Oktoberfest

This month saw me heading over to Munich for the world's largest beer festival, Oktoberfest, Prost!

By Darren Cooper.

I’ve never been shy of having a little drink (or two), so when the chance to go to Oktoberfest reared its frothy head, well, let’s just say that I didn’t need all that much persuading.

For most people Oktoberfest probably conjures images of busty wenches serving hordes of moustachioed, lederhosen clad men singing bawdy Bavarian drinking songs. “That all seems rather macho” I hear you thinking, especially for a devotee of Abercrombie & Fitch from West London.

Luckily for me however there is respite from all of that machismo, not that I am adverse to a little machismo you understand, in the shape of ‘Gay Sunday’. This is Oktoberfest’s campest get-together, (although that would be a matter of some debate in my humble opinion considering the afore-mentioned lederhosen/moustachioed proclivities of the locals), with 5,000 homos packing the famous Braurosl Tent, intent on boozing and singing the day away, bottoms up I say!

This isn’t my first visit to Munich; in fact I have been lucky enough to visit Bavaria’s chocolate box capital city on a few occasions previously. This is though the first time that I have been here during what is the world’s largest fair which attracts a staggering 6 million people every year. My flight into Munich courtesy of Lufthansa was a steal at just £49 each way, and this is just one of 7 German cities that can be reached from several airports in the UK at prices that start this low. Certainly there seemed to be plenty more Brits on the flight taking full advantage of the offer for a bargain weekend break in Bavaria.

After my arrival and some hasty unpacking I decide to get my bearings and take a walk into the centre of Munich. Once on the street I start to think that they must have underestimated the amount of people who attend Oktoberfest, it’s heaving.

Thankfully I have done a little homework before arriving and I know just the place to head for, or so I think. The Hofbräuhaus is Munich’s most famous beer hall and considering the nature of the trip it seems like a good idea to get some practice in before the main event. However arriving on Am Platzl, one of Munich’s central squares, it appears that everyone else seems to have the same bright idea and I am going to have more chance of getting a beer in an AA meeting than here.

Luckily the Hofbräuhaus isn’t the only drinking hall in the area, in fact the city is inundated with such establishments, for a full list click here.

Undeterred by a seemingly impenetrable wall of rosy cheeked revellers I decide to check out Ayingers Speis und Trank, which although equally busy seems like my best bet of getting a drink any time soon. This is no time for normal pub etiquette and orderly British queuing it would seem, hold on chaps, I’m going in.

My passage to the bar is hard fought but eventually I wedge myself, limpet like into a cosy corner, a beer held triumphantly in hand. The beer festival hasn’t officially started yet, but no one seems to have noticed so I pass a couple of hours in preparation for tomorrow’s activities.

Hair of the hund, they say is the best cure for the rabid dog that bit you, so with that in mind I head out early the next morning in order to secure for a prime position at Oktoberfest’s opening ceremony. The honour of tapping the first keg is given to Munich’s mayor, and the ceremony is conducted with suitable pomp. This is a significant moment and one I feel privileged to be part of. I’m surrounded by complete strangers and the only real reason we are celebrating is that there’s 7 million litres of beer out there, but a few have each and every one of our names on them, Prost indeed!

It’s taken me a while, but I can finally say that I have learnt to pace myself. It’s hard not to get caught up in the whirlwind of excitement that surrounds the opening rituals and I allow myself briefly to get caught up in the enthusiastic toasts that follow the official breach of that first of oh so many kegs. I have my eye on bigger fish though, namely Gay Sunday so extract myself from the mêlée and head out in search of some much needed nourishment.

If there’s one word that describes Bavarian cuisine it’s substantial and food of the hearty variety is definitely your ally when planning an offensive on such colossal amounts of alcohol. Hunks of roast pork and chicken are the staple fare, along with Würstels as long as your arm served with generous portions of potato, dumplings and of course the ubiquitous Sauerkraut. This is cheery, comfort food and as jovial and good-humoured as the atmosphere it’s served in.

Fed and watered it’s time to retire for a good night’s sleep even though the party is just getting started. In order to get a seat in the Braurosl Tent tomorrow an early start is essential, and this is one party that I am not going to miss for anything.

9am seems a little early to be waiting outside a bar for it to open, I’m not saying it hasn’t happened to me before, let’s just say that I don’t make a habit of it. There are exceptions though and Gay Sunday at Oktoberfest would obviously be one of them. There’s an eclectic crowd already assembled to get their bums on the allocated free seats, perhaps booking package with tickets included would have been a better idea but this is all part of the fun.

