Going with the flow at Oktoberfest<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Munich's famous Oktoberfest is much more than beer drinking and
\nBavarian food, it also involves lots of foot-stomping and hand
\nclapping -- as one lucky Indonesian man found out at this
\ncountry's version of the event.<\/p>\n
The Garmisch Partenkirchener Band from Bavaria livened up the
\nvenue at the Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta on Saturday with live music
\nand jokes. It invited an Indonesian man up on stage to teach him
\nhow to give the schuhplatter, or traditional Bavarian greeting, a
\nlively rhythmical performance that is almost a dance.<\/p>\n
Visitors of different nationalities sat elbow to elbow along
\nlong wooden tables arranged in the hotel ballroom, neatly
\ndecorated with Bavarian blue-and-white check motifs, occasionally
\nstanding up to sing a drinking song and to yell the apparently
\nmost favorite word: 'Prost!' or cheers.<\/p>\n
\"It's about socializing ... a cultural experience,\" hotel
\ngeneral manager Roger Lienhard said.<\/p>\n
The hotel, German flag-carrier Lufthansa Airlines and local
\nbeer producer Bintang organized the Oktoberfest celebration on
\nFriday and Saturday.<\/p>\n
The bombing outside the Australian Embassy on Sept. 9 did
\nlittle to affect the attendance of the event but there were also
\ntight security checks.<\/p>\n
About 1,200 people visted the festival in two days, a slight
\ndecrease on last year, Lienhard said.<\/p>\n
\"(But) life has to go on, we cannot be stagnant ... We have to
\nget along,\" Lienhard said.<\/p>\n
His jovial audience seemed to agree.<\/p>\n
Only happy faces were seen in the big room decorated to give
\nthe guests the atmosphere of the festzelt or the big beer tent
\nused in Germany.<\/p>\n
In their home town, Muncheners set up huge tents, each large
\nenough to accommodate hundreds of people, in the Theresienweisse
\n(or the fields of Therese), located in heart of the city.<\/p>\n
The annual festival, one of the largest folk festivals in the
\nworld, began in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavaria's Crown
\nPrince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of
\nSaxony-Hildburghausen. As a tribute, the festival site was named
\nafter Princess Therese.<\/p>\n
The festival is always exuberant and boisterous, especially
\nwhen tipsy residents rise up in drinking songs.<\/p>\n
Though Oktoberfest was originally held in October, as the name
\nsuggests, to avoid the icy cold and an early snowfall the three-
\nweek-long folk festival is now held in September.<\/p>\n
\"Although there are some differences with the Oktoberfest back
\nhome, the event here is much better because everyone gets more
\nculinary variety in one package -- there are plenty of snacks to
\neat along with the beer.<\/p>\n
\"It's in line with our objective, which is to provide people
\nan experience of European culture,\" Lienhard said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/going-with-the-flow-at-oktoberfest-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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