Oktoberfest is here again. Time to enjoy the traditional German wursts, pretzels and bier. Since I'm half German, and from the southern part of Germany near Munich, Oktoberfest is an important time of year for my family. Time to savor favorite foods such as sauerbraten, red cabbage, sauerkraut, rouladen, and many types of sausages particularly the weisswurst which according to German tradition is eaten before noon. And even better for my sweet tooth are all the wonderful desserts, apfel strudel, schwarzwalder kirsch torte (black forest cherry cake), and many other delightful pastries. One of the things that probably confuses many people is why Oktoberfest starts in September. It was moved up a bit to September so the nights would not be so cold so people could enjoy drinking beer outside, but Oktoberfest always ends in the beginning of October. I usually prefer to drink red wine, but will happily drink the Oktoberfest beers, and my favorite is a Weissbier (wheat beer) from Spaten . This is a light smooth beer. Not much of the bitter after taste which is what I don't like about many other beers.  Or maybe a dark beer, which almost tastes sweet. Some of my fondest Oktoberfest memories are of my German relatives and friends singing German songs, while drinking beer and cheering each other on to drink more beer with the traditional toast of "prost" or "eins, zwei, drei, prost".

So if large crowds of beer drinking people, wearing lederhosen and dirndls, sounds like fun, you still have time to head over to Oktoberfest. Otherwise get some sausages and German beer and have a party.