The event still takes place on the "Theresienwiese" "Theresa's meadow" , which was named after the new bride; to the locals, it's simply known as "Wies'n". During the two weeks before the first Sunday in October, these fairgrounds are transformed into a city of beer tents, amusements, rides, performers, and booths of vendors peddling gastronomic delights and traditional confections.
The mayor of Munich opens the festivities at noon on the first day of the fair when he drives the wooden tap into a barrel of beer and proclaims: O'zapft is! The Costume and Riflemen's Procession takes place on the first Sunday of the festival, in which some performers -- groups in traditional costumes and historical uniforms, marching bands, riflemen, thoroughbred horses and other livestock, old-fashioned carriages, and numerous floats -- parade through the streets of Munich's city center showcasing the diversity of local, regional, and national customs.
The second Sunday of the Oktoberfest features an open-air big band concert involving the or so musicians who comprise all of the Oktoberfest bands. Between events and beer tents, guests can traverse the acre Oktoberfest grounds to ride a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, or water slide, navigate their way through a labyrinth, visit a haunted house, be entertained by numerous types of performers, take a look at the flea circus, stop off at one of dozens of game booths, or take a festival tour, among other things.
Before the advent of modern refrigeration techniques, this type of beer was brewed in March as its name suggests and allowed to age through the summer, so that it was ready to drink by late summer or early fall. Like all German beer, the Oktoberfest beer is brewed according to strict German standards called the Reinheitsgebot and in effect since that precisely define the four ingredients allowed in the brewing of beer: barley, hops, malt, and yeast. Beer maids and waiters must be able to carry 10 of these beer-filled mugs at a time.
Visitors consume large quantities of food, most of which consists of traditional hearty fare. Readily available all over the fairgrounds are Hendl , whole chickens grilled on a spit and typically sold in halves. Variations are the spit-roasted duck or goose. Roasted meats, especially pork, and potato dumplings are served up with the traditional red cabbage and apple dish Blaukohl. Visitors hankering for some seafood might try the charcoal-fired fish-on-a-stick Steckerlfisch.
Smaller appetites are satisfied by potato salad or potato soup, and even vegetarians won't go hungry, feasting on massive warm, soft pretzels, cheese plates with bread, or one of the many meatless dishes served up in each of the tents. Typical dessert dishes include Dampfnudel , a steamed honey-dumpling served with vanilla sauce, apple strudel, and Kaiserschmarrn , a sugared pancake with raisins.
Concessions peddling a variety of sweet snacks are also scattered across the landscape. From pan-roasted, sugar-glazed almonds gebrannte Mandeln to cotton candy Zuckerwatte , from glazed fruits to ice cream, Munich's Oktoberfest has something to satisfy every sweet tooth. The decorated gingerbread hearts with slogans and phrases iced onto them might be more of a feast for the eyes than the stomach. Oktoberfest is known as much for its traditional folk music as it is for its beer drinking.
Every fall, millions of people gather in Munich, Germany to drink beer, eat soft pretzels , and celebrate Oktoberfest. An average of six million people get together each year and drink more than two million gallons of beer—and that's only for the celebration in Munich! In fact, the gathering is so popular that thousands of Oktoberfest celebrations are held all over the world. And while I'll never turn down the opportunity to drink beer and eat pretzels, I have always wondered what the purpose is.
Despite the name, Oktoberfest actually begins in September. Oktoberfest is a two-week-long celebration that always ends on the first Sunday in October, meaning it starts the last week of September.
Keep in mind that these dates are only for the traditional festival held in Munich, Germany. Many places all over the world hold their own Oktoberfest celebrations throughout the months of September and October. 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 was then named Theresienwiese "Theresa's fields" , in honor of the Crown Princess. The locals sometimes call it 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.
In , an added feature to the horse racing was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse races, which were the oldest and - at one time - the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today.
0コメント