My Oktoberfest Experience

What exactly is Oktoberfest? Most people assume that it is a type of beer only available in the fall, but that is not it at all. There is so much more. In 1810, the crowned prince of Bavaria, Ludwig I, was getting married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen and decided to throw himself a celebration. As the years went on, this party expanded from its original 6 day party into the current 16 day debacle. And surprisingly, the beer tents were a later addition to the party. The current party happens at the Theresienwiese ("Theresa's fields") U-Bahn train stop, the original site of the party.

Ok, so now that we have the history but what about present day? Oktoberfest is a celebration that 6 million people come to a year and is celebrated at random pubs and restaurants worldwide.

If you can get here, which I suggest you do at some point in your life, definitely spend more than a couple of days there. I only spent a couple of days here, and even though it was more than enough, I would suggest about three or four days to get a full experience. The carnival and beer tent combination is something that should by experienced at different points and not all together because the day becomes too much.

Quick Tips:

To come to Oktoberfest and not drink at a beer is not the real experience, so try to get to the tents early to find a spot inside. The lines for the tents become ridiculous very fast and getting inside borders on the impossible, so plan your day correctly.

Also, try to get a hostel/hotel near the festival grounds so you don't have to deal with the subway and crowds and you can just stumble home. Trying to figure out the trains after 3 liters of beer is a feat many can't fully accomplish.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you can, if possible, steer clear of taking cabs because they charge an arm and a leg. The best way to get around the center of Munich is the U-Bahn train. This thing brings you so close that stumbling two blocks is fine and the crowds are so intense that that show is worth the trip on its own. A town full of St. Pauli girls and guys in laderhousens is a strange sight to see.

I have wanted to go to Oktoberfest for the last couple of years, and something has come up each year that has prevented me from attending. I have even been in Europe while it was happening the last two years and couldn’t hit it up. Until now that is. After arriving in from Spain, my girlfriend and I set off immediately for the Theresienwiese stop on the U-Bahn to the festival grounds. The official festivities didn’t kick off until the next day, but we wanted to have a look around and see what that was.

Upon entering the park, we noticed that everything was closed, even with the thousands aimlessly roaming around staring at the area that the following day will be transformed into the worlds largest pub crawl. I really wanted to get myself an Oktoberfest shirt and maybe some Oktoberfest mugs, but the woman at the souvenir stand informed us that it was illegal to sell anything until the next day at 12 noon, after the opening ceremonies. She said that I should try the shops near the Haufbanhof train station; but that they were usually of lesser quality and a little more expensive (I thought that this might be a selling technique but learned later that she was right).

Now, I always imagined Oktoberfest to be a large scale party with people coming and going from one of the many different beer halls and that was all. But after noticing my surroundings, I realized that that was only part of it. There was a huge carnival that also accompanied the mayhem. A giant Ferris wheel was set off in the background with nothing but rides, roller coasters and game tents in between. It was totally not what I expected, but a nice addition.

The first thing that we had to do was go over to the Hofbrauhaus beer hall. Hofbrauhaus is the name that most people equate with Munich and Oktoberfest, so it seemed like the logical step. Each beer tent was relatively empty, with the exception of the random onlookers trying to get a behind the scenes peek at the going ons of Oktoberfest. They were also not allowed to sell any beer until the next when the Mayor was going to tap the first keg at 12. Each of these beer tents is something like a football (American) field long with hundreds of picnic tables jammed in there and a couple dozen more scattered about outside. The ceilings in each place are decorated in a unique style that full represents that atmosphere that that specific beer hall has to offer. Some ceilings are covered in clouds and blue skies while others focus more on lighting and ambiance and like the crowd dictate what the atmosphere should be. It was a really cool sight to see. The most disturbing sight was the corner of the Hofbrauhaus with all of its clean glasses stacked floor to ceiling waiting to be filled with liter upon liter of beer as drunken crowds clink them and even try to liberate them. It actually hurt the liver to just see that.

Realizing that we had really experienced all that Oktoberfest had to offer on the day before the actual party, we headed out of the park for a drink and some exploration of Munich. I mean, there has to be more to Munich than just Oktoberfest, right?

After a quick siesta over at our hotel, we prepared ourselves for the mayhem that the evening was undoubtedly going to bring. Heading back over to Theresenwiese, we realized exactly what nighttime at Oktoberfest might mean; drunk milk maids and guys in lader housens screaming their heads off. But we were prepared. However, upon entering the park, and seeing that damned spinning ride we took earlier, our main concern was finding a beer tent that was open and available.

Having heard about Oktoberfest and Munich for the last couple of years, the Hofbrauhaus has, of course, been my main draw about this place. Almost like my holy grail of beer halls. So as we fought our way through the crowds of drunks and onlookers staring at the death defying riders, we saw that the Hofbrauhaus line was longer than early that day. But, along our trail, we noticed a line for a beer tent that was rather short, so we scurried through the hoards of people; we finally arrived at the line.

The Ochsenbraterei beer tent, or the Spatan beer tent, was line that we had fought to get to and when we got there, I felt as if I was transformed back to the 1970s in Manhattan. The line was something right out of Studio 54. People were screaming at the guards who were enjoying themselves on their own little power trip of who enters and who doesn’t. Every time a spot became free in the tent, they would look over the crowd and the people waiting went into a somewhat feeding frenzy, pushing, shoving, yelling, and screaming until they were noticed and allowed to enter. After about an hour and a half (I know!), just as we were getting ready to leave, the guard pointed our way and allowed us enter the world we had only been able to see through the doorway some thirty feet in front of us.

