Oktoberfest, which will take place at Cung Xuan Event Centre in Hanoi onOctober 24-25, aims to recreate the atmosphere of a massive German beerhall.
Visitors can taste grilled Bratwurst andsauerkraut along with imported German brews, with authentic Bavarianmusic from Munich band Gaudiblosn in the background.
"We're excited to enjoy beer and traditional dishes from Germany," saidbusinessman Nguyen Van Thanh, who has attended the event four years in arow. "The two-day fest is a great chance for us to meet and exchangeviews with friends and foreign business partners."
Hans-Jorg Brunner, German Deputy Head of Mission in Vietnam, says thisyear more than 200 countries over the world organise the Oktoberfest.
His daughter Nathalie Brunner, a Munich resident whoattended the festival in Germany for five consecutive years, describedthe lively atmosphere of the beer tents, in which participants not onlydrink but also enjoy roasted chicken ("halbes Hendl"), sing and danceand meet new people from Munich and from all over the world.
In Germany, she explained, you often go to Oktoberfest on theinvitation of the company you work in. The company provides you withvouchers for half a roasted chicken and two mugs of beer, which shouldbe about two litres of beer - if the mugs are completely filled, whichis almost never the case. Alternatively, if you're lucky enough to havefriends who have managed to reserve a table, you might sit with them.
Tents open at 11am and close at 11pm, with theexception of the "wine tent" and the Käfer tent in which German foodspecialities are served, which are open until at least 1am.
Many attendees go to an "After Wiesn Party" after the tents close, but Brunner confessed that she had never done this.
"After two mugs of beer, I am really thankful to go home," she said."Anyway, when I go to Oktoberfest during the week, I have to bear inmind that I must get up at 6am the next day."
On heavy-trafficdays, bartenders pour up to 70,000 litres of beer, so technology andsoftware are critical for pumping beer securely and quickly from thetanks to the taps and into waiting mugs.
Since last year, theHacker Tent has been supplied by a centralised pipeline systemcontrolled by Siemens software. Both sales and throughput can bemonitored at all times via web browser, tablet PC or smartphone. Inearlier times, two or three tanks were positioned at five differentlocations; today, four large tanks containing 28,000 litres of beerapiece are set up at a central location. Besides saving space, thisarrangement also facilitates the delivery and distribution of beerwithin the tent.
The history
Oktoberfest began as a wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig (whobecame King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities onthe fields in front of the city gates. They were named Theresienwiese("Theresa's fields") in honour of the Crown Princess ever since,although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the"Wies'n".
Horse races in the presence of the RoyalFamily marked the close of the event. The decision to repeat the horseraces the subsequent year gave rise to the Oktoberfest tradition.
In the first few decades, the choice of amusements was sparse. Thefirst carousel and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitors were able toquench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number.In 1896, the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents andhalls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of thebreweries.
The remainder of the festival site wastaken up by a fun-fair. The range of carousels on offer was alreadyincreasing rapidly in the 1870s as the fairground trade continued togrow and develop in Germany.
On the occasion of the200th anniversary of Oktoberfest in 2010, a historical Oktoberfest washeld at the south end of the Theresienwiese. It attracted so manyvisitors that since then it has taken place there every year (except forthe years when the Bavarian Central Agricultural Show takes place).
"I went there that year for the first time. It's much smaller than thecommercial Oktoberfest and the fairground rides are also much older,"Brunner said. "The museum tent is really interesting. There you caninform yourself about the history of Oktoberfest, about beer andbreweries and how the Oktoberfest evolved during the past 200 years."
As this suggests, Oktoberfest isn't only about beer.
Nguyen Thuy Ngoc, 22, a Vietnamese student in Germany, attended arecent Oktoberfest in Munich and said her favourite part was the WaveFlyer, a classic carnival ride.
"Today Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, as well as an increasingly attended event in Hanoi.
Elmar Dutt, chairman of the German Business Association (GBA), saysOktoberfest becomes popular among both Vietnamese and the foreigncommunity.
"This year's Oktoberfest promises to beeven bigger and more exciting than the last," Dutt says. He expects morethan 3,000 people to attend.
Philip Jones, generaldirector of the Movenpick Hotel Hanoi said his hotel will provide thefest with many delicious and tasty dishes including pork knuckles,souerkraut and red cabbage.
