Well, it's that time of year in Munich again. The liter-sized steins are being filled by beefy barmaids. Lederhosen and silly hats are being donned. The plaster demons of Herr Schichtel's horror show are fresh with newly sprayed cobwebs, while the calliopes roar and roller coasters whirl and turn.
Last year, 6.9 million people visited what the Munich Oktoberfest organizers claim is "the largest and most popular festival in the world." Between them they drained 6,459,100 liters of beer, while washing down more than half a million pork sausages, 94 oxen and countless tons of salty, thirst-provoking pretzels (invented by shrewd Munich brewers).
Recent events have cast an inevitable shadow over the jolly proceedings; overall visitor numbers are predicted to have fallen, but it is still a gay and gorgeous revel.