Time to celebrate in style
No foreign festival has had such an effect on Hong Kong as Oktoberfest. Barrels of beer, mounds of food, foot-tapping oompah music, exotic costumes and a sense of hilarity make one of the most enjoyable celebrations in the calendar.
No foreign festival has had such an effect on Hong Kong as Oktoberfest. Barrels of beer, mounds of food, foot-tapping oompah music, exotic costumes and a sense of hilarity make one of the most enjoyable celebrations in the calendar.
In Germany, Oktoberfest is but one of a number of festivals held throughout the country that are just as much fun.
"For sheer size, nothing can top Munich's Oktoberfest, while the target-shooting Schützenfest in Hannover and the Wurstmarkt wine festival in Bad Durkheim are the largest of their kind in the world," says Katrin Yeung, director of marketing at the German National Tourist Office in Hong Kong. "Thousands of events - harvest festivals, fairs and religious holidays - give plenty of cause for celebration."
Cuisine in Germany is as diverse as the regions where it is made. Visitors can choose from old-fashioned taverns, more than 200 star-rated restaurants, and everything in between.
There is a great variety of regional specialities. These include fish in the north, fruit from the orchards of the Altes Land, potato dumplings in eastern Germany, sauerbraten or pot roast in the Rhineland, and egg noodles and sweet treats in the south. Between mid-April and late June, asparagus is in season and features heavily in dishes all over the country.
Redoubtable monasteries, deep cellars, and ancient vineyards indicate that winemaking started with the ancient Romans. Visitors can explore Gotz von Berlichingen's vineyard and take in the 219,000-litre Heidelberg Tun - the world's biggest wine barrel.
Germany's 13 wine-growing regions produce exquisite wines, from crisp rieslings to floral pinot noirs. The mild climate results in light, fruity wines that are full of charm and character.
The Middle Rhine is one of the most charming regions. For the 120km between Bingen and Bonn, steep vineyard slopes contrast with statuesque castles, mansions and the storied Lorelei rock as the river twists and turns through a landscape steeped in history. The Siebengebirge hills and the Lorelei divide the region into two distinct wine areas. The southern section, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Bingen, was granted Unesco World Heritage status in 2002 for its outstanding, vineyard-sculpted countryside.
Visitors don't have seek out a special festival to enjoy Germany's food and wine. The word "feierabend" that denotes the end of the working day literally means "celebratory evening". Visitors can simply drop into any of the country's traditional inns and taverns.