Bridie O’Halloran on Saturday drank the first beer of her life at Oktoberfest.
The 19-year-old Australian declared it “the best I’ve had” after finishing about one-quarter of her liter mug.
Wearing a pink dirndl dress she had bought just a few hours earlier, O’Halloran was surrounded by tens of thousands of other — likely more experienced — beer-drinkers for the first of 16 days of the 189th Oktoberfest in Munich.
Photo: AP Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health
The revelers were celebrating the official opening of the world’s largest folk festival. Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter started the celebration at noon when he inserted the tap into the first beer keg.
Servers immediately began ferrying beers — each carrying up to 10 glass mugs — across packed tents, while guests started clinking their mugs and taking deep gulps of beer in the stuffy heat inside as bands played traditional Bavarian folk music.
Plaques reminded them not to dance on the tables.
Photo: AP
About 6 million visitors are expected over the festival’s 16 days — up to 600,000 each day — and they can expect to shell out between 13.60 euros and 15.30 euros (US$15.19 to US$17.09) for a big mug of beer. This year’s prices are about 3.87 percent more than last year.
This year also includes increased security in the wake of a knife attack in Solingen on Aug. 23, which left three people dead and eight more wounded. The Islamic State claimed responsibility, without citing evidence.
Revelers sprinted through the fairgrounds at 9am as soon as the entrances opened, despite security officers’ attempts to keep the procession orderly.
They laughed despite the morning chill — someone could be heard shrieking “why are we running” — and raced to get in line again, but this time to claim their tables in the beer tents.
Munich native Mikael Caselitz, 24, who has attended Oktoberfest for years, said everyone should travel to the city for the festival at least once in their lives.
“It can get really crowded and disgusting when people puke on the side of the road, but overall it’s a really fun experience,” he joked.
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