Festzelt Tradition

What the Heck is Oktoberfest’s Oide Wiesn?

Because sometimes Oktoberfest can get a little nuts, it’s nice to be able to leave the madness of the beer tents and head over to a more chilled out… time period. (Wait, huh?) You’ve had a long day at the ‘Fest and you’re exhausted—relax, the 1800s are waiting for you. (Have you...
Oktoberfest Legend - Pete Kuehn

Oktoberfest Legend – Pete Kuehn

Meet Pete Kühn, a first generation American of German descent. What takes this thirsty man back to Oktoberfest in Munich every year since 2004? Read his fascinating story to find out! My name is Pete Kühn and am- along with my brothers- first generation Americans living in the...
Oktoberfest Legend Ken Sutton

Oktoberfest Legend – Ken Sutton

I’m from New South Wales in Australia, my first visit to Oktoberfest was in 2014 with my wife and son. With no idea what to expect, when I walked into the beer tents I thought I had died and gone to beer heaven. In fact we all had such a great time that we came back in 2016 for a...
Wacken beer pipeline

A German Rock Festival Has Installed—What Else?—a Beer Pipeline

For those about to rock courtesy of an underground beer pipeline, WE SALUTE YOU. Congratulations to the residents of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany for taking both heavy metal and German beer appreciation to a whole new level of HOLY CRAP. I’m referring to the organisers of Wacken...
5 reasons why German beer is superior

5 Reasons German Beers are Superior

Moving back to Canada after in a year in Berlin was rough, and yes, a lot of it had to do with beer. Other than leaving behind the new friends and the neighbourhood I had grown to love, there were several small culture shocks that really shook me up – especially the lack of...
What NOT to do at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

What NOT to do at Oktoberfest

So you’re making plans to go to the biggest beer drinking festival on the planet? You really don’t want to put in all that effort (and money) to have a bad time and Oktoberfest can be a little daunting for the first-timers. So to help you out, here’s a short list of what NOT to...

The Strength of Germany’s Passport (and Other Things Tougher Than You)

THE STRENGTH OF GERMANY’S PASSPORT It’s just been released! Once again Germany comes out on top for country with the strongest passport. It was big news when I posted about last year’s announcement but now it’s like, well yeah–Germany’s awesome. Of course they’re welcome...
Eating carp is a big part of German new year's traditions.

German New Year’s Traditions Are Better Than Yours

Many countries around the world have similar traditions and peculiar ways of ringing in the new year. They probably incorporate in some way fireworks, bubbly booze, locking lips with strangers at midnight (I see you’re making great decisions already), and making profound sweeping...

Offseason Oktoberfest: Chill Out at Germany’s Christmas Markets

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas we have a long way to go before Oktoberfest, like a lopsided wooden keg, rolls back around again. Waiting is hard but luckily for us Germany fills some of these hopeless months with centuries long traditions, twinkling lights, and most...

Oktoberfest 2016 Roundup

With 5.6 million visitors, Oktoberfest 2016 once again remained the world’s largest beer festival. While numbers were slightly down from last year (when 5.9 million attended) due to cool and often rainy weather, the additional security measures announced this year did not deter...