Wiesn Woche – The Oktoberfest elsewhere

Aug 31st, 2010

Today I want to talk about the popularity of the Oktoberfest all over the world.

Maybe you thought the Oktoberfest is just something Germans celebrate in Munich. Yeah right. I’ve found the website of Zinzinnati that claims to be America’s largest and most authentic Oktoberfest in the U.S. Happening September 18th and 19th in Cincinnati (took me a while to find that out; I thought Zinzinnati was a real town).

The website made me laugh. Somehow they’re all over the chicken dance and you can watch videos of people dancing it. I mean…. last time I’ve danced the chicken dance was carnival 1986 but they seem to like it. Fun what others think is popular here.

And there are a LOT of people. Ok… they’re not wearing costumes but they’re there anyway. Isn’t that amazing?

The programme is really nice though. They have everything from Musikanten (musicians) to Schuplattler Dancers (guys who dance and clap their hands and on their shoes at the same time – watch this). They have the Schnapps Band (Schnapps is the German word for booze) and they serve typical German food and beer. I’ve even found 2 German beer brands on their list. A typical dish at the Oktoberfest is half a chicken, or white wurst with sweet mustard and radish (delicious!), or wurst with sauerkraut… all things that serve as a basis before you drink liters of beer.

And all that you can get either in Munich but in Cincinnati as well. Isn’t that great? A whole culture with its traditions on a different continent. I think that’s fantastic.

What really made my jaw drop was the fact that even the Japanese have an Oktoberfest. You might say now “Well… the asians copy everything in the world!”… yes but a German Volksfest?! For real? Yes they do. In Tokyo. They have a website and I’ve found out they’ve been doing this for 15 years already. Unfortunately they didn’t show any good pictures but at least they serve Bavarian dishes and specially brewed Oktoberfest beer. In Japan!! Still I can’t believe it. But aren’t those kids lovely in their costumes? :-)

And for last… even Mr. Hugh Hefner couldn’t resist to look for a Wiesn girl in the German issue of his publication each Oktober. There must be a certain attraction toward women with a short blouse and a bucket full of beer. Well. Ok. Let’s just take this as a fact.

So while looking for Oktoberfest facts that are the oddities that I’ve found out and even I was amazed that this fest is so popular all over the world. Man I can’t wait to finally get there.

See you again tomorrow and I must say I’m soooo excited. I’ll have a little sale of things especially made for the Oktoberfest. Handmade, pretty and only while stocks last. :-) Servus!

author: lou
category: events
comments: None

Oktoberfest 2010 – It’s Wiesn Woche

Aug 30th, 2010

I already teased on Friday that I’m going to have a special week here on the blog. It’s Oktoberfest Week and that is worth mentioning.

Here’s the story: this year it’s the first time I’m going to the Oktoberfest and since March I really dug into the topic due to a sewing order that I received. More on that on Wednesday. So this week I’m going to talk about this big ass German event that takes place in Munich, Bavaria, south of Germany. It’s a fest that lasts 2 weeks (this year it’s September 18th – October 3rd) and everyone shows up in traditional Bavarian costume and they drink LOTS OF BEER. Ask anyone who’s been there 3 things that come to his mind when they hear Oktoberfest. It’ll be “Beer”, “Munich”, “Dirndl”.

The Oktoberfest (also called Wiesn) is one big event. Millions of people from all over the world go there to squeeze themselves into a tent together with 3,000 others to drink beer and have a good time. Yes! In one tent there are up to 3,000 people, in some tents even 8,000. I still can’t believe that until I saw it. There are 15 tents on the Wiesn. Some are bigger and some are smaller. Here are some impressions of the inside of some tents.

So basically people go there in traditional Bavarian costume and eat and drink and dance.

The beer…. in Bavaria people drink beer as if it was water. You can order a beer for lunch and no one would ever look at you strange considering this time of day too early. Now on the Wiesn you don’t get a glass of beer. It’s a bucket! A bucket that contains 1 liter of beer. That’s 33.8140 fl.oz. And I tell you – German beer is strong. Last year on my first visit to Bavaria (Martin is from there) I’ve tried to drink one of those. Look at the dimension of the glass alone….

After one of those beers you can imagine how I felt. Some days I can’t manage to drink a liter of water, let alone beer. Anyway. That’s the way it is and either you follow the rules or you don’t.

And now imagine a tent with 3,000 people. Thirsty people. Somehow the beer needs to come to their tables, right? I don’t know how those ladies are capable of handling so many full glasses. I’ve seen it. They carry 10 – 15 glasses of beer, with a whistle in their mouth. Incredible.

What’s typical as well are the nice decorated gingerbread hearts. They come in all sizes with different texts. Sweet.

The area from above.

That was part one of my Wiesn Woche (Week). In the course of the week I’ll be showing you my drama of finding the right Dirndl Dress, what I did to it to make it more unique, I’m having a Wiesn Sale of things that I’ve been sewing and some other nice facts about his German event. I hope you enjoy it.

author: lou
category: events
comments: 3

Quote of the week

Aug 27th, 2010

Hello everyone,

yeah I’ve been absent for loooong though I’ve posted a picture almost every day in August. In the meantime I had my 30th birthday and I thank all for the wishes. That really made my day. Being 30 is really cool. I was looking forward to it and now I’m certain that it will be the best year ever!!

Now back to blogging. My august break comes to an end. I’m working on something fun and next week we’re having a special here on Happy Serendipity that will even include a little sale. I’m really excited about it and it really took a bit to think through and prepare. I don’t want to tell too much – maybe just one thing – it’s something about Germany… actually something typical German. So stay tuned.

Until then I’ll have a good laugh, a long sleep and still loads of work to do. See you on Monday and I wish you all a terrific weekend.

Xo, Lou