Kocherlball
A Munich Tradition
The Kocherlball or Cook's Ball takes you back in time to the 19th century. Around 1880 the working servants in Munich started to meet every Sunday in summer very early in the morning at the Chinesischer Turm to dance and have fun.
And that's exactly this festival is all about :-)
Dress Up As Servant
When strolling the English Garden during Kocherlball, you will be surprised, how many servants, maids, nannies, cooks, kitchen staff, and coachmen, as well as noble Lords and Ladies are suddenly living in Munich :-)
Look at this couple, don't they look like authentic servants from the 19th century?
We locals use this festival to dress up in costumes or in our well-loved Bavarian traditional Tracht Dirndl and Lederhose. But don't feel awkward if you wear jeans. The main point of the Kocherlball is to dance and have fun.
For Early Birds Only
The Cook's Ball takes place once a year on the third Sunday in July.
But you have to get up early to glimpse into Munich's history: The dance festival officially starts at 6 a.m.!
Definitely not my favorite time of the day. Even though the official program with music and dancing starts at 6 a.m. (which is too early already in my opinion), you have to show up a lot earlier if you want to get a good table in the beer garden Chinesischer Turm.
People arrive as early as 4.a.m to grab the best seats and some even bring their sleeping bags and spend the night at the Englischer Garten. Or, if you're a true night owl, you can just party until early morning and come here to "cool down". The event last only until 10 a.m. - a good time to finally go home and get some sleep :-)
Traditional Music and Volksdance
The band plays traditional Bavarian music (Volksmusik) and the ceremonial master teaches easy dancing steps of traditional Volkstanz (volks dances) to the crowd.
Watch the video below to get an impression. On my Youtube Channel I will frequently be uploading new videos about Munich for you to watch.
The new ceremonial master Katharina Mayer is a young woman who changed the program to play more of the easy dances for beginners.
Even if you can't pronounce their names (Boarischer, Hamburger Dreher, Kikeriki, d´schee Mari, and Hölldeifi), I'm sure you'll be able to join the dancing after just a few minutes of practice with everyone else.
If you then feel confident enough for the advanced program, wait for the big formation dance called "Münchner Frasä" (Munich Francaise).
As the event is held in the beer garden, there won't be any shortage of food or drinks. On this day, the beer garden opens already at 4 a.m. and as always you can bring your own food, but no drinks.
Let's meet at the Kocherlball
We went only once, because every year we say "Let's go to the Kocherlball, because it was so much fun the last time!"
But every year, when the alarm clock rings at 5 a.m. we prefer to keep sleeping :-(
If you're in Munich in July you definitely shouldn't miss the Kocherlball.
