Fun Facts about Oktoberfest

Prost!

The countdown is on… Oktoberfest is just three weeks away!

The beer, the dirndls, and the meter-long hot dogs are just some of the things attendees will get to experience when they make their way to Munich this year for the world’s largest Volksfest (beer festival and travelling fun fair). Are you in?

 

 

Of all the travel memories I have made in my thirty years on this planet, partying at Oktoberfest in Germany will always be one of the top experiences. Sadly, I won’t be in attendance this year, but I have two dear friends who are headed to the festival which has me reminiscing on my own experience.

In attempt to live vicariously through them and get other attendees excited for their Oktoberfest 2015 experience I thought I would share some fun facts about the festival. Here we go!

Fun Facts About the Ultimate German Party aka Oktoberfest:

• The beer is STRONG, so be careful. Typically, the beers served at Oktoberfest range from 6%-8% alcohol content, far stronger than the most popular beer in America, Bud Light at 4.2%.
• Looking for love? Make sure you pay attention to how the women are tying their dirndl aprons, because it is sometimes a sign of a lady’s marital status. It is said that a knot on a woman’s left side indicates she is single and a knot on her right means she is married, engaged, or off-the-market. Sounds funny, but tourists may or may not be expected to respect the house rules.
• Don’t bother asking for your favourite brew from your homeland, because you won’t find it. Only six breweries are allowed to participate in Oktoberfest and they all produced within Munich city limits.
• You might lose more than your sense of decorum during Oktoberfest. It’s estimated that over 4,000 items are turned in every year during the festival: the strangest being a set of dentures and someone’s short haired dachshund.
• There is an official name for festival goers who can’t keep up; the ones who pass out on Oktoberfest grounds. They are referred to as “beer corpses”, and you will inevitably see many of them in fine form / precarious positions during the festival. Do well on your fellow man – make sure they’re OK.
  
  

Info graph courtesy of BEERHUNT.com 

For more information on Oktoberfest, check out the City of Munich’s official website here.

Have you ever been to Oktoberfest? If so, what stands out about the festival? I’ve been. I think?