Oktoberfest

If you weren't aware, 2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the very first Oktoberfest!  In 1810, the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese on October 12th; the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the celebration, which was held over several days.  The tradition has continued over the past two centuries, although Oktoberfest was not held several years due to cholera outbreaks; this year actually marks the 177th Oktoberfest.  While Oktoberfest has definitely changed in its content, going from an agricultural fair to what some deem a simply drunken fest, Oktoberfest is important to Bavarian (southern Germany) culture and is always something I think about when mid-September arrives (Oktoberfest generally runs from mid-September until the beginning of October).  Though I'm unfortunately not in Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest is das Vaterland, I was delighted to see that The Big Picture did not disappoint me and shared some excellent photos from opening weekend (September 18th).  A few of my favourites are below:

So in celebration, I fully intend to enjoy some delicious German food this week: spatzle, schnitzel, potato dumplings...mmm, overly-German food...sehr gut!!!