| I want you to do me a favor. Close your eyes, | | | | |
| and think back: back to college, back to | | | | It's not all fun and games, though; even good |
| Mardi Gras, back to Cancun. Imagine biggest | | | | times hit their bad times. In the past 197 |
| party you've ever been to in your life. For | | | | years, Munich has called off Oktoberfest 24 |
| some, it's that once-in-a-lifetime trip to | | | | times due to famine, disease, and two world |
| New Orleans; for others, it's the frat fest | | | | wars. In 1980, a lone far-right nutcase |
| at Halloween where there are more little | | | | struck another blow with a pipe bomb that |
| party cups than there are human beings. | | | | killed thirteen people and injured 200 more. |
| Whatever that uber-party is, picture it in | | | | Despite it all, however, Germany's most |
| your mind. | | | | famous party always bounced back, and today |
| | | | an estimated 15% of its 6.5 million visitors |
| Now multiply it by, oh, at least a million. | | | | come from overseas. |
| You might-might-approach the jubilee that is | | | | |
| Oktoberfest, the largest public festival in | | | | Every Oktoberfest begins the same way: a |
| the world. With an average of six million | | | | crowd of people 8,000-strong marches through |
| annual visitors and only God knows how many | | | | Munich, dressed in traditional Bavarian |
| beers, the yearly festival in Munich dwarfs | | | | clothes and led by the town "kindl"--a sort |
| every other celebration on earth-save, maybe, | | | | of 'town mascot,' usually a small child or |
| the millennium celebration. And unlike other | | | | young woman, who represents the Munich coat |
| parties that stop after, oh, one or two days, | | | | of arms. After the parade, the city mayor |
| Oktoberfest sees fit to keep on truckin' for | | | | officially kicks off the festivities by |
| two weeks. That's a lot of beer, but | | | | tapping a ceremonial keg and declaring (to |
| fortunately there are plenty of people to | | | | the joy of the crowd) "it's been tapped!" |
| drink it. Stretching from the last weekend of | | | | From there, thirsty festival-goers (many who |
| September to the first weekend of October, | | | | arrived at 9 AM for the evening event) |
| Oktoberfest attracts visitors from every | | | | finally get to taste the special Oktoberfest |
| corner of the globe-and has inspired a | | | | beer, a strong, dark brew only made during |
| plethora of tributes in just as many | | | | the festival. It's drank by the gallons in |
| countries. Odds are, if you're anywhere near | | | | streets, bars, and especially in the |
| some fairgrounds, there'll be people in | | | | 10,000-capacity festival tent! |
| Bavarian dress clinking mugs and singing | | | | |
| polka. | | | | Of course, some (most) of us can't hop a |
| | | | plane to Munich any time soon, so how do we |
| But despite the legions of drunk youths | | | | celebrate on our side of the pond? |
| (known as "beer corpses" by the locals) | | | | Well-prepared brewmeisters can twist open a |
| stumbling through Munich every year, | | | | bottle of homemade beer, but the rest of us |
| Oktoberfest certainly isn't just about the | | | | can find ways to participate, too. |
| bier. In fact, overconsumption of alcohol is | | | | |
| looked down upon by nearly every Oktoberfest | | | | Consider cooking one of these German and |
| veteran as a sign of youthful inexperience. | | | | Bavarian cuisine-inspired recipes: |
| Oktoberfest is also about the people, the | | | | |
| food, and the music-all of them coming | | | | Holly's German Spaetzle Dumplings |
| together to celebrate a German cultural | | | | |
| tradition dating back to 1810. | | | | Shrimp and Fresh Herb Spaetzle with Creamy |
| | | | Tomato Sauce |
| The first Oktoberfest began on October 12, | | | | |
| 1810 as a massive horse race, all to | | | | Grilled Bratwurst with German Potato Salad |
| celebrate the marriage of Bavarian Crown | | | | |
| Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese von | | | | German Soft Pretzels |
| Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festival grounds | | | | |
| were named Theresienwiese in honor of the | | | | Ritter's Inn Sauerbraten and Dumplings |
| princess; even today, locals refer | | | | |
| affectionately to them as "Die Weisen." | | | | For the less culinary-inclined, many towns |
| Unsurprisingly, the revelry surrounding the | | | | around the country throw Oktoberfest |
| races was tremendously popular, and by 1813 | | | | bashes-all you need to do is go, pay, and |
| the festival was declared mandatory for every | | | | enjoy. We recommend doing this even if you do |
| year. People loved it so much it soon | | | | cook for yourself; part of Oktoberfest's |
| stretched to two weeks in length; as the | | | | appeal is the crowd! |
| years went on, organizers pushed the starting | | | | |
| point back into September to take advantage | | | | Whatever you end up doing, you'd better make |
| of the milder weather. So now-somewhat | | | | sure to do it soon. There's only 11 days of |
| counter-intuitively-a festival named for | | | | Oktoberfest left...and the clock is ticking! |
| October begins the month before! | | | | |