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Oktoberfest Underway
The world's biggest beer festival began at noon in Munich on Saturday, when the Mayor cracked open the first barrel with the Bavarian words "O'zapft is!" (it's tapped!).
Between now and October 3, over six million people including nearly a million foreign visitors are expected to eat, drink and be merry in a continuation of the 200-year old Bavarian tradition. In that time, they'll drink 6 million litre mugs of beer, eat nearly 220,000 pairs of sausages and nearly half a million roast chickens.
1600 barmaids, many but not all looking like the lovely above, are employed to bring beer to the thirsty masses.
Wikipedia reports that a litre of beer will set you back over €7. Local Bavarians - who make up by far the largest majority of visitors to the Oktoberfest - have complained about the price hikes in recent years. Seems like everything in Germany is getting expensive. A report on Deutsch Welle this week claimed that net salaries in Germany had plunged to their lowest levels in two decades. Spiralling social contributions have added to the inflation, the report added.
There's also some handy advice for anyone planning to pinch one of the famous beer glasses. It's forbidden. Buy one, and keep the receipt as last year cops were collaring boozers wandering through the city with beer mugs still in hand. If they suspect you've stolen yours, you can be fined up to €50 (220,000 glasses were retrieved by police last year).
Of course, you can't get six million people together, stuff them with booze and sausages and expect no trouble. While Oktoberfest is a sight safer than a night out in a British town centre, police are plan a crackdown on drunken troublemakers. On Saturday ,an American doing his bit for foreign relations hurled a 15cm carrot at a Chilean woman. He hit her in the eye. Her bruise needed treated: He became the first arrest at this year's beer festival.
As IOL wryly reports, Oktoberfest organisers advised guests to bring food with them in an attempt to keep drunkeness under control. The plan backfired in this case.
Any EURSOC readers at the Oktoberfest? Please let us know if you have photos or video reports, we'll be happy to blog them for you!