The assembled crowd is a rag-tag bunch, some fresh and sprightly, others certainly didn’t find their way to their own beds last night and some wear the evidence of yesterdays drinking badly, but the mood is upbeat and optimistic. I am pleased to say that the lederhosen on show are worn with obvious irony, but then how else should one wear embroidered leather shorts?

The queue shortens slowly, but eventually I make it inside and on to one of the long tables set up in this huge marquee. There’s room for 5,000 people inside and by 10am the place is pretty much full and the beer is well and truly flowing. On my table a group of local guys fill me in on the history of the event which was started to commemorate the marriage Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810. I’m a little intrigued about why Oktoberfest begins in September and am informed that the festival was lengthened into September because of the good weather, which stimulates the thirst of the visitors, not that anyone needs much encouragement from what I can see.

My history lesson is cut short by the start of the traditional Bavarian band which strikes up on the podium in the centre of the tent; this it would seem is what everyone has been waiting for. Drinking in Bavaria is nothing it would seem without singing and if proof was needed that the language of music is universal, the evidence is plain for all to see. The band takes us trotting around the globe, firstly with ‘Viva Espania’ much to the excitement of a nearby Spanish table and when ‘It's a Long Way to Tipperary’ strikes up the Brits go predictably loco. It’s a great atmosphere and no matter where you’re from it is impossible not to feel included, wunderbar!

As the day progresses the mood gets noticeably jollier and the drinking is only briefly interrupted by the arrival of scores of roast chickens. It’s a token effort at mopping up the alcohol though, Betty Ford would be horrified!

Despite the presence of so much beer there’s a code of conduct which goes something like this. Getting tipsy, enjoying the atmosphere and having gallons of fun is expected, getting Fetznrausch, so totally drunk, that you can do whatever you want because you have already made a fool of yourself is not so cool. As far as I am concerned this is a good thing, knowing your limits (and sticking to them) is the key to everyone having a good time here and people keep the right side of merry so that everyone can enjoy the party. The band strikes up ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and we find ourselves Down Under, much to the joy of the Aussie contingent on the far side of the tent who get their turn to lead the singing and the rest of us don’t need any encouragement to lend our friends a hand.

Have you been to Gay Sunday at Oktoberfest? Then why not let us know your stories and top tips for enjoying the world’s greatest beer festival.

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Berlin Night Watch

I'm travel editor of the UK's biggest and best lesbian magazine Diva, which means when I'm not hunting down Deutschland's hot spots, I'm exploring the great and the glamorous gay scenes around the world.

I've been pretty suprised by the diversity of Germany and just like my idol Marlene Dietricht, now 'I always keep a suitcase in Berlin'.

Happy reading!

Lotte Jeffs gets her glad rags on for five nights of hedonism in lesbian Berlin.

You know those nights that start out as a quick drink and end with you staggering bleary-eyed and a bit baffled into the early morning light, not knowing quite what just happened but being pretty sure, whatever it was, rocked?

I just had one of those nights. In fact I had a whole five of them in a row. Because, well, because I was in Berlin and that’s just kind of what happens.

The dyke scene in the German Capital is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and the music, fashion, décor and clientele all made me feel like I’d at last stumbled upon the pot of gold at the end of Europe’s lacklustre lesbian rainbow.

For a start the girl bars and club nights are as good, if not better, than the gay guy scene which makes a welcome change from all things lesbian usually being the trendy boys’ ugly sister.

Women don’t leave the club at 11pm because they have to feed their cats. They wouldn’t dream of even arriving until past midnight….

….They don’t wear practical shoes for the walk home – they get their limited edition Nikes or glam girly points on for a night of non-stop dancing….

…And far from the usual lesbian cliqueness, women actually talk to you. Yep, you’re at the bar and instead of elbowing you out the way, the hot girl next to you says ‘hallo’!

It’s a breath of fresh air. Heck, it’s a whole bloody oxygen tank of the stuff.

I started my first night at Drama www.dramabar.de, a fab kitsch little bar with a great mix of boys, babes and butches. Here I met queen of the Berlin lesbian scene Angela Schmerfeld who runs some of the cities most popular girl nights. Checkout http://www.megadyke.de/ for more info.

The main queer spots in Berlin are Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. But to really be in the know I’d recommend picking up a copy of free lesbian rag L-Mag for all the latest listings.

Since the pre-war years, when the Berlin nightlife attracted the likes of Josephine Baker and Greta Garbo to its ‘divine decadence’ and risqué cabaret clubs, the city has been known as a hotbed of hedonism. Head out after-dark today and you won’t be disappointed.

Angela took me to Schwuz club (schwuz.de) where the “Search and Destroy” night plays dirty indie rock that puts London’s ‘alternative’ scene to shame.

