Worth the Hype? Oktoberfest

You’ve likely heard of Oktoberfest, whether it’s the real deal or something your local pub puts on every October in the spirit of the season. Oktoberfest isn’t just a funny way of spelling an October celebration, it’s a long-standing German tradition celebrated in Munich each year. Don’t be fooled: there are several other celebrations that occur around the same time across Germany, but the official celebration only goes down in Munich.

Oktoberfest involves a lot of beer, a lot of traditional German food, special costumes, and a sense of community with your fellow fest-goers. Depending on your point of view, Oktoberfest can sound like a blast or just a bunch of drunk people in lederhosen in some very large tents. I’ve personally gone to the beer-drinking extravaganza once, and I’m here to give you my honest opinion: is it worth the hype?

The history

These days, Oktoberfest is all about beer. But, it wasn’t always that way. The annual German festival originated in 1810 as a celebration of the marriage between the crown prince of Bavaria (a German state) to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The crown prince was the future King Louis I, known for turning Munich into Germany’s center for the arts.

The celebration lasted for 5 days and ended with a horse race. The next year, the horse race was combined with an agricultural fair and by 1818 there were booths that served food and drink. In 1850, a parade was introduced which has occurred every year since.

By the debut of the 20th century, beer-drinking had officially become a thing to do at the festival. For the 100th anniversary in 1910, 120,000 liters of beer were consumed. Prost! Flash forward to the late 20th century, and the booths had transformed into beer halls made from plywood, fit with indoor balconies and stages for live music. Over the course of 210 years, the festival has been canceled just 24 times. In 2020, it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The concept

The concept of Oktoberfest is similar to other outdoor fairs of its kind: there are food and drink booths, a costume parade, beer tents, rides, and shops. You don’t technically have to be dressed in traditional German lederhosen and dirndl to get into the festival, but I’d say about 80% of festival-goers dress up. That’s just my estimation, but, seriously, almost everyone was dressed up.

It’s important to remember the historical and cultural value of Oktoberfest. Yes, it has a reputation for being party central, but (especially during the day) there aren’t necessarily drunk people falling over each other. While I wouldn’t call it the ideal place to bring your kids in the evening, there are several other things to do besides drink.

It’s a great place to taste traditional German food and beer, there’s an amusement park aspect that’s great for children, and it’s really fun to see everyone dressed up in their traditional garb.

The line-up

If you can, try to go to Oktoberfest on opening day. It may be a bit more crowded, but the pomp and circumstance is impressive. There’s a parade that starts in downtown Munich and finishes at the festival grounds and features horse-drawn carriages and floats. The breweries and restaurants set to be at the festival that year decorate floats, which are accompanied by live music from the bands that will play at the festivities.

Next, comes the beer barrel tapping ceremony. At noon precisely, crowds gather in the Schottenhammel tent to watch the lord mayor of Munich open the first barrel of beer of the festival. He shouts “ O’zapft is! “ which means “it’s tapped!” in English. Oktoberfest has officially begun.

If you’re more interested in the costume parade, hold out until the first Sunday of the festival. The parade is made up of 8,000 participants dressed in historical costume and starts in downtown Munich. The procession also includes marching bands, traditional costume clubs (yes, this is a thing), and 40 horse-drawn carriages, amongst other things.

The set-up

There are two parts of the festival, the main Oktoberfest as well as the “ Oide Wiesn,” or “Old Oktoberfest.” Oktoberfest features 17 large beer tents and 21 small tents. It’s also important to note that while these structures technically do have tent material as a covering, they are absolutely massive and look like real buildings from the outside. The tents sometimes change annually, so you’ll want to visit their website to see the final set-up.

I didn’t check out the Old Oktoberfest and I wish I would have. There are old-school amusement park rides, traditional German cuisine, live brass band music, and even a museum tent. This should be your go-to if you’re a history buff.

Our verdict

I had a blast when I went to Oktoberfest in 2014. I’ll be honest, when I went I was mostly there for the beer. But, I also took advantage of the amusement park rides, the delicious food, and I actually still have the dirndl costume I wore. It was also a special trip for me because it was my first time seeing my best friend after I moved to France. But, regardless of the fact that I was happy to be reunited with a friendly face after months alone in a foreign country, my verdict is yes, Oktoberfest is worth the hype. It’s a place to learn more about German culture, try their cuisine, have some fun in the amusement park, and of course, taste a little German beer.

Originally published at https://expeeriences.com on October 5, 2020.