Tag: Oktoberfest

Back In The Borough: Beer Gardens Galore (and Memorial Day Weekend!)

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment
Germans really know how to do beer festivals

It’s true—New York certainly does have its fair share of beer gardens.And while I have yet to frequent all of them, the handful that I have been to are always really fun. The atmosphere is festive, and when you live in Manhattan, it can be fun to explore neighborhoods outside of your own. I’d recommend a beer garden visit to any New York newcomer.

Still, I’m happy to say I was able to make the trek to the largest, most notorious beer garden of them all.

As far as Memorial Day weekend, Chris and I don’t have a ton of plans other than brunch, beer, and relaxing. Tonight we’ll finally visit The Frying Pan, another New York institution that we have somehow managed to avoid up until this point. Hope your Memorial Day plans are all fantastic!

Bis bald, friends!

In Honor of Oktoberfest…

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment
Oh Oktoberfest—here I come!

Well, my friends, tomorrow is the day of all days—the day that I’m heading off to Munich for Oktoberfest. So, in honor of the big trip, let’s do a little bit of research on the history of the festive event:

  • Oktoberfest is a 16-to-18-day festival held every year in Munich. It runs from late September to the first weekend in October, and it is one of the most famous events in Germany, and the world’s largest fair, with approximately six million people attending every year.
  • The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese, often called Wiesn for short, which is located near Munich’s centre South East of the main train station.
  • At the festival, participants eat Hendi (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (pork knuckle), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Wursti (sausage), Brezn (pretzels), Knodel (potato or bread pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage), among other (a bit odd) things.
  • The original Oktoberfest occurred in Munich on October 12, 1810. It was part of a public horse race commemorating the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hidburghausen. It was so successful it was renewed in 1811.
  • Since 1950 there has been a traditional festival opening: A twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12 by the incumbent Mayor of Munich with the cry “o’ zapft is!” meaning “It’s tapped!”. The Mayor then gives the first beer to the Minister-President of the State of Bavaria.
  • Horse races ended in 196o (that’s a shame!)
  • By 1960, the Oktoberfest festival had turned into an enormous world-famous festival. Since then, foreigners (such as myself) began to picture Germans as wearing the Sennerhut, Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl (which, by the way, I wore when I was born in Germany).

Bis bald, friends!