Munich is definitely not the only place in Germany that knows how to celebrate with beer, and this weekend's Guardian UK had a great alternative Oktoberfest tip: head to Straubing, home to the second largest beer festival in Germany and one that might be more authentic than the one we know and love.

Located not too far down the Danube from tourist destination Regensburg, Straubing gets in early by celebrating its love of beer (and all things cultural) in August—this year it's August 7 to 17. The official name of the fest is the Gäubodenvolksfest and it gets about 1.2 million visitors a year, who pay a lot less for the beer here than down the road in Munich a month or so later. Seven beer tents offer only locally-brewed beers and we recommend getting there for the opening day of the festival for the "Bierprobe"—the first tapping and trying of the beer. Prost!

Related Stories:
· Here for the Beer [Guardian]
· Oktoberfest Post-Mortem: The Five Things You Need to Know for 2009 [Jaunted]
· Germany Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: bugmonkey] ]]> amandak 2009-07-16T11:25:34-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/13/143539/25

Oktoberfest 2008 has come and gone--in Germany at least--but the memories will live on forever. Thankfully, the vomit is easy enough to wash away.

This is a video from inside the Hofbrau tent at the storied Oktoberfest fair grounds in Munich. You can watch "Beer Fest" as many times as you like but nothing, we repeat, nothing can prepare you for the real Oktoberfest.

So to make it easier, we've put together this handy list of rules and tips to remember for Oktoberfest 2009.]]> juliana 2008-10-13T16:45:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/7/43646/2770

The 2008 Oktoberfest in Munich finished up over the weekend, and one English man was extremely glad to be there. We're thinking he needs a few travel tips because to get to Munich from Portsmouth, England, he decided to catch a taxi.

To be fair, he did try to catch a plane first but missed his flight. Not wanting to miss the beer (and his buddy's buck's night), he persuaded a local cab driver to get him all the way to Munich for a fare of £1,700 (almost $3,000). And he paid in cash.

We're not recommending using this method of travel across Europe, but perhaps some of the European low-cost airlines could consider it as a back-up plan when their flights have some of those all-too-regular delays?

Related Stories:
· No Taxi Ride Too Long to Keep Man From Friends, Beer [Deutsche Welle]
· Beer Travel: Bavarian Premier Says Drinking Heaps is OK [Jaunted]
· Oktoberfest coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: smif]]]> amandak 2008-10-07T09:00:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/18/62228/8237

With the beer kegs ready to pour at Munich's Oktoberfest on Saturday, the big news in Bavaria is that the premier, Guenther Beckstein, says you can drink two liters of beer (well over 4 pints) and still drive back to your hotel or home.

With a local election looming mid-Oktoberfest, the media grabbed Beckstein's comment that you could drink two one-liter glasses of beer in two hours without a problem--but police, doctors and other politicians are politely disagreeing.

The premier has since gone back on his statement--saying it was a "rather unsuccessful contribution"--but it wouldn't have mattered much to budget travelers: Beer has become so much more expensive this year that two liters might be financially out of the question, even if it apparently won't make us too drunk to drive.

Related Stories:
· Two Litres of Beer OK for Drivers [news.com.au]
· Breaking Economic News: Oktoberfest Devastation in Munich [Jaunted]

[Photo: Landfeldt]
]]> amandak 2008-09-18T09:00:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/15/65957/3487

Tragic news out of Germany: When Munich's fabulously beer-laden Oktoberfest kicks off on September 20, the beer will cost 5 percent more than last year.

Due to higher production costs, apparently, the average price of a stein of brew will set you back €8.13 (US$11.50), which is pretty expensive compared to many parts of the world.

But it's Oktoberfest, so you're paying for the atmosphere and those large-biceped women carrying a hundred steins as well. Scrape together your €8.13 and get to Munich quick--remember that once October comes around, Oktoberfest is all but over.

Related Stories:
· Beer Prices Go Up for Oktoberfest [The Age]
· Bring on the Beer, Oktoberfest's Here! [Jaunted]
· It's September, It Must Be Oktoberfest! [Jaunted]

[Photo: .myke]]]> amandak 2008-09-15T09:00:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/12/152457/11

Nothing says fall like ridiculous harvest festivals in small-town America. This week, we'll be mapping the best.

We've done our share of Oktoberfest coverage, from the original in Munich to the far-from-original in LA. But for the most authentic beer-and-brats celebration this side of the Rhine, you've gotta get to Hermann, Missouri. This little hamlet is more German than sauerkraut, and they show it off every weekend in October.]]> pbb 2007-10-12T15:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/4/173840/584

It's Oktoberfest season, the time of year when anyone with an ounce of German blood stands up for his or her love of consuming large quantities of beer. Down in Texas, in a town called New Braunfels, residents celebrate their love for another delicacy of the Fatherland: the sausage.

They call it "Wurstfest: The 10-day salute to sausage," and it always begins on the Friday before the first Monday in November. This year, it's Nov. 2. For the last 46 years, the town has transformed a fairgrounds-sized park into a mini-Deutschland. More than 200,000 are expected to attend.

The event kicks off with the traditional "biting of the sausage," and though it focuses on seasoned meat stuffed into intestines, beer still manages to make a cameo says--and we're not making this up--the festival's Wurst Relations Director:

The biting of the sausage is like Oktoberfest's tapping of the keg. We have beer and we're not ashamed of it, but by the same token we're not a beer fest.

Related Stories:
· Wurstfest [Official Site]
· Texas' Wurstfest [CNN]
· Texas Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wurstfest]]]> ced138 2007-10-05T10:05:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/