The flag of Germany.
Problem
I thought the German Oktoberfest started on the 1st of October and ended on the last day of October. Alas no. We have missed the Oktoberfest but there's still time to plan trips to the German Christmas Markets.
Answer
Oktoberfest started in September and it ends today, October 3rd 2017! It is the biggest beer festival in the world, attracting 6 million people, and I wasn't one of them. This year I have missed it. The good news is that now we know it starts in September, we can plan next year more carefully.
Oktoberfest in Munich in German iin 2018 will be held from September 22nd to October 7th. At least that's a bit more of October than in 2017.
So why the misleading name? According to their website, the original Oktoberfest was a week in Oktober to celebrate a royal marriage. In later years so that people could enjoy warmer weather, the festival was moved forward to start in September and end in Oktober. So why don't they call it the September fest? Oktoberfest has a good ring, doesn't it?
Plan to arrive on day one to see the morning parade of the horse-drawn carriages and bands.
If you are going there, entry to the tents is free. You just go in and sit down and order beer from the girls wearing the local Bavarian dirndl outfits. But at weekends the tents are often full by 11 am and once a tent is full nobody else is admitted. So arrive early.
Story
GERMAN BEER
I associate Germany with wine, especially Riesling, Black Tower, Liebfraumilch (wine so delightful it was called milk of the dear lady meaning the Madonna).
In many German cities you can find local food and wines in the Rathauskeller, nothing to do with rats. It's the German word for Town hall, usually a historic building, with at least one or two dishes at reasonable prices.
When we drove through Germany, it was always our first stop, if we had no other place in mind.
Meanwhile, various places in the UK are having their own little Oktoberfest German beer festivals.
Belgian Beer
Other great places for beer are Belgium.
UK Breweries
England has a septemberfest in Donington Park, I read about it on septemberfest.co.uk. If you want to see wenches in Medieval peasant costume, go to a Medieval Banquet. If it's beer you're after, and regional beer in the UK keep an eye on CAMRA, the Campaign For Real Ale.
Various breweries in the UK are open to visitors and some are famous for the Shire horses which used to pull the delivery carts.
Travel Tips
Top German cities to visit
Berlin (the wall)
The Romantic Road (Rothenburg).
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
GERMANY
Rothenburg is a lovely backdrop for its Christmas market. Other cities for Christmas markets include Berlin and Nuremberg.
Nuremberg is associated in the minds of the British and many people with the Nuremberg Trials after the end of WWII. But the city has an old city, Durer's House museum, the expected historical museum and the Germanisches National Museum with stunning photogenic pillars outside covered in sayings in all languages about human right. (See Tripadvisor.) When I visited I did not understand the words in other languages. However, nowadays with Google Translate on your phone, this should be a problem you can solve more easily.
OTHER CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Austria: Vienna and Salzburg
Belgium, Brussels and Bruges
Bulgaria: Sofia
Canada: Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver
Czech Republic: Prague castle
Denmark: Copenhagen
England: London - Hyde Park, Bankside; Manchester
France: Rheims in Champagne region; Strasbourg in the Alsace
Ireland: Dublin's Twelve Days of Christmas
Latvia: Riga
Poland: Warsaw and Krakow
Scotland: Edinburgh; Glasgow
Switzerland: Zurich
USA: Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC and many more.
Wales: Cardiff
GERMAN WEBSITES
Plenty of time to learn some German on
www.Duolingo.com
Oktoberfest in Germany in 2018 is Sept 22 2018 until October 7th.
https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/Oktoberfest+2017/About+the+Oktoberfest/Dates+and+General+FAQs
More Information From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest
https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/Oktoberfest+2017/About+the+Oktoberfest/Dates+and+General+FAQs
https://www.christmasmarkets.com
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/festival-travel-checklist
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Twitter: @AnnaTheAuthor
I thought the German Oktoberfest started on the 1st of October and ended on the last day of October. Alas no. We have missed the Oktoberfest but there's still time to plan trips to the German Christmas Markets.
Answer
Oktoberfest started in September and it ends today, October 3rd 2017! It is the biggest beer festival in the world, attracting 6 million people, and I wasn't one of them. This year I have missed it. The good news is that now we know it starts in September, we can plan next year more carefully.
Oktoberfest in Munich in German iin 2018 will be held from September 22nd to October 7th. At least that's a bit more of October than in 2017.
So why the misleading name? According to their website, the original Oktoberfest was a week in Oktober to celebrate a royal marriage. In later years so that people could enjoy warmer weather, the festival was moved forward to start in September and end in Oktober. So why don't they call it the September fest? Oktoberfest has a good ring, doesn't it?
Plan to arrive on day one to see the morning parade of the horse-drawn carriages and bands.
If you are going there, entry to the tents is free. You just go in and sit down and order beer from the girls wearing the local Bavarian dirndl outfits. But at weekends the tents are often full by 11 am and once a tent is full nobody else is admitted. So arrive early.
Story
GERMAN BEER
I associate Germany with wine, especially Riesling, Black Tower, Liebfraumilch (wine so delightful it was called milk of the dear lady meaning the Madonna).
In many German cities you can find local food and wines in the Rathauskeller, nothing to do with rats. It's the German word for Town hall, usually a historic building, with at least one or two dishes at reasonable prices.
When we drove through Germany, it was always our first stop, if we had no other place in mind.
Meanwhile, various places in the UK are having their own little Oktoberfest German beer festivals.
Belgian Beer
Other great places for beer are Belgium.
UK Breweries
England has a septemberfest in Donington Park, I read about it on septemberfest.co.uk. If you want to see wenches in Medieval peasant costume, go to a Medieval Banquet. If it's beer you're after, and regional beer in the UK keep an eye on CAMRA, the Campaign For Real Ale.
Various breweries in the UK are open to visitors and some are famous for the Shire horses which used to pull the delivery carts.
Travel Tips
Top German cities to visit
Berlin (the wall)
The Romantic Road (Rothenburg).
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
GERMANY
Rothenburg is a lovely backdrop for its Christmas market. Other cities for Christmas markets include Berlin and Nuremberg.
Nuremberg is associated in the minds of the British and many people with the Nuremberg Trials after the end of WWII. But the city has an old city, Durer's House museum, the expected historical museum and the Germanisches National Museum with stunning photogenic pillars outside covered in sayings in all languages about human right. (See Tripadvisor.) When I visited I did not understand the words in other languages. However, nowadays with Google Translate on your phone, this should be a problem you can solve more easily.
OTHER CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Austria: Vienna and Salzburg
Belgium, Brussels and Bruges
Bulgaria: Sofia
Canada: Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver
Czech Republic: Prague castle
Denmark: Copenhagen
England: London - Hyde Park, Bankside; Manchester
France: Rheims in Champagne region; Strasbourg in the Alsace
Ireland: Dublin's Twelve Days of Christmas
Latvia: Riga
Poland: Warsaw and Krakow
Scotland: Edinburgh; Glasgow
Switzerland: Zurich
USA: Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC and many more.
Wales: Cardiff
GERMAN WEBSITES
Plenty of time to learn some German on
www.Duolingo.com
Oktoberfest in Germany in 2018 is Sept 22 2018 until October 7th.
https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/Oktoberfest+2017/About+the+Oktoberfest/Dates+and+General+FAQs
More Information From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest
https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/Oktoberfest+2017/About+the+Oktoberfest/Dates+and+General+FAQs
https://www.christmasmarkets.com
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/festival-travel-checklist
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Twitter: @AnnaTheAuthor
1 comment:
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