UPDATE: The historical section of Oktoberfest was such a hit that it will be back in 2011, rebranded as the Oide Wiesn. Nostalgia and beer for everyone!
Entrance to Oktoberfest in general is free, but this year, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest, visitors were offered the privilege of paying for entry to a small section of the wiesn. This section promised something special: old-timey fun. Funny bicycles in a ring fun.
Barn full of animals fun.
Old-fashioned Bavarian dancing fun. (In case you missed it, here’s a video.)
Looking at old farm equipment fun.
Mustachioed pickle salesmen fun.
Of course the big draw, the real reason we all lined up and forked over our entrance fee, was the special beer. The beer served inside the historical area was a super-crazy-secret-amazing-old-timey-but-brand-new concoction that was cooked up by an until-now-unheard-of collaboration between brewmasters from all of Munich’s big breweries working in symphony. I did find this special beer vastly superior to regular Oktoberfest beer in one respect: it was served in stone mugs, thus staying cold all the way to the end of the liter.
My other favorite thing about the historical area (besides the mustaches) was the beer garden outside the main tent. I found it infinitely more charming and enjoyable than the outdoor areas around the regular Oktoberfest tents. It was a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon. The band marching through provided just enough music.
Another big selling point of the historical area was the live entertainment: horse races, oompah bands, dancing. All this went on in an old-timey stadium next to the beer tents.
Personally, I prefered people-watching in the tent.
Speaking of the tent, supposedly it was decorated only with the most historical of ornaments.
The historical area was so popular that some noise has been made about having it again next year, or maybe even making it a permanent part of the festivities. Is it something you’d be interested in visiting?
Looks like such a great time. One thing I wish we had done before moving back to states.
That’s totally something I’d be interested in visiting. It puts to shame the American Oktoberfests I’ve been to!
Oh yes, I’d love to be there. Sounds like great fun – my fav would be people watching 🙂