Oktoberfest - Time to see what the fuss is all about!

Last year we did not get to the Oktoberfest so this year we were determined to check it out.  It got to the last weekend so Saturday morning we headed down to have a look.  This year seemed more enticing to us as smoking has now been banned inside and it was the 200th anniversary of the festival.  

A bit of history:  In 1810 Crown Prince Ludwig I was married and after the wedding there was a horse race and a six day celebration which was such a success that it became an annual event which was extended over the years.  

 

It was pretty incredible.  It was like a very large side show alley but with massive beer tents.  It was free entry so we walked through but it was crowded so we didn't go into the tents there.  Each tent can seat about 5000+ people and as you walked past you could here the "roar" of people in each one like a football crowd (there are 14 tents).  As this year is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest there was a special section which you pay 4 euro to go in and it is set up like the Oktoberfest traditionally was.  We walked around this area for about an hour.  There were historical displays in a museum tent, horse shows and animal displays (like the Royal Show).   We then ended up in a beer tent in this area .  We were happy as we got a seat, beer, sausages and half chicken as well as listening to the Oompah Band.  We got talking to some locals there (this tent mainly had locals) and they said that this tent was more what all the others were like 20 years ago before they became so popular.  When we left they had closed entrance to this tent as it was also now full.