Every fall, Munich throws the planet’s biggest kegger—Oktoberfest. It’s a sloppy soup of locals and tourists swaying beer steins and toasting to “Gemütlichkeit,” the cozy and convivial atmosphere.
Oktoberfest dates to 1810, when the Bavarian king threw a grand public wedding reception for his son. It was such a hit that they decided to do it again the next year. And the next, and the next. More than 200 years later, it’s become one of Europe’s best-known festivals—a beer-fueled frenzy of music, pretzels, and amusement-park rides, with around seven million visitors consuming around seven million liters of beer every year.
