Everything You Need to Know About Oktoberfest
BY DAVE (and sarah).
The first thing to know is that Oktoberfest is mostly in September, but you probably knew that from your European edition of Trivial Pursuit. We were prepared for that one. We were not as prepared for just how much dang fun it would be. Good, clean (ok, drunken), fun. Here's what our experiences were like:
Matt and Lindsey visited September 16-19th - they actually wanted to come the preceding weekend but due to some other scheduling logistics we made them come for the opening weekend of Oktoberfest. In my usual way, I was nervous about crowds, so I made everyone get up early, eat a big breakfast, and then hurry out of the house to make it there by 10am. Mind you, no beer is served til noon. But, getting a seat inside a "tent" supposedly requires showing up early (some websites said we had to get there by 6am!).
With our newly minted costumes on (see photos below), we left for the "long" walk from our apartment to the Oktoberfest site. 13 minutes later, we were there - yes, we can see (barely) and hear (faintly) the Oktoberfest festivities from our house....the same site that's been used since the early 1800s is only a mile away!
First impression: wow, big. Second impression: wow, the carnival scene is huge. Third impression: Sarah, Lindsey, and Matt are very aware at how much I'm hurrying us to find a "tent" and moving us along. Fourth impression: wow, lots of people fit inside these this "tent!"
So let's break that down:
The site is about 3 square blocks of concrete. And it's a carnival, with some serious rides, theme park games, and junk food stands everywhere. At least half, if not more, of the surface area is devoted to these non-bier purposes.
The rest of the surface area is made of what you by now have noticed are not actually "tents". They are impressive, multi-story, wooden semi-permanent structures that take 3 months to build and 1 month to take down. Each one is massive; there is nothing tent-like about them.
Each "tent" has a different theme, though, spoiler alert, we couldn't really tell much of a difference between them. With S, L, & M playing along with my determination, in we went to Hacker-Pshorr; no, we hadn't heard of it either. Now, we have to find a seat. There are ~620 tables fitting 10 people each, and darn near every table was full. We stroll up and down the aisles, and finally we spot an opening -- a table with only 5 people. I run over and ask in broken German if we can have a seat. With a Boston accent, they said, "totally!"
So, what do you do for the 2 hours of waiting for beer? Wish you brought a deck of cards. Short of that, download that Taboo-like game for your iphone. Wait... the Oktoberfest thing to do is make friends with Team Boston next to you. And then, at 11:45am when the server comes around to take your beer order, start getting excited.
At 12 on the dot, the parade comes into the "tent" with all sorts of pomp. Officials are carrying flags, people are cheering, and the MC speaks in a German that I swear was some other language. By 12:15, we hit the jackpot: our waitress carries 8 beers, a liter each in heavy glasses (many servers can carry all 10 for a table, but we liked our lady even if she could only manage 8).
Soon after that, the music starts. First, trumpets on the balcony. And then a lively horn band with a German singer. Not long after, these guys with 10 yard long whips stand about 5 tables apart from each other, and whip their whips above drinking patrons. Weird, but fun and cool.
By about 1pm, the whole place feels drunk. But they aren't (yet) - it's just that the energy is infectious. The pretzels are huge, the music is fun, and when you have 6000+ people smiling, you can't help but do the same. It doesn't take long before Team Boston becomes your best friends - making friends with your table-mates is part of the Oktoberfest allure.
The Oktoberfest beer is a special brew made just for this time of year. It doesn't taste anything like the Octoberfest brews from the States, which come much darker in color and with sweet notes of Fall. These are a Märzen variety, just a little golden, full bodied and crisp. And typically around 6%.
One beer turned into two. And somehow two turned into three. Another pretzel was ordered. And despite having an extensive food menu, a third pretzel and a pickle was ordered. For those of you doing math at home, 3 liters of 6% beer demands more than 3/4 of a pretzel per person, but we somehow forgot to order anything else. Needless to say, the walk home is a bit hazy. But the fun is crystal clear.
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Two weeks later, Uncle Peter and Aunt Donna are in town with the sole purpose of seeing what Oktoberfest is all about (not really, but at least in part). They go by themselves within 2 hours of landing in Munich (I'm away on a work trip and Sarah is working). A couple days later, it's time for us to go back. Peter and Donna went first and scored a seat at Löwenbrau, where we met them there a couple hours later. And we can't help but enjoy ourselves again.
One downside of Oktoberfest is the crowds. But one upside of Oktoberfest is the crowds! They make sure every single seat is filled at each of the 10-person tables, so that means you're always sharing with strangers... and ultimately making friends.
Reserving tables is a 'thing': like the Super Bowl, most seats are reserved by businesses. My company doesn't do this (remember, it's a French company), but we understand that almost all others do. So, after two beers of good conversation with our new friends (one tablemate was a German woman who was texting her daughter about how good looking our other tablemates were, who happened to be 3 Italian policemen), we were booted out for a reservation that was coming. Out on the grounds of Oktoberfest, on a beautiful day, we could really see all of the revelers in full swag. It seems like at least 80% were dressed up, just adding to the festive nature. We were definitely not out of place in our garb.
We weren't ready to leave yet, so after walking around some, we were on the hunt for another "tent", and boy did we find a good one. Spaten was not my favorite beer before, but it is now. The tent itself is famous for it's Ox dishes (its "theme"); lucky for Sarah, she didn't see the rotating ox slow-cooker out back. But because of this fame for its meat, the locales were in full force here. We were concerned we wouldn't get a table, but within 3 minutes, a server led us to seats right under the band. Score! Our table averaged Donna/Peter's age, and by the middle of our third beer for the day, all four of us were on on the chairs dancing, like locals. Even Peter got on his chair to dance!
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The last night of Peter/Donna's trip coincided with the last night of Oktoberfest (which lasts 2.5 weeks). Despite being a school night, Peter wanted one! last! bier! Who knew he was such a party animal?! Poor Sarah was stuck in work meetings so the rest of us had to abide by Peter's wish. A few hours later, at a late dinner, Peter cheerfully recounted the 3 decisions that were done very well that night: 1) to go to back to Oktoberfest in the first place (Peter's choice), 2) to pick the Augustiner tent (Dave's choice), and 3) to find the best seats in the house (Donna's doing). Even though we only had one beer, we found ourselves unable to resist climbing onto our chairs, one more time, to dance along with everyone else - check it out the party below (no sound available)
A HUGE thanks to Lindsey & Matt and Peter & Donna for traveling thousands of miles to come visit and see our life here in Munich. It was really fun to share such a cultural, very-German experience with you. Pictures of our amazingly-easy, so-awesome-they-came guests and some other scenes from our few days at Oktoberfest:
