Bucket List Trip: Munich's Oktoberfest
I'll admit that Munich's Oktoberfest was never on my bucket list. It was, however, on Mr. UR's. Long ago he was in Germany for a business trip and just missed out on attending Oktoberfest by a day. He always wanted to go back. So after talking about it several times we decided that it was time to go. I schemed up a European Road Trip - flying into Geneva and driving to Lake Garda, a side trip to Venice, a drive north to Munich for Oktoberfest and then a leisurely drive back through Switzerland with a stop at yummy Lauterbrunnen. I couldn't have been more excited - except for the Oktoberfest part. That was probably at the bottom of the list. But read on to find out how I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the entire day at the world's largest beer festival, even the beer.
The History of Oktoberfest Oktoberfest started way back in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony. The festivities lasted five days and all the residents of Munich were invited. Fast forward a few hundred years and it is now a two week celebration with 7 million people from around the world attending - we met folks from Greece, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA - and they drink about 1 million gallons of beer. That's right, one million!
Where we Stayed We booked a hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Munich City West, which was perfect for our two night stay. There was paid parking available at the hotel, breakfast was included and most importantly, it was located right next to the train station so we could hop on and go about four stops to walk to the Theresenwiese grounds. (We did struggle a bit to buy the train tickets as the ticket center was only in German - or at least, we couldn't find an English option) We arrived the evening before, parked the car and asked for dining options near the hotel. They suggested a walk to the Hirschgarten beer garden about 15 minutes away. Which turned out to be my very favorite place in Munich - I highly recommend a visit here if you're in this part of the city.
Oktoberfest! The next morning we fueled up at the provided breakfast, donned our leiderhosen and dirndl's and made our way to the fairgrounds for our first Oktoberfest experience. We had picked a midweek visit and chose to go early in the day to avoid making tent reservations and large crowds. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day as we followed all the people towards the entrance. There were couples holding hands, a few parents with their kids, traditionally dressed Germans, Amazon dressed tourists, groups of girls and guys on a day out and even some older folk who had probably been coming since they were kids.
Our first tent We had no idea what to expect as we walked into our first tent, the Hacker-Pschorr tent, which we randomly picked, and saw that it was full. The band was playing and a server found a table for us right away. Ironically, our table mates were from Baltimore and this was their first visit too. My friend and I, who aren't big fans of beer, started with a radler - beer mixed with sprite. We listened to the music enjoying our beers, or radlers, and then decided to mosey on to the next tent.
The Lowenbrau tent We easily found a table at our next tent, Lowenbrau, and stayed for a few hours. Our table mates were a couple from South Africa and two young Kiwi's who were traveling around the world. And behind us was a group of young guys from San Diego who seemed to be having the time of their lives. We enjoyed a lunch of brats, sauerkraut and german potato salad but made the switch to beer as the radler was just too sweet. Things were starting to get rowdier and a few were maintaining the tradition of standing on the table and chugging their beer in one fell swoop. To prove they were finished they turned the beer glass over their head to the applause of the whole tent.
The Paulaner Tent It was time to move on again to what was my favorite tent of the day. By the time we arrived to the Paulaner tent, it was rocking and many were feeling no pain. It was a little more difficult to find a table and this time we were sharing with a couple from Greece. Behind us were Australian and American college students and the winner for the most fun Oktoberfester's we met - a group of five guys from Switzerland who were on a guys trip. So much revelry - lots of singing ( did you know that two of the most popular songs are Country Roads and Sweet Caroline?), dancing on tables (which is strongly discouraged) and of course, beer drinking.
We finally left around 7:30 pm - it was time to get some dinner and make our way back to the train. After sandwiches for some and nutella crepes for others, we started our walk through the fairgrounds. And Oktoberfest provided a most beautiful sunset to enjoy that walk.
An Enjoyable Day In all we were there from around 11am to 8pm, enjoyed three tents, countless beers, lunch and dinner and a walk around the fairgrounds. Oktoberfest went from being my least anticipated segment of the trip to one of the most fun days ever. I'd go back in a heartbeat! In fact, I think I'll start planning it now.
How about you? Have you been to Oktoberfest? Is it on your bucket list?
Read other posts about our European Road Trip:
A Drive From France to Italy Through the French Alps
Experiencing the Charm of Bolzano Italy
Visiting Venice: A Long Time Travel Wish Comes True
September Beach of the Month: Lake Garda, Italy
Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and Faraway Files at Oregon Girl Around the World!
The History of Oktoberfest Oktoberfest started way back in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony. The festivities lasted five days and all the residents of Munich were invited. Fast forward a few hundred years and it is now a two week celebration with 7 million people from around the world attending - we met folks from Greece, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA - and they drink about 1 million gallons of beer. That's right, one million!
