Germany Opens 171st Annual Oktoberfest

AP on Yahoo ^ | 9/18/04 | Irene Preissinger - AP

[NormsRevenge]

MUNICH, Germany - With the traditional cry of "O'zapft is!" — "It's tapped!" — Munich's mayor cracked a barrel of Bavarian beer at noon Saturday, opening the southern city's 171st Oktoberfest festival for a crowd of some 500,000.

Dressed in Bavarian knee-length leather pants, or lederhosen, Christian Ude wished the crowd a "peaceful Oktoberfest" before a thundering 12-gun salute signaled the 16-day festival's opening.

Bavarian Gov. Edmund Stoiber was given the first mug and took an obligatory swig before switching to an alcohol-free version.

The world's biggest beer-drinking festival is always a huge tourist draw, and some 6 million visitors from around the world are expected to crawl Munich's sprawling Theresienwiese festival grounds this year to fill the beer tents and hit the pretzel and sausage stands.

The main tent's 6,000 seats filled quickly Saturday, and others waited for hours before the event's start to ensure a table at one of the other 14 tents' 100,000 seats to sing along with the polka bands.

Beer is a bit pricier this year, with the most expensive one-liter mug costing $8.65, up from $8.28. A mug of the most common alternative drink, mineral water, is jumping 25 cents to $6.75.

Last year, the festival attracted some 6.3 million people who drank 6.1 million liter mugs of beer.

___

On the Net:

http://www.oktoberfest.de

[NormsRevenge]

A waitress carries one-liter beer mugs during the opening day of the Oktoberfest in Munich September 18, 2004. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. The 171st Oktoberfest lasts from September 18 until October 3. Photo by Alexandra Winkler/Reuters

Munich mayor Christian Ude and Bavarian state Premier Edmund Stoiber (L) toast with beer during the opening ceremony of Oktoberfest, in Munich September 18, 2004. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. The 171st Oktoberfest lasts from September 18 until October 3. Some six million people are expected to visit 14 enormous tents, each capable of holding up to 10,000 people at a time, drinking some 5.5 million liters (1.453 million U.S. gallons) of beer in the process. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

[Ciexyz]

Bottoms up!

[NormsRevenge]

OktoberFest.de English site

[AppyPappy]

Bavarian Gov. Edmund Stoiber was given the first mug and took an obligatory swig before switching to an alcohol-free version.

Sheesh.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Bottoms up!

You're thinking of a different celebration ... in San Francisco!

[sc2_ct]

I have to confess that last night I bought the first German product in over a year. I went to a local liquor store that has a huge selection of beers from all over the world (150+ different beers) and had to get an Octoberfest six-pack. Now back to the boycott and domestic micro-brews :)

[NCjim]

Prost!

Ein Weizen, bitte!

[DAC22]

Send those suds back, they are 40% foam!

[sonofatpatcher2]

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[Charles Henrickson]

Ich bin ein Oktoberliner.

[Caipirabob]

They better enjoy themselves. Those Islamofascists don't permit drinking and will put a stop to their nonsense when they take over.

Our Octoberfest begins in two weeks. The Captain of the Irish-American Olympic Drinking team contacted me regarding practice in July. As official mascot, my appearance in mandatory.

So far, I've got the "Duck Dance" nailed. Spin three times, fall down. I'm a natural. I'll be focusing on "Elbow Lifts" until we go.

Prost, y'all...

[pt17]

In Munchen steht ein Hofbrau Haus, ein, zwei .....!

[martin_fierro]

Ich bin ein bierpinkler.

[Nathan Jr.]

Eins, zwei, g'suffa!!!

I was in the Army Band in Germany during the mid-80's. I wish I had a dime for every time I played that tune!! Oh yeah, I went to Oktoberfest. You couldn't get served a beer unless you had a seat, and most of the tables were reserved. Oktoberfest sucked!

[mikrofon]

Bavarian Gov. Edmund Stoiber was given the first mug and took
an obligatory swig before switching to an alcohol-free version

Wuß -->

[agitator]

octoberping