Oktoberfest is the world’s largest Volksfest. It is held annually in Munich, Germany. It is a 16-to-18-day folk festival that begins in late September and runs to the first Sunday in October. In excess of six million people attend every year. Oktoberfest originated on October 12th, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis 1, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghhausen.

Sadly, this year’s Oktoberfest was cancelled due to the pandemic but that didn’t stop us, we held our own festival right here at Marham House. The festival is well-known for its dancing, singing and general debauchery but it is most famous for its beer.

The tearoom here at Marham has been used for many an event but none quite as raucous as Oktoberfest. The room was set with everything we needed to get us in the festival mood.

There was Bavarian music, there was a perfect backdrop, there were two beautifully dressed Bavarian waitresses and there was beer, lots of beer. Beer from all over the world, a bigger selection, I’ve never seen.

What a fun afternoon we had. I don’t know where to start. We were singing, we were dancing, and we were chatting, we discussed Germany and recalled our trips there, we shared stories and we laughed, we laughed a lot. Jackie and Georgia were the perfect hosts, and they kept the beer flowing. I tried beers that I had never even heard of, they were delicious. 

I feel desperately sorry that the Munich Oktoberfest was cancelled, it must have been so disappointing. I hope that they got to celebrate in some small way.

We had a marvellous time at our festival, here’s hoping it becomes a regular event here at Marham. It was Wunderbar!