LightCentric Photography Blog: Munich - Day Three

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

HAVE I mentioned that the prime motivator for this trip at this time was Octoberfest? We have traveled 4 times in the past couple years with our good friends, Bruce and Joyce. Long time readers here will remember them from my posts on Portugal (their idea: we "tagged along" and are delighted that we did, as I discovered my favorite city abroad - so far, anyway: Porto, Portugal). They then joined us on a cruise from Rotterdam, Netherlands to Iceland, Ireland and England, with a couple extra days in Amsterdam and Rotterdam for them (Rotterdam only for us - but we discovered a great city and look forward to our next visit). We had also done a long weekend in New Orleans. We are close neighbors and talk often, and the subject of travel often comes up. Bruce has mentioned his interest in seeing and experiencing Octoberfest several times, so we finally decided it was time to qeue that one up.

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

OF COURSE, our view is that you can't take a trip over to Europe just for Octoberfest (though am sure many do). The challenge for us was to create an approximately 2-week itinerary that included Octoberfest as our "anchor." It turned out to be easy. We could have added more time and destinations to the itinerary. I know I will go back and visit some of them. For the moment, though, lets focus on Octoberfest.

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

PHOTOGRAPHICALLY, THIS was not one of my best outings. The nature of the beast. We were with a group of about a dozen people, in a very crowded fairground environment or inside a tent at a shoulder to shoulder table with benches. Most of what I did were more or less snapshots, but will hopefully give a feel for things. I think if I were going to try a more serious run here, I would go by myself and plan to spend the day scoping the scene and looking for good places to shoot from. I also think this is one of those "what is it like to be there" spots with lots of people in the mix, so I would have to look for opportunities as things constantly moved and changed.

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

MOST ARE aware that the celebration takes place in Munich. Many probably didn't know, though, that the celebration takes place mostly in September. It ends on the first Sunday in October. The genesis of the celebration was the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig. Citizens of Munich were invited to the festivities, held in a field just outside one of the city gates, which is now a fairground where Octoberfest is held. The festivities included a grandiose parade and featured horse races. The parade still marks the opening of festivities, but I do not believe there are any horse races these days. The event was so popular that by citizen acclaim, it was made a permanent festival, and held each year following (except for some interruptions during wars, Including WWI and WWII).

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

OCTOBERFEST IS said to be the world's largest celebration of its type (a folk festival), attracting upwards of 7 million visitors from all over the world, annually. Here is a scary statistic: they also serve over 7.7 million gallons of beer each year at the event!

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THE SETUP was not quite what I had imagined. To understand it, we have to talk about the beer situation in Munich. The production of beer in Munich has always been highly regulated. There are currently only 6 breweries that are authorized to brew their beer within the city, and today, each has their own sponsored tents (several breweries sponsor multiple tents).

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD a reserved table in just one of the tents - sponsored by Hacker-Pschorr. The 6 authorized breweries are: Augustiner, Spaten, Lowenbrau, Hofbrau, Paulaner, and Hacker-Pschorr. Since our tent was sponsored by Hacker-Pschorr, that is the beer we drank at Octoberfest. I can say, though, that we drank a few of the others, including Augustiner, Lowenbrau and Paulaner while in Munich. It was all good. I am not a big beer drinker, but there are times when a very cold one tastes really good. I am basically a Lager drinker when I do. From my research, the most popular beer served in Munich is a Lager style "Hell" (light). The German Hell beer is nothing like what we here in the U.S. call "light beer." It is very crisp and full bodied.

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD a tour with a couple local guys prior to entering our tent and finding our table. They gave us a pretty good history of the brewing culture in Munich and of Octoberfest. There are many good accounts online. They explained the local regulation of beer brewing and why there are only 6 currently authorized breweries. The water used must come from within the city. The brewery facilities must also be within the city. The beer maker must meet certain fairly stringent conditions. The beer must be brewed in accordance with the "Purity Law" (Reinheitsgebot) of 1516. This law provided that the only ingredients in complying beer could be water, barely and hops (while not specifically spelled out in the law, yeast has also historically been an allowed ingredient). The history of Reinheitsgebot - not surprisingly - contains elements of politics, religion, and local protectionism. The linked brief Wikipedia entry is a fascinating read and I would encourage the detour for a few minutes. Beer afficionados might also like to take a longer detour to read about the history of one Munich brewery that has been brewed in the U.S. and Canada and how that came about. But please do return here! 😅

Octoberfest - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THE CURRENT six are not necessarily destined to be the only authorized breweries in Munich. There are a couple that have applied and are trying to obtain that status right now. Our guides brought us an example and we started out our morning (kind of early for me - 9:30 a.m - whew!), but I slogged through it. I don't specifically remember what is holding the Giesinger Munchner Hell back (though I think it was that they had not been able to secure brewery space within the Munich City limits), but it looks like maybe they had the rest lined up. It was pretty good. Good luck to them.

OUR TOUR and tent reservation incuded a voucher for 2 draft beers and a meal which included a Hendyl (half of a slow-roasted chicken, basted in a paprika marinade). What surprised me a bit though was the drafts. They were each a full liter! I like and occasional cold one, but 2 liters is not in the cards for me. How do many of the folks drink several of these things? To add insult to injury, this "old guy" had to hold onto the heavy beer glass with two hands (at least until I observed the correct method of holding the glass. It looks like Bruce had it all figured out from the "get" though. 😂

A FUN day, filled with beer, chicken, and german brass music. Lest we walk away thinking Octoberfest has always been fun and positive though, I feel compelled to discuss the one negative we learned about. I don't do this to end on a down note.The fact that in spite of it, Octoberfest lives on may just be one of the most positive things about it. In 1980, a home made bomb was set of in a trash bin near the main entrance, killing 13 and injuring 225 more people (apparently including the perpetrator). This was the second largest mass terrorism event in Germany (after the 1972 Olympic Village massacre). There is a memorial outside the gate which everyone sees as they enter. You do not see trash recepticles outside around the fairgrounds today, and entering with backpacks and such are prohibited.

THE BACK pack thing is an aside that bears mentioning. None of the literature for tour groups like ours - or for the festival as a whole - mentions this. We were walking into the entrance to the grounds when we were stopped by local police and told we could not enter with our day packs. Perfectly understandable, but a bit jarring that we did not know in advance. I would have simply left mine home. Instead, 6 of us had to split off from our group (fortunately there were two guides, so one stayed with us) and walk back about a block to an area where we could check the backpacks (for a fee of course). Not a huge issue, but maybe they should include a warning somewhere. As I often say, a "first world problem." We rejoined the group and all was good.

AFTER SPENDING a couple hours in the tent, we headed back out and toward the tram to our hotel. A chilling rain returned. Ironically enough, tired but by that time hungry, we walked the short distance back to our "favorite" Mexican restaurant for supper. This time; burgers. No Mexican in Munich. 😑 We wanted a quick bite and be done for the night. The next day was early and was our trip to the Bavarian Alps.

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Saturday, December 7, 2024

Munich - Day Three - Finally! Octoberfest!

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