Insanity at the Muenchner Oktoberfest
I spent the last three days in Munich. It’s a noisy and weird place right now, crowded with people from all around the world. Most notable among all the nations are Italians, Dutch and people from England and the United States. They are only recognizable by the accent, everybody seems to wear traditional Bavarian cloths, such as the infamous “Lederhosen” and the “Dirndl” even if they are not from Bavaria or Europe at all.
The origins of the Oktoberfest date back to 1810, when a lavish five-day celebration was held all over Munich to mark the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince. There is not much left from that royal celebration. Get pissed or get lost might be a good tagline in the year 2004.
I myself drank my first “Wiesn Mass” (one liter of beer) this year, so that I can tell everyone “been there, done that”. Being on the Oktoberfest and not having a beer – or in my case two – is like visiting New York and skipping the Empire State building. But like many New Yorkers never actually visit the Empire State Building, there are many Bavarians that avoid the Wiesn at any cost during the Oktoberfest.
I arrived around 11:00 am at the Theresienwiese, the subway station closest to the “Wiesn”. We, my two cousins and my father, walked around and tried to find an empty seat in one of the beer tents, which where all already very crowded. Luckily we got a table in the “Hofbräuzelt” one of the 14 massive tents. After an overprices “Weisswurst” and two “Mass” beer we left the scene. I can’t understand people who sit and drink for 8 or 10 hours.
I saw pretty much everything within the first 20 minutes, after that, its like a loop. Every now and then, someone starts screaming, raising a “Mass” and the entire crowd follows. A band plays the “Wiesn-song” – that’s pretty much everything. If you are lucky enough, you see some Australian dude standing on a table and pulling down his pants, before he gets pulled away by security. If you are unlucky like me, someone vomits in front of you, while you try to enter the toilet. Please consider that its noon! By the end of the day…, well I leave that open for your imagination.
After all, the Oktoberfest IS a unique experience, it’s the largest Volksfest in the World, the only goal is to drink beer and for 3 weeks, Munich becomes the center of insanity.
The origins of the Oktoberfest date back to 1810, when a lavish five-day celebration was held all over Munich to mark the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince. There is not much left from that royal celebration. Get pissed or get lost might be a good tagline in the year 2004.
I myself drank my first “Wiesn Mass” (one liter of beer) this year, so that I can tell everyone “been there, done that”. Being on the Oktoberfest and not having a beer – or in my case two – is like visiting New York and skipping the Empire State building. But like many New Yorkers never actually visit the Empire State Building, there are many Bavarians that avoid the Wiesn at any cost during the Oktoberfest.
I arrived around 11:00 am at the Theresienwiese, the subway station closest to the “Wiesn”. We, my two cousins and my father, walked around and tried to find an empty seat in one of the beer tents, which where all already very crowded. Luckily we got a table in the “Hofbräuzelt” one of the 14 massive tents. After an overprices “Weisswurst” and two “Mass” beer we left the scene. I can’t understand people who sit and drink for 8 or 10 hours.
I saw pretty much everything within the first 20 minutes, after that, its like a loop. Every now and then, someone starts screaming, raising a “Mass” and the entire crowd follows. A band plays the “Wiesn-song” – that’s pretty much everything. If you are lucky enough, you see some Australian dude standing on a table and pulling down his pants, before he gets pulled away by security. If you are unlucky like me, someone vomits in front of you, while you try to enter the toilet. Please consider that its noon! By the end of the day…, well I leave that open for your imagination.
After all, the Oktoberfest IS a unique experience, it’s the largest Volksfest in the World, the only goal is to drink beer and for 3 weeks, Munich becomes the center of insanity.
posted by giovanniaureel at 9/27/2004
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