During my whirlwind week in the city I also managed to check out these incredible parties:

Barbie Deinhoff's – artsy, queer with heavy electro and gender-bending fierceness.
www.myspace.com/barbiedeinhoffs

Girls Town (2nd Saturday of the month, every 2 months at Kino International) – good mix of music, a bit less achingly hip than Barbie Deinhoff's but quirky and cool nonetheless. The covered patio is lovely on a balmy late-summer night.
http://www.girlstown-berlin.de/

Gold Lion Parties – Ok, now I like to think I’m kinda trendy, kinda cool and up to date on what’s hot in the lesbian demimonde but my god did this party make me feel like the slightly dowdy out-of-towner – and I loved it! Offering up "indie, electro, fag'n'roll and punk" this occasional, lesbian-run knees-up puts the A-mazing into A-lternative.
www.myspace.com/goldlionparty

Mermaids – one word: INSANE. Get a special shuttle bus to the island Insel der Jugend in the Spree river that runs through Berlin, or if you’re really daring – swim-up for free entry! Expect hot and sweaty girls in vest-tops dancing to everything from Pink to post-punk.
www.myspace.com/mermaids_berlin

This is a mere snapshot of my five nights in the party capital. There’s way more to explore and whether you’re looking to shoot some pool in an old-school dyke dive or wear Vivienne Westwood and dance to Telepathe (www.myspace.com/telepathe) you’re guaranteed to have a gay old time in the city that never, ever sleeps.


Your shout – leave a comment!
Let me know if you have any top tips for places I can visit next time!

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Funky, fun, futuristic architecture!

While Lotte Jeffs is glamming it up on Berlin’s avant-garde lesbian scene I have commandeered the intellectual high ground to better cast an eye over some of Germany’s equally forward thinking modern architecture.

It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the reunification of Germany. I can vividly remember seeing the Berlin Wall being torn down on the television; it’s hard to forget such monumentous events. As well as signalling the end of the Cold War this was also a beginning too though. A new reunified Germany was getting ready to rebuild itself and with some pretty radical results as I found out.

Architecture has always mirrored the political and social ideology of the time in which it was built and the events of 1988 inspired a new wave of enlightened and positive German construction. 20 years on I decided to take a look at some of the iconic landmarks that were inspired by the optimism surrounding German reunification.

Perhaps the most historically significant of these is Berlins renovated Reichstag which housed Germany’s Parliament from 1894 until it was destroyed by a fire 1933. The home of Germany’s democracy stood derelict and forlorn (rather symbolically) for years right on the boundary between East and West Berlin until it was renovated during the 1960s. In 1990 a buoyant Germany held the official reunification ceremony here, but it was the subsequent renovation by Norman Foster for which the building is now widely recognised.

You can’t help but notice the new Reichstag building, virtually all that is left of the original building is the ornate facade, but it is Sir Norman’s glass dome which really grabs your attention, especially at night when it glows on top of the building. This gleaming metal and glass structure comes complete with a ramp which spirals around the outside of the dome giving unparalleled views of the Berlin Sky line.

The dome overlooks the debating chamber for the Bundestag, a design feature which focuses on making the process of government more transparent. Perhaps our own government should be taking note and well they might, the design strongly influenced Fosters design for London’s county hall on the South Bank.

Foster is far from the only brilliant architect to be invited to come and strut his stuff in Germany though. Frank Gehry’s unique style of deconstructionism has been responsible for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. His equally eccentric contributions to the German skyline can be seen both in Hamburg and on Düsseldorf’s waterfront where three buildings collectively known as Der Neue Zollhof stand.

These office blocks trick the eye from a distance challenging both perception and perspective. They are wavy undulating creations that lack any conventional form and are both playful and funky at the same time, you could be forgiven for thinking that they had slipped right of the pages of a Manga comic book. Conventional these buildings are not but I like them, so much more interesting than the angular, uniform office spaces you see in so many other cities.

If Gehry’s buildings are funky then Iraqi born architect Zaha Hadid’s brand of deconstructionism on show at the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg defines hip, in fact it’s positively groovadelic. The centre resembles some huge off-worldy leviathan that has made an unscheduled stop for some reason in Lower Saxony. So fascinating is this building that I defy anyone not to want to explore further, and this is where the fun really starts. The inside spaces are as futuristic as the science exhibits it houses, this structure just gets ‘curioser and curioser’.

I have only just scratched the surface of some of Germany’s Innovative and forward thinking buildings here, but it’s great to see so much humour and pioneering spirit in some outstanding design. Great buildings need inspiration I suppose and it would seem that in the last 20 years Germany has provided that in spades, and the results are right here for everyone to see.

Your shout – leave a comment!Let me know if you have any recommendations for funky, fun or futuristic buildings in Germany.

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