The Oktoberfest was canceled again this year. But it was still celebrated – at the Wirtshauswiesn.
Munich – The Oktoberfest is canceled – nevertheless it was said again on Saturday in Munich: “Ozapft is”. The innkeepers invite you to the Wirtshauswiesn in over 50 restaurants, and a barrel of beer was tapped in other pubs as well.
Wiesn fans toasted each other on the Theresienwiese when the weather was fantastic, many had come to Bavaria in traditional costumes.
The current mayor of Munich usually opens the Oktoberfest with the tap ritual. This year the innkeeper, sometimes a playmate and sometimes a pastor, swung the mallet in the restaurants.
The former mayor of Munich and former tap king Christian Ude (SPD) needed two strokes in the Schiller Bräu in the Bahnhofsviertel – just like in the old days. He was the first OB in 2005 to tap the 200-liter barrel at the Oktoberfest with just two hits.
Last year Ude wasn’t in that good shape. It took quite a few more strokes. “At my age you no longer ask how many strokes he needs, but how many strokes he can still manage,” joked Ude (73).
“The Wiesn is a deep feeling for life,” said Gregor Lemke, spokesman for the Munich city center innkeepers, at the start of the Wirtshauswiesn. That is noticeable again this year.
There should be another Oktoberfest in 2022. According to Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) and Wiesn boss Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU), plans are currently in progress. dpa
