New Oktoberfest Book: Inside Wiesn

In its more than 200 years of existence, the Oktoberfest has inspired all kinds of things. Paintings, photographs, poems, all kinds of nonsense, and last but not least, books that aim to bring readers closer to the essence of Oktoberfest. After Franz Kotteder, one of the most prominent Oktoberfest observers, combined an Oktoberfest description with a cookbook last year, Christian Rupprecht-Essig, a doctor of theology and art historian from Schleswig-Holstein, is trying his hand at this genre this year—this time without a cookbook.

The result is a contemporary characterization of the large Wiesn tents, interspersed with more or less practical tips (“Reserve or not”), anecdotes, and humorous interludes such as an eight-page fictional chat between libidinous Oktoberfest visitors. More interesting are the interviews, which don't just recount the same old stories that we've already read elsewhere ad nauseam.

While most of the book offers a solid introduction to a healthy Oktoberfest obsession, the use of AI image generators is extremely annoying. ChatGPT is cited as the image source a total of 14 times, even for images that are supposed to convey impressions of the festival grounds.

On the contrary, Wiesnkini/Oktoberfest Guide is not cited as a source, even though some phrases look very familiar to us. The fact that the structure of the last article, including identical headlines (at least in the German-speaking version), was taken from Oktoberfest Guide is a bit too much to ask for recognition.

The book is now available in bookstores, e.g., at Amazon (advertisement; we would receive a small commission if you purchase it).