Bergkirchweih - Beer Festival

The Bergkirchweih is an annual festival that takes place in Erlangen Germany and has been held every year since 1755. It takes places during and after the twelve days of Pentecost.  I have been given the opportunity to go to the beer festival almost every year as my uncle lives there with his family. It is a festival like no other.  The festival itself draws hundreds of thousands of people daily. The German cuisine and beer is absolutely amazing and I have to say it has never let me down. I think the German festivals differ from Irish festivals because in a way they are much more family orientated. The berg (as it is commonly known) is a place where you meet friends, take your family and dog along to enjoy fresh traditional food, music, dance and excellent beer. For as long as I’ve been going to the berg I have never once seen a drunken fight or drunken antics. People consume beer there for the pure pleasure of drinking it and not to get ridiculously drunk. The berg remains my favourite holiday every year as I never come home disappointed. The ambience is always excellent and the locals are always extremely friendly, most of which speak English so there really is no language barriers. One of my favourite parts of the berg is the food. Look away now vegetarians because they cook the most amazing cow on a spit! An entire cow rotating on a spit fire, a perfect barbeque! They even give them names. So to sum up my experience of the Berg and the Beer Festival, it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives!