Oktoberfest ~ 2012

We were very excited to partake in the traditions and festivities at the 2012 Oktoberfest in Munich!

Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival celebrating beer held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year.  Large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed, with almost 7 million liters served during the 16 day festival.

Oktoberfest began when Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields were named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess, and have kept that name ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n".  Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.  The festival was eventually prolonged and moved ahead to September to allow for better weather conditions. Today, the last day of the festival is the first Sunday in October.  

We were invited by a group of American friends from the Frankfurt area, and thanks to our friends we were able to leave Stew with their boys and babysitter for a quick overnight trip to the fest.  Things got off to a bit of a rocky start when our alarm never went off so we missed our train (yikes!) and so we decided to make the 3.5 hour drive instead.  After dropping Stew at our friends house with the sitter, we hopped into the car and hightailed it to Munich in record time!!

We were so impressed with the vast fairgrounds.  There were tons of rides and games for kids and every single beer "tent" that we passed was more impressive than the last.  To call them "tents" is a bit of a stretch, considering they are basically huge wooden warehouses housing thousands of beer tables, thousands of people, a huge stage for the band, and tons of food and decoration.  It seemed almost everyone was decked in their lederhosen and dirndles which added to the "Gemutlichkeit" (Atmosphere).

It was a happy day of singing-a-long to the traditional beer songs, sipping delicious (huge) beers, and dining on traditional roasted chickens!

Here are some pics and a funny video..

https://picasaweb.google.com/100058394167996772160/Oktoberfrest2012

http://youtu.be/M_9QliQ1c4c