At the end of the summer, friends of my parents are visiting and are hoping, among other things, to visit Oktoberfest. Normally, I would probably discourage entering into that mob, and possibly going to one of the
counterfests or side-shows--especially as my parents are in the storied jewel of a town, Bamberg, with its own local celebrations and home-brewed delights. I crowded in one of the beer tents once, and felt that that was enough for that particular experience. This year, however, on the two-hundred year anniversary of the party's founding, first held so the whole town of München could toast the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, aside from the total smoking ban and the high prices, Oktoberfest will be returning to its origins with fancy costumes, a fest king and queen, and great fun Renaissance Festival stuff. Huzzah! O'zapft is! I think my parents' guests will have a lot of fun there.
I was doing a little bit of research to see what other ideas jump out for entertainment in the area, and I see that after tapping the first keg, the parade through the market is led by the Münchner Kindl, whose name and appearance is apparently the source of Frank L. Baum's Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz.
