OCTOBER IS ALSO A FEST FOR GERMAN UNITY IN HOPPEGARTEN

Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated at G3 Preis der Deutschen Einheit

- Michael Lee

Ask any German or tourist worth their salt, October is by far the most famous month in the beer-loving country.

From mid-September to the first Sunday of October, the world-renowned Oktoberfest is a two-century-old beer festival that draws seven million visitors to Munich every year, while sending the same number of litres of pilsner down the hatch.

However, 600km further up north in Germany’s capital of Berlin, takes place another event that garners a smaller but sizeable pilgrimage of sorts every year on Oct 3.

The German Unity day at Hoppegarten may not ooze the same hop culture, contrary to what its name may suggest — albeit a fair amount of the liquid bread still flows freely there — but for 15,000 annual visitors, it has become a cult day of merrymaking and sport, specifically horse racing - and patriotic fervour.