How would you like to sip a glass of cold beer while sitting in the shadow of a Chinese pagoda surrounded by English gardens in the middle of a southern German city? It may sound unlikely, but that is what millions of visitors from around the world experience in Munich in late September and early October every year. They come to celebrate Oktoberfest, probably the largest public festival in the world.

The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The celebration featured horse races, which were repeated the following year, and the festival became an annual event. Beer stands were introduced in 1818, and these were changed to the now-famous beer tents in 1896. The drink is a major feature of the event, and this year's visitors are expected to top last year's numbers of 5 million liters of beer and 650,000 pork sausages consumed.

It is fair to say that the city of Munich was founded on beer. Christian monks established a settlement there in the ninth century and began to brew a tasty mixture of malt and hops which they probably used to help " convert " local inhabitants to their religion. The tiny village where they lived eventually became known as Bei den Mon chen, meaning "where the monks are". Nowadays, St. Peter Church stands on the site where the monks founded their settlement.

It was in the early years of the nineteenth century that Munich really began to grow, and many of the city's best known buildings date from this time. Despite being the modern metropolis that hosted the 1972 Olympic Games, Munich has retained a quiet charm. It is easy to forget you are in a big city as you stroll through the English Gardens, one of Europe's largest parks—complete with the Chinese Tower—and a beer garden of course.

There is much more to modern Munich than beer gardens. It is Germany's favorite city, insofar as surveys show a majority of Germans would prefer to live there. Some jokingly call it the only Italian city north of the Alps, a reference to Munich's easygoing spirit that contrasts with the staid impression many foreigners have of Germany.

Despite the city's traditional image, many residents never set foot inside a beer hall or go anywhere near Oktoberfest, which is looked down on by some as a festival only for foreign tourists. These citizens see themselves as part of a thriving, modern metropolis which is the high-tech capital of Germany. Indeed, Munich plays host to a large concentration of communications and electronics firms.

Munich, then, is a city of fascinating contrasts. It has terrific museums, architectural treasures, and open-air shopping as well as space-age factories and world-class markets. If you could visit only one city in Germany, the capital of Bavaria would be a worthy choice.

在德国南部城市中，坐在为英式花园环抱的中国式宝塔的荫凉下，啜饮一杯冰凉的啤酒，这样的感觉，你有多心动？听起来也许像天方夜谭，但这就是每年九、十月之交，来自世界各地的百万游客，群集慕尼黑的亲身经历。他们来庆祝“啤酒节”──可能是世界上最盛大的公众节日。

首届“啤酒节”于1810年举行，为了庆祝路德维格王子的婚礼，嗣后他成了巴伐利亚路德维格一世国王。赛马是庆祝活动的特色，来年亦再度举行，此节日因而成为一年一度例行的大事。啤酒摊首次引入是在1818年，到了1896年这些摊位已成为今日盛名远扬的啤酒棚。喝啤酒是这个节庆的主要特色，去年游客饮用了超过500万公升的啤酒，吃掉了65万条以上的猪肉香肠，预计今年的游客将超过去年的消费数字。

若说慕尼黑是因啤酒而建，并不夸张。九世纪时，基督教僧侣在当地建立了一个定居点，并开始酿造某种将麦芽及啤酒花混合而成的美味饮料，他们曾经利用这种饮料来帮助他们令当地居民皈依基督教。这座基督教僧侣曾居住的小村落后来成为人所共知的Bei den Mon chen，意为 “僧侣之地”。今天，圣彼得教堂便座落在当时僧侣建定居点的地方。

直到上世纪初，慕尼黑才真正开始发展起来，许多最知名的慕城建筑都源自那个时期。尽管它曾以现代大都会之姿主办了1972年的奥运会，慕尼黑仍保有其静谧的魅力。当你在“英国花园”──欧陆最大的公园之一——中漫步，当然还有置身其中的中国高塔和一座啤酒园──你将浑然不觉还身处在大城市之中。

现代慕尼黑可不只有啤酒园而已。它是德国一座人们喜爱的城市，调查显示，大多数德国人愿意选择在慕城定居。有些人戏称她是阿尔卑斯山以北唯一的意大利式城市，意味着慕尼黑随和亲切的气氛，这和许多外国人对德国严肃持重的印象，形成天壤之别。

尽管慕城具有这种传统的形象，许多当地居民却从未涉足啤酒厅和到举办“啤酒节”临近的任何地方。有些人认为这些地方不屑一顾，只不过是外国游客的节庆。这些市民认为自己是一个蒸蒸日上，现代大都会的一部分。它是德国高科技的首都，的确，慕尼黑接纳了云积此地的众多通讯及电子公司。

由此可见，慕尼黑是一个极具迷人的有鲜明反差的城市。它有令人流连忘返的博物馆、建筑珍品，露天商场，也有太空时代的工厂和世界顶级的购物商场。假如你只能访问德国的一座城市，那么巴伐利亚的首府将是一个绝对值得一游的城市！