has places that serve food and beer, of course. It has clean, nice bathrooms for the family. It’s fun! You can also hang out at the big tents for during the day, they’re not as crowded as in the afternoons and at night, so feel free to go in, relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

 

Heck…even the dog goes to Oktoberfest!!!

FYI- On Tuesdays, everything at the “Familientag” section costs 1/2 the price than on regular days.

Oktoberfest at night: It’s awesome! Just a few reminders guys…do not bring your children! It’s mainly for adults and for drinking, dancing and God knows what else!!!

Take the train or a taxi to get there if you’re not within walking distance! As we got off the taxi and walked towards the main entrance, we saw tons of people coming out of there, !@#$%^&*, walking sideways, talking to themselves, singing, peeing on a corner, some were already wet…euuuuuh, but true…don’t worry they were happy! Prepare yourself to see normal people go bizarre and wild and couples taking all the corners…and yeah, I’ll keep that one to myself.

After all, we all go to have fun!!!

People from all corners of this World come to Oktoberfest for one reason: To have fun while drinking lots of strong local beer and wearing cute traditional costumes with a bunch of friends, strangers and/or family members. It doesn’t matter why you come, what matters is to have fun while you’re there. Believe me! You will!

 

To learn more about Oktoberfest, visit their official website: http://www.oktoberfest.de/en