Let Our Overland Park Travel Agency Book Your German Getaway for Oktoberfest: Learn These 8 Words — It is Oktoberfest time again. The travel agents in Overland Park are ready to book your time in Bavaria’s capital of Munich or any similar place throughout the region. Haven’t you always wanted to go to an authentic German festival and have an epic celebration complete with brats and German beer?
The name precedes it, but Oktoberfest actually runs for two weeks from late September to the first Sunday in October, but they will be celebrating all month long, and you can book up to a year in advance, so have the Overland Park travel agency get that bucket list item booked for next season if you can’t grab your time in this quick turnaround.
In the meantime, our travel agents in Overland Park thought it might be fun for you to brush up on your German just a little with these terms brought to you by Oktoberfest travel themselves:
Overland Park Travel Agency – Bier
The word needs no translation, but it is what Oktoberfest is all about. According to recent stats, nearly 8 million liters, or around 16 million pints, were served to 6 million locals and visitors who thronged the Munich Oktoberfest.
Bier is not just Bavarians’ favorite beverage; there’s a special one brewed exclusively for Oktoberfest every year: Oktoberfestbier. It has to meet certain standards, including German Beer Purity Laws, and it must be brewed within Munich city limits.
Note to self: Oktoberfestbier is stronger than normal German beers, at 6% alcohol content.
Bonus word: Bierhallen. Pretty self-explanatory. The place they drink the beer is during Oktoberfest.
Overland Park Travel Agency – Prost
This word involves essential Oktoberfest etiquette. Prost is German for ‘cheers’ (and a generally good word to know outside of Oktoberfest too!). You toast before drinking your beer, and you must look into your drinking friends’ eyes, raise your beer stein, clink, and shout (yes, shout) Prost! (Pronounced Prohst!)
You’ll find yourself doing in Prosit often, and the bands in the Bierhallen strike up a specific tune every 20 minutes for a tent-wide toast, too.
Wurst
The jokes make themselves when it comes to the German word for sausage. The ‘best’ of the ‘wurst’. And so on. Actually, it’s pronounced ‘Burst’, which is much less conducive to joking. There are many kinds of Wurst to have with your Bier. In Germany, you’ll likely encounter ‘Weisswurst’, which means ‘white sausage,’ and refers to its ingredients: minced veal and pork; Kasewurst, which has cheese inside, and of course, every man-cave in North America has some Bratwurst, which just means finely-chopped meat in the sausage casing, usually pork.
Maybe the best thing about the Wurst is the wonderful variety of mustards served with them. You’ll quickly learn which kind of ‘Senf’ you like with which ‘Wurst’.
Tracht
For Germans and visitors alike, Oktoberfest is about ‘getting your Tracht on.’ Tracht refers to traditional costumes in Germany and also other German-speaking countries. Oktoberfest guests are encouraged to get into the local culture and spirit by donning Tracht, and you have two choices:
Dirndl
A traditional alpine dress for women, dirndls consist of a long skirt, white blouse, bodice that’s done up so tight it can’t help being very eye-catching, and apron in vivid colors. It’s derived from a Bavarian word for ‘girl,’ and many women keep a hand-made, heirloom dirndl in the closet for formal, not just beer-drinking, occasions, like attending weddings.
Lederhosen
The male equivalent simply means ‘leather pants.’ Actually, they’re shorts, usually worn with a white shirt, warm knee socks, suspenders/ braces and some go for the whole look with special shoes. Bonus points for a dashing wool felt hat with a jaunty feater – that’s also a symbol of the region.
Gemutlichkeit
There’s no exact English translation for this word, pronounced something like ‘geh-MOOT-ly-kite’) but it is the essence – even more than beer – of Oktoberfest.
Some call it fellowship, friendliness, or even good times. It’s the atmosphere surrounding you at Oktoberfest as you clink beer mugs with new and old friends.
Book with Travel Agents in Overland Park
If you are interested in using your newfound Oktoberfest vocabulary, please contact our Overland Park travel agency. We want to help you work through your bucket list. Maybe you are looking to make connections to your German heritage? Contact us today to discover how.
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