Please visit Our Pics! to see more pictures from Oktoberfest, as well as our Berlin and Dublin picture from previous trips
Shortly after we finalized our plans to come to Germany, our good friend Ryan Biegen immediately claimed our guest bedroom for a trip in October. We told him that he might actually consider coming in September, as Oktoberfest actually begins in mid-September and ends in early-October. Soon after, his trip was booked.
Shortly after we finalized our plans to come to Germany, our good friend Ryan Biegen immediately claimed our guest bedroom for a trip in October. We told him that he might actually consider coming in September, as Oktoberfest actually begins in mid-September and ends in early-October. Soon after, his trip was booked.
The three of us at Oktoberfest
On our way to Munich, we stopped in a mid-sized city named Würzburg. It is best known for its Residence Palace, which was the home of the famed Prince-Bishops. It also features a fortress up on a hill, and a picturesque bridge linking it to the city center. We all agreed that drinking a glass of wine on the bridge from the nearby restaurant and taking in the scenery was the highlight of the city.
Fortress on the hill. Note the vineyard on the way up!
Hotels, and the whole city in general, are very expensive during Oktoberfest. Places to stay are usually 5-6 times more expensive as 6 million tourists descend upon the city for the event. Deanna spent a night in Munich visiting her sister & brother-in-law earlier this year, and stayed at a nice hostel near the train station, so we booked the same place for this trip. When she stayed in the spring, it was just 15 euros per person per night, but during Oktoberfest it rose to 65 euros per person per night. It also has to be booked many months in advance, and sells out very quickly once reservations are made available.
Town Hall in Munich. The Glockenspiel happens in the middle section
Before we headed over to Oktoberfest, we did some sightseeing in Munich. The renowned Glockenspiel is a “reenactment” of a joust and a wedding ceremony. This playful song and dance takes place on the side of the Town Hall building which faces the main city square, Marienplatz. The highlight of this event, which is unfortunately somewhat boring, is to hear the gasp from the audience as the “joust” finally occurs. Other highlights included the Jewish museum, and eating Kosher at the nearby restaurant, Einstein. This is a play on words, in German Ein Stein means “one Stone”, and the museum and restaurant are constructed from Jerusalem stone. The food was quite good, and the waiter gave us valuable advice on which tents to enter and avoid during the Oktoberfest. We also walked up the tower of a nearby church to get a great view of the city-- some 300 or so steps. Our final excursion was out to the site of the 1972 Olympic games, now called Olympic Park. The architecture is still stunning to this day. We also walked around Olympic Village and found the building that housed the Israeli athletes who were killed in that tragic event.
Olympic Park from the Olympic Tower
After sightseeing was over, it was finally time to visit the reason we were there… Oktoberfest! The first night, we took the opportunity to visit as many of the tents as we could, and scope out where we wanted to go the next day. After about 3pm, it becomes very difficult to find a seat -- and that is for weekdays! On a Saturday, you have to show up around 7am to secure an unreserved table. Oktoberfest has about 16 tents, which hold around 5,000 people in each tent. "Tent" is really a misleading term, as these structures are much larger than most buildings, and take 2 months to construct and another month to tear down. The tents close when there are too many people inside, and only re-open when enough people have left. We were there on a Monday, and still several of the tents were closed to walk into.
Outside of a tent
Inside a tent
After exploring the beer tents, and taking a quick refreshment stop in the Augustiner Beer Garden, we visited the other half of Oktoberfest -- the carnival. We first went up in the Ferris Wheel, which gave this spectacular view of Oktoberfest at night:
View from the top
Then we walked around the fair. First, Kevin bought Deanna a heart shaped cookie, actually Lebkuchen, which sports the phrase Ich liebe dich (I love you, in German). Then, we saw the roller coaster themed after the Olympics, with the Olympic rings. Next, we stumbled upon a fun house, which had a group of people standing and watching. Curious, we stood as well, and found out the reason. The operator has a button which blows a strong burst of air from the ground, and with all of the girls wearing their dirndls (the traditional Bavarian dress), well, imagine the famous Marilyn Monroe picture. After some laughs from that, we continued walking and came across a haunted house. The guy standing on the roof had a giant spider attached to a fishing pole, and he could throw it some 50 meters and have it dangle in front of unsuspecting pedestrians, getting quite a few good scares for some more free entertainment. The other interesting part of the fair was the Teufelsrad (devil’s wheel). This “ride” dates back to the early 1900s, and from the outside, it is unclear what is going on. The building is constructed in a way that you can see the audience intently watching and cheering, but can’t see what is happening in the middle. Naturally, we went in (for a nominal entrance fee). Inside was a rotating wheel, a curved platform. The goal of the game is to stay on the platform as long as possible, but as time goes on, the speed increases which send people flying off the wheel. Later, obstacles are introduced to up the entertainment value.
Tuesday was the day planned for Oktoberfest drinking. As mentioned earlier, the tents fill up pretty quick. We first stopped for a beer inside the Hippodrom, a festive tent filled with bright colors. The real fun of Oktoberfest is the atmosphere and getting to know new people at your table. Germans can sometimes come off cold and distant, but that is definitely not the case during Oktoberfest. At the Hippodrom, we sat next to some nice ladies from Switzerland, with whom we could practice our German skills, and Ryan could show off his French. Of course, they also spoke English, and if that wasn’t enough, also Italian.
At about 1:30pm, we left that tent, took a quick stroll through Kafer, the VIP tent, and settled at our final resting place, the Shutzenfestzelt. We found a place to sit, even though it was already quite crowded, next to some nice gentleman from the Netherlands. The younger of the two had an ambitious goal: 10 liters of beer on that day. At 2pm, he had already made his way through 5, although the effects were clearly showing their signs. A 6th beer was ordered, and on one of his bathroom breaks, he simply never came back.
Let's blame the finger on the drinking
At around 6pm, the place really starts rocking as the band gets louder and everyone climbs up on the benches and begins to sing and dance to all of the songs. The songs are a good mix of German classics and well-known American songs. Our friendly table was more than willing to help us learn the German tunes. Deanna drank a whole liter of beer (called a maß) by herself before switching over to Radlers, which are a combination of beer and sprite -- pretty popular here. Kevin and Ryan can’t specifically calculate how much beer they drank, but let’s just say it was enough. It is also very important to soak it all up with plenty of food. We indulged in the most popular food at the event, a half roasted chicken. It really is quite something to see the waitresses walk down crowded corridors with a tray of 10 chickens, or carrying 10 or more beers while deftly pushing drunken people out of the way.
The next morning, we took a sobering trip to Dachau. There lies the concentration camp memorial. It is best known as it was the very first concentration camp, and the entrance gate has the chilling phrase Arbeit Macht Frei (work brings freedom). We followed a self guided audio tour which led us through the entire grounds and the recently constructed religious memorials. While we are all familiar with the history and the stories, it really is quite powerful to see it all first hand.
We spent the final night of our trip in the small romantic town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Still enclosed in the city walls, each street in this town deserves to have a painting made of it. Like most cities in Germany, Rotherburg did encounter heavy damage in WWII. Only due to the actions of a US general was the city spared further damage. An agreement was made to surrender the city without a fight so that the city could be saved. The highlight of this city is the Night Watchman's tour, which leads a group through the city and enlightens the group on some of the town’s history.
All in all, Ryan’s visit was a fantastic experience, we had a blast, and we had the opportunity to visit these cities, and Oktoberfest, that we might not have otherwise done. We look forward to those who would like to follow in his footsteps!
