Jaunted

Germany

It's September, It Must Be Oktoberfest!

September 19, 2006 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

It always feels a bit like the Germans are cheating us, opening Oktoberfest, as they do, in September. But those who have the beer rule, so you should know that this week is the first official week of Munich's ale-swilling Oktoberfest for 2006. Local businesses are hoping the World Cup happiness hangover will encourage visitors to exceed last year's effort of drinking 6.1 million litres of beer and eating almost 480,000 roast chickens.

But it's not all beers and chickens. Locals like the billion-euro income but are not so impressed with some of the results of all that alcohol:

The festivities tend to turn rowdy in the evenings with drinkers yelling, thumping the tables and lunging at passers-by.

So drink your beer in moderation, sing a hearty German folk song but beware of dangerous thumpers and lungers.

[Image via Office Geek/Flickr]

Related stories:
Germans Crack Open the Beers [The Age]
10 Very Unofficial Oktoberfest Tips [boarding.no]