And so it begins.
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| Misleadingly starts in September... |
Oktoberfest - the world's largest piss-up. Forget the
Cambridge Beer Festival, the British have nothing on the Bavarians. At least that's the impression I had from the photos I'd seen of drunken masses and well-endowed ladies carrying an incomprehensible number of giant beer mugs full of liquid gold.
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| The statue of Bavaria looming large over the Theresienwiese. |
After all the fun of our
scientific Oktoberfest experience, The Flavour and I decided to head over to the
Theresienwiese to see (and drink) for ourselves whether this was indeed just a giant drunken affair dominated by eager tourists, or whether there was something a little more than that.
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| Lowenbrau tent at 11 am. |
We arrive at the Oktoberfest grounds at around 10:30 am on the first day, following a steady trickle of people wearing lederhosen and Bavarian dresses walking from the nearby underground stations. The grounds are less busy than expected, although inside the beer halls, the seats are almost completely filled already as the keenest have staked our their spots for the day.
Too bad that no beer is served until the mayor taps the first barrel at noon. However, the kitchens are already in full gear preparing for the hungry masses.
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| Chickens. Lots of them. |
Instead of joining the crowds in the halls, we decide to watch the opening parade and the arrival of the beer hall owners. Magnificently adorned horses parade down the main thoroughfare of the Theresienweise, drawing behind them carts of beer barrels, as well as entire families from the youngest children up to the grandmothers and fathers, all waving and cheering with the crowds.
Although the parade was well worth watching, the price we consequently paid was the inability to find a spot in any of the beer halls after it was over. After fighting our way through several full halls, we had to settle in the end at the Nymphenburg Sektzelt, which isn't strictly a beer hall as it sells wine and other drinks. Outrageous was the price of the drinks - more than 7 Euro for 500 mL of Paulaner is highway robbery!! Nonetheless, the atmosphere was fantastic thanks to the hyperactive live band wearing cow-patterned shorts...
Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, so we decided to go outside to find some food. Instead of going for the multitude of exorbitantly priced large meaty dishes on offer, I opted to go for a flammkuchen instead (ok, so not Bavarian as far as I know, but beer makes me full...). Not as light and crispy as I've ones I've previously had, but everything tastes really good when you're starving.
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| Flammkuchen (€7). Interestingly I thought I'd been ripped off when I paid €10 and got no change. Actually there's a €3 deposit for the wooden board it's on, which is returned when you finish eating. |
Again, we were unsuccessful trying to weave our way into the Augustiner beer hall...
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| GET OUT OF MY WAY |
... finally finding a spot in the beer garden of the Hacker-Pschorr beer hall, rewarded with (slightly less than thanks to a massive head) 1L of thirst-quenching goodness. Success!
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| Beer! One litre is the smallest size (€9.10, but basically €10 when the waitress doesn't give you change) |
Despite all it's inebriocentric (new word of the day) tendancies, the Oktoberfest is a lot more than just a plain
lashfest. The atmosphere is definitely that of a big carnival, and surprisingly family friendly! Add a lot of funfare games, massive rollercoasters, food stalls and amazing costumes, and the Oktoberfest is definitely a great experience which goes beyond the fountains of beer and passed-out casualties.
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So you might be saying, "This is a food blog, where is the food?". Yes, the Bavarians really do amazing things with meat and potatoes, not to mention bread. And all in unashamedly large portions.
Looks like I'll have to do a Part 3 to finish this one off...
