Oktoberfest is back in Munich, Germany, this year. The men wear leather shorts, the women dirndls to celebrate the German tradition.
This year is a bit different. The beer will still be flowing, there will also be plenty of sausages and wiener schnitzel, as well as cries like “Zicke Zacke, zicke Zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi! The polka bands will still play, and inebriated partyers will still attempt to dance.
This year, however, the attacks of Islamist nuts have prompted increased security for the annual Beer-Drinking Festival. Can these savages let nothing go?
Munich’s Oktoberfest opened under increased security on Saturday following a series of terrorist attacks in Germany.
Dieter Reiter, Munich’s mayor, said that the 189th Oktoberfest will be held until October 6 and that the city would do everything possible to ensure its safety.
The Oktoberfest, billed as the largest folk culture festival in the world, attracted more than seven million visitors last year who consumed an estimated 6.5 million liters of beer.
This is a lot of beer. The threat of the Islamists, however, is real. And given their hatred for alcohol consumption and the idea that someone could be having fun somewhere, it seems likely that the Oktoberfest will be targeted.
This year’s tighter security measures are a response to a series of violent extremist attacks including a deadly knife attack in Solingen, Germany last month.
The police arrested a Syrian who had claimed allegiance with the Islamic State group before the attack which killed three and injured eight others.
Munich police killed a man earlier this month after he fired on them as well as at the Israeli consulate of the city in what they were treating as a suspected terror attack.
Yes, before anyone asks: “Oktoberfest”, originally held in October was moved up by a month, reportedly to take advantage of the gorgeous late-summer Bavarian climate. After all, one should drink beer when the sun is shining.
Oktoberfest has been a long-standing tradition in the New World, brought by generations of German immigrants. In Park City, Utah we attended an Oktoberfest in a setting so beautiful it could have been Bavaria. We had an amazing time. I was watching my beer intake while driving but managed to eat a large plate of schnitzel, spaetzle, and sauerkraut, as well as a few sausages. The trip was fun, but not as authentic as the original Munich. I still haven’t been to Munich. With these threats, it is hard to know if this great German vacation will continue.
It’s a stretch to ask Germans to give up Oktoberfest, whether they protest or not. There must be a limit.
In a few minutes, my wife and I are going to have our Saturday lunch at our favorite Susitna Valley restaurant. I’ll drink two beers as usual, and raise a toast to Munich to wish a fun and peaceful Oktoberfest.
