The past two weekends Oktoberfest has taken place on Upper Larimer Street here in Denver, and I went over there this past Friday afternoon to check out the action. To be honest, I have never been all that crazy about Oktoberfest - I am not all that fond of German food, for one thing, and the cost of the beers is prohibitive (glass beer steins cost $35, beer tickets are $6 each, and if you have a glass stein, you need two tickets to refill it). Also, this festival takes place in one of Denver's hipster nightclub areas, and most of the people at this festival are 20-somethings, such as the group in the photograph on the left. Sadly, I don't seem to be able to relate to this demographic. And no, I am not an old curmudgeon.
However, I was very surprised to read an article in the Denver Post by a reporter for a German magazine, on assignment in Denver through an exchange program, saying that Oktoberfest here is just like the one in Munich. It features the same beer (Spaten), the same food (ick!), the same music, and the same beer hall style environment, although in Munich you need to reserve a spot at a table a year in advance, while on Upper Larimer Street it is much easier to find a seat. There were some differences, she said, such as the fact that in Munich they do not have events like beer stein holding contests and keg bowling, which can be seen in the photograph on the right. And after reading her article and then spending half an hour or so at Denver's Oktoberfest, I feel I can confidently cross Munich off my "bucket list" and avoid it like the plague during my next European adventure.
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