The event is sponsoredby the German Embassy in Vietnam, the German Busineness Association(GBA), Movenpick Hanoi Hotel and KBT, the executive distributor ofGerman Beer Bitburger in the country.-VNA
Visitors can taste grilled Bratwurst andsauerkraut along with imported German brews, with authentic Bavarianmusic from Munich band Gaudiblosn in the background.
"We're excited to enjoy beer and traditional dishes from Germany," saidbusinessman Nguyen Van Thanh, who has attended the event four years in arow. "The two-day fest is a great chance for us to meet and exchangeviews with friends and foreign business partners."
Hans-Jorg Brunner, German Deputy Head of Mission in Vietnam, says thisyear more than 200 countries over the world organise the Oktoberfest.
His daughter Nathalie Brunner, a Munich resident whoattended the festival in Germany for five consecutive years, describedthe lively atmosphere of the beer tents, in which participants not onlydrink but also enjoy roasted chicken ("halbes Hendl"), sing and danceand meet new people from Munich and from all over the world.
In Germany, she explained, you often go to Oktoberfest on theinvitation of the company you work in. The company provides you withvouchers for half a roasted chicken and two mugs of beer, which shouldbe about two litres of beer - if the mugs are completely filled, whichis almost never the case. Alternatively, if you're lucky enough to havefriends who have managed to reserve a table, you might sit with them.
Tents open at 11am and close at 11pm, with theexception of the "wine tent" and the Käfer tent in which German foodspecialities are served, which are open until at least 1am.
Many attendees go to an "After Wiesn Party" after the tents close, but Brunner confessed that she had never done this.
"After two mugs of beer, I am really thankful to go home," she said."Anyway, when I go to Oktoberfest during the week, I have to bear inmind that I must get up at 6am the next day."
On heavy-trafficdays, bartenders pour up to 70,000 litres of beer, so technology andsoftware are critical for pumping beer securely and quickly from thetanks to the taps and into waiting mugs.
Since last year, theHacker Tent has been supplied by a centralised pipeline systemcontrolled by Siemens software. Both sales and throughput can bemonitored at all times via web browser, tablet PC or smartphone. Inearlier times, two or three tanks were positioned at five differentlocations; today, four large tanks containing 28,000 litres of beerapiece are set up at a central location. Besides saving space, thisarrangement also facilitates the delivery and distribution of beerwithin the tent.
The history
Oktoberfest began as a wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig (whobecame King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities onthe fields in front of the city gates. They were named Theresienwiese("Theresa's fields") in honour of the Crown Princess ever since,although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the"Wies'n".
Horse races in the presence of the RoyalFamily marked the close of the event. The decision to repeat the horseraces the subsequent year gave rise to the Oktoberfest tradition.
In the first few decades, the choice of amusements was sparse. Thefirst carousel and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitors were able toquench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number.In 1896, the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents andhalls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of thebreweries.
The remainder of the festival site wastaken up by a fun-fair. The range of carousels on offer was alreadyincreasing rapidly in the 1870s as the fairground trade continued togrow and develop in Germany.
On the occasion of the200th anniversary of Oktoberfest in 2010, a historical Oktoberfest washeld at the south end of the Theresienwiese. It attracted so manyvisitors that since then it has taken place there every year (except forthe years when the Bavarian Central Agricultural Show takes place).
"I went there that year for the first time. It's much smaller than thecommercial Oktoberfest and the fairground rides are also much older,"Brunner said. "The museum tent is really interesting. There you caninform yourself about the history of Oktoberfest, about beer andbreweries and how the Oktoberfest evolved during the past 200 years."
As this suggests, Oktoberfest isn't only about beer.
Nguyen Thuy Ngoc, 22, a Vietnamese student in Germany, attended arecent Oktoberfest in Munich and said her favourite part was the WaveFlyer, a classic carnival ride.
"Today Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, as well as an increasingly attended event in Hanoi.
Elmar Dutt, chairman of the German Business Association (GBA), saysOktoberfest becomes popular among both Vietnamese and the foreigncommunity.
"This year's Oktoberfest promises to beeven bigger and more exciting than the last," Dutt says. He expects morethan 3,000 people to attend.
Philip Jones, generaldirector of the Movenpick Hotel Hanoi said his hotel will provide thefest with many delicious and tasty dishes including pork knuckles,souerkraut and red cabbage.
The event is sponsoredby the German Embassy in Vietnam, the German Busineness Association(GBA), Movenpick Hanoi Hotel and KBT, the executive distributor ofGerman Beer Bitburger in the country.-VNA