Where we Stayed We booked a hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Munich City West, which was perfect for our two night stay. There was paid parking available at the hotel, breakfast was included and most importantly, it was located right next to the train station so we could hop on and go about four stops to walk to the Theresenwiese grounds. (We did struggle a bit to buy the train tickets as the ticket center was only in German - or at least, we couldn't find an English option) We arrived the evening before, parked the car and asked for dining options near the hotel. They suggested a walk to the Hirschgarten beer garden about 15 minutes away. Which turned out to be my very favorite place in Munich - I highly recommend a visit here if you're in this part of the city.
Oktoberfest! The next morning we fueled up at the provided breakfast, donned our leiderhosen and dirndl's and made our way to the fairgrounds for our first Oktoberfest experience. We had picked a midweek visit and chose to go early in the day to avoid making tent reservations and large crowds. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day as we followed all the people towards the entrance. There were couples holding hands, a few parents with their kids, traditionally dressed Germans, Amazon dressed tourists, groups of girls and guys on a day out and even some older folk who had probably been coming since they were kids.
Our first tent We had no idea what to expect as we walked into our first tent, the Hacker-Pschorr tent, which we randomly picked, and saw that it was full. The band was playing and a server found a table for us right away. Ironically, our table mates were from Baltimore and this was their first visit too. My friend and I, who aren't big fans of beer, started with a radler - beer mixed with sprite. We listened to the music enjoying our beers, or radlers, and then decided to mosey on to the next tent.
The Lowenbrau tent We easily found a table at our next tent, Lowenbrau, and stayed for a few hours. Our table mates were a couple from South Africa and two young Kiwi's who were traveling around the world. And behind us was a group of young guys from San Diego who seemed to be having the time of their lives. We enjoyed a lunch of brats, sauerkraut and german potato salad but made the switch to beer as the radler was just too sweet. Things were starting to get rowdier and a few were maintaining the tradition of standing on the table and chugging their beer in one fell swoop. To prove they were finished they turned the beer glass over their head to the applause of the whole tent.
The Paulaner Tent It was time to move on again to what was my favorite tent of the day. By the time we arrived to the Paulaner tent, it was rocking and many were feeling no pain. It was a little more difficult to find a table and this time we were sharing with a couple from Greece. Behind us were Australian and American college students and the winner for the most fun Oktoberfester's we met - a group of five guys from Switzerland who were on a guys trip. So much revelry - lots of singing ( did you know that two of the most popular songs are Country Roads and Sweet Caroline?), dancing on tables (which is strongly discouraged) and of course, beer drinking.
We finally left around 7:30 pm - it was time to get some dinner and make our way back to the train. After sandwiches for some and nutella crepes for others, we started our walk through the fairgrounds. And Oktoberfest provided a most beautiful sunset to enjoy that walk.
An Enjoyable Day In all we were there from around 11am to 8pm, enjoyed three tents, countless beers, lunch and dinner and a walk around the fairgrounds. Oktoberfest went from being my least anticipated segment of the trip to one of the most fun days ever. I'd go back in a heartbeat! In fact, I think I'll start planning it now.
How about you? Have you been to Oktoberfest? Is it on your bucket list?
Read other posts about our European Road Trip:
A Drive From France to Italy Through the French Alps
Experiencing the Charm of Bolzano Italy
Visiting Venice: A Long Time Travel Wish Comes True
September Beach of the Month: Lake Garda, Italy
Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and Faraway Files at Oregon Girl Around the World!
We went to Octoberfest in Berlin - smaller but so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to do some more Oktoberfest's or May Fest's in other areas, too. And some Christmas Markets. I've done a few of each here in the US but I'd like to try some in Europe. Thanks for stopping by, Lydia!
DeleteMy goodness, what a lot of fun! I never thought too much about it, either, but you might have changed my mind!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining us on 'My Corner of the World' this week!
My Corner of the World
So much fun! What a fantastic festival. Thanks for the link-up - and for stopping by, Betty!
DeleteIt looks like a fabulous day out. I like the mix of internationals you ran into. Hubby told me he also missed Oktoberfest by a day when he was in Munich
ReplyDeleteIt was fun meeting all the different people from around the world. And everyone is happy and in a good mood - they're drinking beer and on a day out. Thanks for visiting, Rhonda!
DeleteYou are looking so lovely in those dresses. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteIt great to see your photos and see what actually goes on. We've just signed up for an Oktoberfest here in Bangkok!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by! And enjoy your Oktoberfest in Bangkok!
DeleteHaha! What an experience - have not done it! I think the key is just to embrace the kitsch and enjoy it! I do enjoy German beer actually. I love the Hacker-Pschorr tent with the pretty clouds and blue sky! Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles. (And yes to yummy Lauterbrunnen - for sure!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Erin - and for the link-up!
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