World's Beer Drinkers March to Munich Oktoberfest

By James Mackenzie

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Thousands of beer drinkers from around the world, many in traditional Bavarian lederhosen, flocked to Munich on a sunny Saturday for the largest and most famous beer festival on earth, the Oktoberfest.

Munich mayor Christian Ude opened the two-week festival at midday, cracking open the first 200-liter keg with the customary shout of "O'zapft is" -- the keg is tapped.

That was the signal for an army of brawny waitresses in traditional dirndl dresses to start heaving liter glasses of specially brewed lager to the thirsty crowds as oompah bands churned out endless jolly drinking songs.

Outside in the brilliant sunshine, crowds eating sausages, ice cream or gingerbread strolled past fun rides and food stalls, while inside the tents, beer drinkers locked arms and roared along with the bands.

By the time the 170th Oktoberfest ends on October 5, some six million visitors are expected to have passed through 14 enormous tents, each capable of holding up to 10,000 people at a time, and to have drunk over 5.5 million liters (1.453 million U.S. gallons) of beer.

The consumption of food is equally impressive. Last year the visitors consumed 219,405 pairs of pork sausage, which lined end to end would stretch for more than 50 km (30 miles).

They ate 87 oxen, 58,746 legs of pork and almost half a million roast chickens, and organizers are expecting a similarly gargantuan total this year.

I guess the vegetarian menus were a big hit...

;)

Oh geez. :lol:

We have a similarly-titled fest up here...The Horsk Hostfest, hosted every year in October. It's the only major celebrity event up here...:rolleyes: Celebs like Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, even Jay Leno have come up here and there were plenty more but I can't think of them at the moment. :)

Originally posted by TJL
World's Beer Drinkers March to Munich Oktoberfest

By James Mackenzie

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Thousands of beer drinkers from around the world, many in traditional Bavarian lederhosen, flocked to Munich on a sunny Saturday for the largest and most famous beer festival on earth, the Oktoberfest.

Munich mayor Christian Ude opened the two-week festival at midday, cracking open the first 200-liter keg with the customary shout of "O'zapft is" -- the keg is tapped.

That was the signal for an army of brawny waitresses in traditional dirndl dresses to start heaving liter glasses of specially brewed lager to the thirsty crowds as oompah bands churned out endless jolly drinking songs.

Outside in the brilliant sunshine, crowds eating sausages, ice cream or gingerbread strolled past fun rides and food stalls, while inside the tents, beer drinkers locked arms and roared along with the bands.

By the time the 170th Oktoberfest ends on October 5, some six million visitors are expected to have passed through 14 enormous tents, each capable of holding up to 10,000 people at a time, and to have drunk over 5.5 million liters (1.453 million U.S. gallons) of beer.

The consumption of food is equally impressive. Last year the visitors consumed 219,405 pairs of pork sausage, which lined end to end would stretch for more than 50 km (30 miles).

They ate 87 oxen, 58,746 legs of pork and almost half a million roast chickens, and organizers are expecting a similarly gargantuan total this year.

I guess the vegetarian menus were a big hit...

;)
:rofl: Lotta beer too!:eek:


Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
Celebs like Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, even Jay Leno have come up here and there were plenty more but I can't think of them at the moment.
:faint: OMG.. Bob Newhart?!?!?! Ahhh Im so jealous. That guy rocks!! And Leno too!!! Ahh and Bill Cosby too. I want him to do the pudding laugh!

Originally posted by ¤MsConanOBrien¤
:faint: OMG.. Bob Newhart?!?!?! Ahhh Im so jealous. That guy rocks!! And Leno too!!! Ahh and Bill Cosby too. I want him to do the pudding laugh!

Yep, Bob Newhart's coming to this year's Hostfest here. :rock: http://hostfest.com/ is the site. See - Bob's name is there!

I doubt I'll go to this year's Hostfest tho...Maybe next year. :)

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
Yep, Bob Newhart's coming to this year's Hostfest here. :rock: http://hostfest.com/ is the site. See - Bob's name is there!

I doubt I'll go to this year's Hostfest tho...Maybe next year. :)
omg: Im so jealous! Bob.. Paul.. thats it. *mails self to ND*

Originally posted by ¤MsConanOBrien¤
omg: Im so jealous! Bob.. Paul.. thats it. *mails self to ND*

:lol: You can stay with me, Minot's only 2 hours from where I live. :D Be sure to get a car too, I can't drive. :crying:

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
:lol: You can stay with me, Minot's only 2 hours from where I live. :D Be sure to get a car too, I can't drive. :crying: :lol:

Well, we'll have to rent.. because if I drove to ND Id wind up in Georgia. Or we can hitchhike. Exchange rides for free mustache shaves.:woohoo:

Originally posted by ¤MsConanOBrien¤
:lol:

Well, we'll have to rent.. because if I drove to ND Id wind up in Georgia. Or we can hitchhike. Exchange rides for free mustache shaves.:woohoo:

:lol: You could just fly to ND. ;)

Ahhhhhh...hitchhike 120 miles? I think not. :eek:

Originally posted by ¤MsConanOBrien¤
:rofl: Lotta beer too!:eek:


:lol:

Let's see...

16 ounces in a pint, 8 pints to a gallon, 1.453 million gallons of beer, that means roughly 11,634,000 pints of beer at oh let's say four bucks a pint....carry the one, decimal point, comma comma comma...

18 trillion dollars!

Hmm. Somebody better check my math...


;)

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
:lol: You could just fly to ND. ;)

Ahhhhhh...hitchhike 120 miles? I think not. :eek: :lol: Fine. Ill fly. But my wings are being repaired!

Originally posted by ¤MsConanOBrien¤
:lol: Fine. Ill fly. But my wings are being repaired!

:rofl: Man, I hope a few more kickass celebs come to next year's Hostfest...like Conan and Vicki. :rock:

Originally posted by TJL


I guess the vegetarian menus were a big hit...

;)

:lol: I guess so.