Beauty and the Beast

You are likely to see a little bit of everything at Octoberfest. These are just a couple scenes from the festivities today. I thought I would share with you just a few little known facts about Octoberfest: Beers include approx. 5.5-6% alcohol. So just watch yourself. Dates for Octoberfest were changed so the event ends on Oct. 3rd – German Unity Day. There have been 24 cancellations since the festivities began in 1810 – mostly because of war, disease, or inflation. Generally you need a seat or a spot at a table to order beer in the tents, so you are limited to the 100,000 spots available – all of which are reserved months in advance. The Hofbrau tent is the largest tent of the Octoberfest, accommodating 10,000 guests. Supposedly tents take a “quiet Octoberfest” approach before 6 pm, playing music only up to 85 decibels, before really letting lose for the rest of the evening. Despite all of your desires, smoking is banned in all Octoberfest tents, in compliance with a Munich-wide smoking ban. Consumption: 69K hectoliters of beer, 79K liters of wine, 222K liters of coffee, 521K units of chicken, 284K pork sausage. Toilets: 980 seated and more than 878 meters of urinals. Quite a party!