I am finally getting around to writing about our actual Oktoberfest experience. We went a few times, so I will write about each visit in different sections… but that means this might be a long one. Random note – Word autocorrected butthat to butt hat… instead of but that.
Day 1 of Oktoberfest – Opening Parade (9/22)
The whole shebang started off with the Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries. That is a big name for a parade that starts near Sendlinger Tor and ends at the Oktoberfest grounds – Theresienwiese. Basically all the official Oktoberfest breweries with their horse-drawn carriages, the various Oktoberfest bands, and other floats, parade into Theresienwiese to kick off the official start of the Wies’n.
The thing started at 10:45, and after looking at pictures from Ellen’s previous trip a few years back to watch the parade (all really great shots of the back of a shirt – she didn’t have a great view), we decided to head down about an hour early. The weather wasn’t the best, but I think that helped us nab a choice spot – one where the curb juts out into the street a bit so we could try to do a bit better than Ellen’s photos. Not that they aren’t great shots of a shirt!
As we are waiting, and the streets cleared, the parade begins!
Ok, not actually. But this guy in tiny lederhosen did walk his two tiny dogs down the parade route, garnering applause as he went by. You’ll have to trust me that there were two dogs, because I only caught one in my picture. The parade actually began with some cops on horses, and since I assume most people don’t need a parade play-by-play, I will just throw in a few of my favorite pics.
As the last float went by, we noticed people started to jump into the street and follow the parade route into the Wies’n. When in Rome…
Once we maneuvered the crowds and made it into the festival, we found ourselves right by the Flea Circus. And since there was no chance of getting into the beer tents (as people start to line up
really early on weekends), we figured this is a great way to initiate ourselves into the ways of Oktoberfest. I don’t want to give away all their secrets, so you just have to go see one yourself.
At this point the rain was really starting to come down. And since we could come back any day, we decided to grab some fair-food and call it a day.
Day 3 of Oktoberfest –Trying to make a dirndl work-appropriate (9/24)
One of the easiest ways to get into a tent in the evening is through work, as companies are able to get reservations much easier than the public. Intel Finance had 30 spots reserved for us in the Hofbräu Festzelt, and it came with 2 masses of beer (2 liters) and half a chicken. How could I pass that up? Not wanting to wear my dirndl all day during meetings (though seeing people dressed up at work during Oktoberfest isn’t crazy), I brought it with me and changed into it.
We arrived at 5pm, and this was my first time inside a tent – I was shocked at how un-tentlike these things are. I mean, when our seats are in the back balcony, I don’t think you can call it a tent.
Noah and I decided that he would come and join me when he got off work – and if he couldn’t get into the tent, I would just leave the work event and join him. When he arrived around 8pm, the front doors were closed. But using his clever science brain, he went in an exit and found me. And since there was plenty of room at our tables, he was able to order his first beer and help me with my chicken.
After he had first beer (and maybe the rest of my second), we bailed on the work party to find our friends Laura and Eddie – who were at Oktoberfest too with her family. Lo and behold, we meet them to find out that they
just got engaged – HOLLA!
After plenty of hugs and congratulations and such, we decided to see if the 6 of us (now including Laura’s sis/bro-in-law) could squeeze back in at our Intel tables. Lucky for us – a group of people were heading out and we got an entire table to ourselves. We stayed until 10:30 – when they close for the night – and Noah (as usual) made friends with a table of youngsters next to us. All in all – a successful first night out… too bad most of us had work the next day.
Day 5 of Oktoberfest –Oktoberfest during the day (9/26)
We decided that we would take off a weekday during the festival to avoid (some of) the crowds and really soak it all in. So we set off Wednesday morning to the Hackerbrau Festzelt – a tent we had heard good things. At 10:30am, we had our pick of the place, and settled down where the band would be. We had a nice Bavarian breakfast of sausages, pretzels, and beer, and watched as the tent filled in over the next hour.
After a few hours, we wanted to check out all the other tents, so we gave up our spots and headed out. To avoid duplicating posts, here is
the link to the blog post that shows every single tent. Some were much more impressive, others started to look alike. But I wouldn’t turn down a spot in any of them.
As we made it to the other end of the fair, we decided it was time for lunch and more beer. Many of the tables were reserved for the evening, but we found a tent where the reservations started at 5pm versus 4pm, which gave us an extra hour to sit and eat/drink. Though 5pm came quicker than expected, and before we knew it we were back on the fairgrounds walking around. We said hi to Bavaria, ate more fair-food (though my dirndl was running out of room for me to eat much more), and called it a day.
Day 8 of Oktoberfest – Friends! (9/29)
As the weekend approached, we had visitors arrive! Our friends Rhia and Brad even went and bought the traditional clothes, but I won’t slam Melissa for skipping out (she got enough of it during the visit). As they were targeting Saturday for their Oktoberfest visit, Noah and I sent them off with hopes that 3 people could get into a tent much easier than 5 (and we had already been 3 times). We would then join them later to tour the fair, and of course, get more fair-food. I think the fair-food > the beer for me... but maybe because I can get that beer any day? Or maybe because I am a sucker for delicious-but-bad-for-you food? I hope they don’t kick me out of Munich for saying that.
Anyways, Noah and I met the group later that afternoon.
We also rode our first ride – swings. Yeah, that sounds pretty basic and low key, but let me tell you, it was NOT. These swings took us waaaaaaaay up in the air and spun around so fast, I heard the boys squealing too. And since I am the writer of this post, they can’t argue with me. And we got some good views of the entire festival from our viewpoint a mile up.
Day 15 of Oktoberfest – Can’t a girl just get some fair-food to go? (10/6)
After our 4 visits, we decided we had our fair-share (pun intended) of Oktoberfest. However, I had not had my share of cinnamon-macadamia nuts. As we were heading out to watch Eddie’s soccer game, sorry, Fußball game, I had the bright idea to go get more macadamia nuts for the game.
I still stand by my decision, as they are freaking delicious, but we had to endure so many sloppy drunks, pushy crowds, medical personnel making their way to another passed out drunk, that we were glad we never went on a sunny weekend day. And this is 3pm!
But I was successful, bought 3 packs of nuts, and even though it took 5 minutes just to get down a flight of stairs to the train platform, I saw Noah enjoying the snacks too. Plus we got to see a group of passed out leprechauns along our route. Note to tourists/foreigners – this is so far from what traditional lederhosen look like, that you just look like Peter Pan in this, not a Bavarian.
So that sums up our 2012 Oktoberfest experience. Looking forward to 2013 – but at this point I am glad it is still a year away.