Upon entering the cloud of smoke and raucous sounds, we were ushered to our table by our waiter, placed at a large picnic table with 5 Germans we didn’t know and prepared for our evening. The waiter said he would be right back with our beers and we started by introducing ourselves to our neighbors at our table. Luckily, for us, they were very nice and took us under their wings and explained the going ons. We entered the mayhem when the band was taking a break, so finding our seats and assessing our surrounding was rather easy.

After our first sip, the band seemed to be aware that we were there and immediately got back on stage. Now, I don’t really know any German songs, but the one that I do know (99 Red Balloons) had just been played, so the band tore into a new set and ripped the roof off. We were immediately instructed to stand up and dance on our table and sing and scream, so we did. This place felt like a high school cafeteria that had an open bar and a food fight all at the same time. After a couple of songs and two 8 euros beers each, we were in desperate need of food, otherwise, the night would turn down an ugly path. Luckily, for us, there were people strolling by selling things and we went straight for the giant pretzel for 4 euros. The whole place was a bit pricey, but totally worth it.

Our neighbors, who had been there since 9am (at this point it was 9pm) had told us that they were heading home and that the tents closed at 11pm and that we should leave a little early to avoid the heart of the crowd. As we said our good byes, a new group of people emerged and, low and behold, they were Americans. We immediately struck up a rapport with them and partied with them the rest of the evening. One kid had the best shirt on every; An awkward morning beats a boring night. So he became our new friend.

After our third liter of beer, it was time to go. So we packed up our sh@t, said our good byes and headed off to the U-Bahn. The train was just like the beer tent, smoky, reeking of beer, and loud. It was such a show to see, that just seeing that was fun enough. For us, finding our way home was an adventure all in its own because of how strong

After a night of partying with some people we had met at dinner, we were supposed to meet them at 9am at the Hofbrauhaus, but since our hangovers deterred us from that, we decided to watch the opening ceremony. The main strip of beer tents was roped off and hoards of people were eagerly awaiting the start of Oktoberfest.

As the clock neared 12 noon, the police stopped people from walking around the roped off section and the party was about to begin. Then, off in the horizon, horse drawn carriages started to head down the street with scores of people dangling off the sides and back, waving and taking pictures of the crowd as tons of onlookers waved back and took their own pictures.

We were lucky enough to situate ourselves very close to the intersection of the parade route, allowing the maximum amount of viewing. Unfortunately, there was this woman next to me who was edging through the crowds, causing my viewing area to shrink and making my camera bounce. Even when she finally rushed her way to the front, she was still unsatisfied because there was a police officer in her way.

Anyway, as the carriages made their way into my view, I noticed that they were the specific brewery’s carriages. Meaning, there was a Hofbrauhaus carriage, a Spatan carriage, a Lowenbrau carriage, etc. The names of breweries were spelled out on old wooden beer barrels. It was really cool. All of the horses were decked out, and crapping everywhere, and the atmosphere was starting to get crazy. Then at 12 noon, the mayor of Munich came out, did his little wave to the crowd and tapped the first keg, officially starting the Oktoberfest festivities. Then, 16 fireworks were sent off into the air to signify the 16 days that the festival would be going on.

But now, it was the universal time to start drinking and getting crazy. As we headed over to the tents, though, the crowds so long that drinking there meant waiting at least 4 hours for a spot, so we decided to head off to the carnival part and enjoy that. I mean, we had all night to get crazy, maybe the day should be spent doing the carnival and then head home for a siesta so we could be prepped and ready for the evening. And that’s just what we did.

After the loud crack of the 16 fireworks, we headed straight off for the beer tents. Unfortunately, so did everyone else so we decided to go for a walk around the carnival area. On our way over to the party, we realized that the best course of action would be a quick bit to eat, walk around and then head over to the beer tents to see what the crowd was like. Instead of a large, heavy meal, we went for a snack and a soda, just to prime the stomach. Almost immediately, we found a food stand selling pomme frites (french fries with either ketchup or mayo).

While we were waiting for our fries, there was actually a woman (an American from the south, by the sounds of it) who asked the woman behind the counter where you get beer at Oktoberfest! Not only did you have to go out of your way to find a sober area but it was almost impossible to not find beer anywhere within a 20 feet radius from wherever you are standing. The question broad sided the woman behind the counter and the lady asking started to become irate. She thought that the woman behind the counter was being rude when in actuality, the one asking the question had just asked a stupid question and it took all by surprise.

After the debacle of the question and the waiting for the fries, our food was finally done so we decided to enjoy them in the shade and watch the idiots on the free fall ride where it brings you up something like 30 stories and then drops you. The fries, which were so hot it was crazy, were amazing, but they went fast, so off we went on our tour of the Oktoberfest carnival.

One of the rides that we both wanted to do was the new version of the tea cup ride at Disney. You know the one where you spin around in a chair for two on a giant disc. The ride was 3 euros each, a bit steep but totally worth it. I thought that this ride would be a quick 1 minute or so, but I was quickly mistaken. The ride lasted almost 4 minutes, causing my pomme frites and soda to spin so much I thought I was going to lose it. After the possessed machine finally stopped, I was extremely dizzy and my insides were way off.

Because of that blasted ride, we had to head home and take a nap to relax the insides for the evening’s festivities. I mean, it’s Oktoberfest! How can we not drink? So, we headed back to the hotel and the night would soon be on us and we needed to be ready.