Autumn in Munich

Last year, the girls and I spent a spring day in Munich, mostly enjoying the lively
Marienplatz, and hanging about Viktualienmarkt, the wonderful farmers market in the city
centre. This time, its autumn in Munich, which means one thing: Oktoberfest. Or in our case,
pre-Oktoberfest. Were about a week early, which means we have a bit of elbow room
compared to the crowds of the coming weeks. Oktoberfest is the worlds largest festival, with
more than 6 million visitors popping in.

Bavaria has a unique beer culture. During the 16 days of Oktoberfest, nearly 7 million litres of
beer is consumed, served in one-litre glasses (ein Ma), so not for the milksops amongst us.
At noon on opening day in mid/late September, the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg with a
forceful
Ozapft is!
(Its tapped, in the Bavarian dialect)
A bit of history, perhaps? Oktoberfest was originally a royal wedding. On 12 October 1810,
Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married the lovely Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and
invited the entire town to the party: five days of full-on fun and fanfare, heaps of food and
drink, sports and music. A role model for royals near and far, Im sure.

It was such fun, they decided to do it again. And again. And have done ever since, only
interrupted by warfare and the like. The 2014 Oktoberfest was the 181st celebration.
Today, locals love to don traditional clothes during the festivities: dirndls for the girls,
lederhosen and Tirolerhte for the boys. Around town, I see adverts for dirndls, some of them
very elaborate and no doubt costly. (It reminds me of the Norwegian national costume, bunad,
elaborate, hand-sewn dresses, in many cases, worn only once a year.)

Naturally, special beer is brewed for Oktoberfest. Special and potent. Oktoberfestbier or
Wiesenbier, has 6 % alcohol, as opposed to 5 % in normal German beer. Even thats a bit on
the strong side, in my experience. I remember being 15, out and about Europe without parent
guidance for the first time, and having my first encounter with German beer; much too much
of it for the novice that I was. Painful. But enough about me.
According to the Reinheitsgebot (purity law), only beer brewed within Munichs city limits
can be sold during Oktoberfest, which means youll have beer from one of the Big Six. Our
group of international journos have afternoon beer (yes, you read that right) in one, run
quickly through a second, and have dinner in a third.
There are 14 beer tents. Some are huge, with seats for 8000 inside and an additional 2-3000
outside, were told. There are no entrance fees and you can bring your own food, but not
drinks. Oktoberfest means merry-go-rounds and roller coasters and all sorts of fun for the
whole family, but children under six arent allowed in the beer tents after 8pm.
As the tents arent exactly soundproofed, the slap-your-thigh oompa oomph music stops and
the tents close at 11pm. Only two venues in Munich are allowed to remain open until 1am.

Lwenbrau

Afternoon tea, Munich style strudel and beer

Not ready to go home at 11? You dont have to. There are several after-venues, and
Lwenbrau is the biggest. Were invited for afternoon tea in the garden, Munich style: heaps
of lovely desserts. And beer.
Since I learnt my lesson decades ago, I have a Radler, beer mixed with lemonade. (When I
mention this to an Australian friend, he looks at me as if Ive just sworn in church. Diluting
beer with, well anything pah, pure blasphemy.)

Lwenbrau has been in the beer brewing business for 700 years, but it isnt the only one in
town.

Hofbruhaus

The 16th century Hofbruhaus is perhaps the best known beer hall, some say in the whole
world. Its smack in the middle of Munichs city centre. Even in the week before Oktoberfest,
its packed to the rafters or rather, to the vaulted painted ceilings. An interesting quirk here
is the Makrugsafe-Gerste, beer stein safes, where patrons pay an annual rent, 200 euro, to
keep their beer mugs locked in. There are only 424 lockers and the only way to get your hands
on one of these coveted little boxes is to inherit it.

Paulaner

Paulaner is in the Nockherberg area, so not quite as central. From 1629, its the youngest of
the three, but it is the largest. According to beer enthusiasts, Paulaner offers the best brew
around, a pale, sweet lager. And that, after all, is the most important thing.

Disclosure: In Munich, I was a guest of InterRail and Mnchen Tourismus. As ever, all
opinions are mine, all mine.