Saturday, 12 o’clock – high noon in the “Schottenhamel” beer tent: By tapping the first barrel of beer, Christian Ude started the 180th Oktoberfest.
With the experience of almost two decades in office, Christian Ude, Mayor of Munich, has started the Oktoberfest by tapping the first barrel of beer in the Schottenhamel tent.
With two strikes, Ude drove the tap into the barrel and spoke the magic words: “O’zapft is!” – “It’s tapped!”
The first mug of beer was then handed to the Bavarian Prime Minister, Horst Seehofer.
Next year, somebody else will serve the beer to Horst Seehofer: Christian Ude is in his last year as Mayor of Munich and won’t be able to run for office again, as he has reached the maximum number of terms.
As in all the years bevor, Christian Ude ended the opening ceremony by wishing everybody a peaceful Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest.de would like to join Christian Ude with this wish and hopes that everybody will have a great time in Munich.
Why is there an annual beer festival?
The Oktoberfest has its origins in the year 1810. However, it looked a bit different then, as the first Oktoberfest was a horse-race, held as a part of the wedding festivities of Bavarian King Ludwig I. and his wife Theresie.
The people liked that horse-race so much, that it became an annual event, which then developed into what we know as Oktoberfest today, as the focus shifted more and more away from the horse-race and towards fun rides and drinking beer.
Why does the Oktoberfest start in September?
The original horse-race was an event that only took one day. Over the decades, as the horse-rave had disappeared, the Oktoberfest got longer and longer, until it lasted two weeks, as it does today. However, it is not uncommon in Bavaria for the weather to become quite cold in the middle of Oktober and there can even be snow. To avoid a snowy Oktoberfest, the decision was made to start the Oktoberfest earlier, usually some time around the beginning of the fourth week of September.
What do I have to know, when it comes to beer?
First of all, the reason, why beer has always been so popular in Munich, is that the quality of the drinking water was always very bad and most likely the reason of numerous cases of the plague and the cholera in former times. So people rather drank beer, because it was a lot safer to drink, as most germs were killed during the brewing process.
The beer you get on the Oktoberfest is Munich beer, which means: It was really brewed on Munich ground. It is a bit stronger than your regular Munich lager beer. Instead of the more common 5% to 5.5% (always depending on the brewery) of alcohol, the Oktoberfest beer usually is about 1% stronger.
Liter, Maß, Hoibe – how does that work?
The most common drink to order at the Oktoberfest is “eine Maß Bier.”
“Maß” means that you will get one liter of beer. “Maß” means “measure” or “unit” in German and is female: “Die Maß”. Correctly pronounced, “Maß” rhymes with “buzz”. What a coincidence…
Half a liter of beer is called “Halbe” (or “Hoibe” in Bavarian). Never mind the pronouciation of “Halbe”, because you won’t get one in a beer tent anyway.
For more on Oktoberfest simply click here.
To make your travel plans to or from Abbotsford start with Abbotsford Connections and make your bookings for Abbotsford, BC, Canada or anywhere in the rest of the world. If you’d prefer, our professional and friendly Abbotsford travel agents will give you a hand to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Abbotsford Connections:
Abbotsford Travel Agents
To make your travel plans to or from Abbotsford start with Abbotsford Connections and make your bookings for Abbotsford, BC, Canada or anywhere in the rest of the world. If you’d prefer, our professional and friendly Abbotsford travel agents will give you a hand to ensure everything goes smoothly.
For a complete list of Abbotsford Travel agencies simply click here.
Abbotsford Airport
Situated at the heart of the Fraser Valley and connected to the entire Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Abbotsford International Airport has been proudly serving the surrounding communities of the Vancouver and Lower Mainland for over 30 years.
In 2008 more than 500,000 passengers came through Abbotsford Airport. Come discover why more and more people are choosing to fly YXX.
Abbotsford Tourism
What to do in Abbotsford – all the links to all the activities and sites you’ll want to see during your stay in Abbotsford. Check out the opportunities for Agri-Tourism, Sky-Diving, Hiking, Restaurants and Nightlife all in one location. Abbotsford Tourism’s website provides you with a one-stop-shopping opportunity to experience Abbotsford.
Everything tourism-related about Abbotsford is at your fingertips.
Travel Abbotsford/Travel BC
Accommodations, activities, attractions, camping, real estate, tours & packages, and transportation in Abbotsford. Book your reservations, choose your hotel/motel plan your tour, explore the possibilities in Abbotsford and around BC all with one click.
Travel The World
Find out what’s out there. Destinations, adventures, peoples, places, sights and sounds … and go ahead and book you reservations, flights, trains and rental cars. Use Microsoft’s new search engine to find exactly what you want and grab it.
Sponsored by Orbitz Bing Travel is your Gateway To The World