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Published: September 25th 2011
This amazing tradition started back in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of prince Ludwig I and princess Therese. Everyone enjoyed the celebration so much they decided to continue it every year and now 201 years later we are still celebrating. Oktoberfest is surprisingly mostly in September because the weather is better. They can still legitimately call it Oktoberfest though, because it will always end on the first Sunday of October. Today, Oktoberfest is known as the world's largest festival. This year there were 14 tents for people to enjoy. Now, when you think tent, this is not your typical festival tent...no, no... these are more like temporary buildings that hold thousands of people at one time! and there are 14 of them!!!! This is just to give you some sort of scope on the scale of this thing called Oktoberfest. There are also plentiful food stands, souvenir stands, and rides. One Liter of beer will typically cost you 9 Euros and about 7 million liters are consumed every year!! That's 63 million Euros in three weeks!! All the beer that is sold come from local breweries in the Munich area. Stay local! 😊
Now, my experience of Oktoberfest was very
interesting. I am very lucky to have a cousin who lives in Munich. This is where I was able to kill two birds with one stone! I got to see my cousin AND hang out with her at Oktoberfest. Not bad if you ask me! That Saturday was a busy one for me. I first headed to Nuremberg to meet up with my good friend Audrey's mom. Her mom, Amy, is one of the sweetest women I've ever met. We each made time for each other to have a very nice breakfast in the city. Then after our cute breakfast, I met up with a friend in Nuremberg and did a day of sightseeing. After a day in Nuremberg I made my way to Munich making good use of my Bavarian train pass (cost = 21 Euros). This pass allows you to travel within Bavaria limitless for a day. I arrived Oktoberfest for the opening night and 5 minutes within entering "the wiesen" (the field) it began to pour!! Naturally all the tents were full and we were left to find shelter alongside the buildings. There we witnessed tons of very drunk Oktoberfest attendees running around trying to find shelter.
Rain!
it poured rain the first night of Oktoberfest! The tents were full and we had to find shelter next to buildings. Drunk people tried to get under our umbrellas, it was hilarious!Some even tried to huddle under our umbrellas! One patron even decided to go for a swim in a massive puddle. It was a sight to see!
After enjoying one cola/beer (yes you can mix 'em and it tastes great!) we walked around some more and then headed home. It was too cold and wet to try and ride rides or hangout some more. It was a great start for the next day. Sunday, the next day, was also rainy and slightly colder at 9 Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit). Jenny and Chris cooked up a traditional Bavarian breakfast that I had not been brave enough till now to try, weisswurst and pretzels. The pretzels are no problem but the weisswurst (white wurst) is a bit different. Like the name hints, it's a wurst that is white in color. Not too eye-pleasing and before you eat a weisswurst you have to peal off it's skin. I was up to finally trying it and it was pretty good. A great way to start off a Bavarian kind of day and it doesn't get more Bavarian than weisswurst, pretzels, beer, and Oktoberfest!
After breakfast, Jenny (my cousin) and I went on
Going for a swim!
This drunk Oktoberfest attendee decided to go for a swim in a massive puddle! Why not?! we were all soaked anyway! a city hop on hop off tour. We never hopped on or off b/c of the weather but were still able to see what Munich has to offer. I've done a walking tour of the Altstadt of Munich but this tour consisted of everything surrounding that, so it all was new to me. The tour included the BMW world museum, the Olympic Park, Palace of Nymphenburg, amongst other things. Just so you know, Munich is the most expensive city in Germany to live in!
After our bus tour we headed back to the "wiesen" to meet up with Chris, Jenny's boyfriend. We managed to find a table in a tent! Our tablemates were from the States as well! The guy right next to me was from Buffalo, NY. I had to tell him how I was just there helping my best friend move and how much I really liked it. He told me, "you haven't seen the winter there!"
I was so excited to finally be inside a tent. The night before you could look through the windows and see people singing, dancing on tables, and drinking their beer. It was such a tease! Another thing about Oktoberfest
Biggest fest in the world!
Never knew just how many rides, tents, and vendors there are at Oktoberfest! it's outstanding! is that 90% of patrons are wearing the traditional Bavarian dress, Drindl and Lederhosen!! It's so fun seeing so many people wearing this. I really wished I would have thought to have brought my own! Next time I'll know better. It was one thing to peer through the windows and seeing people dancing on the tables but to be inside and see the amount of people on top of the tables singing the traditional fest songs was astounding! It's amazing that the tables and benches can hold them all!
We bounced around to two other tents throughout the day. I had a total of 3 1/2 liters of radler beer, sharing the last one with my cousin. Not bad considering the cost and size of these beers. After our time in the tent we decided to ride a roller coaster and the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel was really tall and at night gave a wonderful view of the Oktoberfest grounds. I suggest going on the ferris wheel if you decide to go to Oktoberfest. I've never rode a rollar coaster after drinking before and that was really a trip! After every loop I had to shake my head
Old fashioned merry-go-round
This merry-go-round had a live folk band playing as the ride turned and turned! so neat! a little to get re-orientated. It was really fun and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. I say that this trip to Oktoberfest was a win. I can tell that Oktoberfest has many different faces and your experience really will depend on the company you have while there. On my last day in Munich, I decided to go for a walk around the "wiesen" one last time before I caught the train to Nuremberg. Wandering alone gives Oktoberfest a whole new perspective. While I was wondering though, I ran into 3 different school groups on a field trip! Wish I went to school in Munich to have a chance to go to Oktoberfest during school! Lucky kids!
I can not wait to go back to Oktoberfest!! Let's start planning for next year! Who's in?!
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Calvin M. Fowle
non-member comment
Nice
We enjoyed your blog and pictures of Octoberfest! Love, Dad & Mom