Munich - Who would have thought that a simple Bavarian wedding celebration in honour of King Ludwig’s marriage on October 1810 would inspire what’s known today as Oktoberfest?
The 17/18-day beer festival entertains 7 million people from around the world with more than 6 million litres of Bavarian beer!
From Dr. Andre Schulz, Lufthansa general manager for Southern Africa, here are 8 German phrases that anyone attending the Oktoberfest can look forward to using:
* If you would want another beer to be served, simple say “Noch ein Bier bitte!” which means “Another beer please!”
* When raising your glass to say cheers, just shout out “Prost!” for everyone to join in
* If you are feeling jovial and want to dance, turn to your partner and say “Möchtest du tanzen?” which means, “Do you want to dance?”
* And when wanting to dedicate a few kind words in a toast, just say “Ich möchte einen Toast machen!” to say, “I want to make a toast!”
* To let the Germans know that they make the best beer, simply say “Ihr Deutschen macht das beste Bier!” which means, “You Germans make the best beer!”
* To get some attention for your troubles for dressing in Lederhosen, ask those at the festival “Magst du meine Lederhose?”, which means “Do you like my lederhosen?”.
* Lastly, when you need to go to the bathroom, you can say “Wo finde ich die Toilette?” which means, “Where can I find the bathroom?”
* If speaking German is not your strength, then at least make sure you know this one phrase to add onto any of the questions listed above. “Können Sie mir bitte auf Englisch antworten?” which means, “Please can you answer me in English?”
Lufthansa will be flying into to Munich airport, in the heart of Oktoberfest country. The airport is home to the world’s only airport brewery.
“The novelty of an airport brewery is today as innovative as it was in 1999 when the microbrewery Airbräu, opened at the Munich Airport,” says Schulz.
The Airbräu’s highlight is the large beer garden, which is open from May to October, daily from 8am to 1am.
In Terminal 2 Up to 600 visitors can enjoy their food and drinks outside, surrounded by shady trees right in the middle of the stylish Munich Airport Center. Airbräu prices are known to be a bargain with a pint of beer costing only 2,75 Euros, including the five special seasonal beers offered each year..
Master brewer Rene Jacobsen invites visitors to watch the brewing sessions taking place in the main restaurant; where approximately 250 people can sit around the brewery kettles and observe the process from beer brewing to storage in the 530-gallon kettles.
For those who want to know even more, Airbräu offers special brewery tours with beer tasting at the terminal.
Independent Traveller