Day 1
So we decided that day number one in Munich would not include the busiest day at Oktoberfest, instead we decided to watch the entry of the Wiesnwirte and then head to the Marienplatz to see some of Munich’s amazing architecture.
Dressing normally we headed towards the festival grounds and then to the parade route. After finding a place on the route that everyone was avoiding due to the sun exposure we watched an absolutely amazing parade. As Leah was saying the only motorized transport we saw were the fire trucks and the polizei. The number of well behaved draft horses was just amazing. I can’t even count how many floats we watched but it was mind blowing as I think it was over an hour of constant horses and brass bands.
After the parade we heading to the Marienplatz and walked to the Hofbrauhaus for food and drink. Finding a table in the central outdoor patio we ordered our first MaB (1 litre stein) and some wonderful food. The first couple that sat down with us from the US just outside of Seattle (they also don’t care for the orange gremlin) that were just wonderful to talk to. The atmosphere at the Hofbrauhaus was amazing with groups competing while singing on what seemed who could be the loudest.
Next we headed further into the Marienplatz where Leah found an Oktoberfest Museum, We arrived and there was a weird ticket booth at the entrance. We bought tickets and headed in and were immediately greeted by a tour guide that asked if we wanted the washroom, I know kinda weird. We then sat down at a table and the guy running the bar poured us a drink. After about 3 beers we asked if we could tour the museum to which we finally were told we could. The museum was amazing as it covered 4 floors of a very, very old building. After the tour we sat back down and the tour guide came over and challenged us to a game. We had to stack coasters on a schnapps glass, first person that knocks over a coaster buys a drink. Well I think our tour guide thought we would be a push over in the game, he was wrong and as you can see by the pictures I think we did quite well.
After a few more beers we headed back to the hotel and hit the hay getting ourselves ready for the next day of all the beer at the festival.
Day 2
The plan for today was to hit the festival and experience what Oktoberfest is all about. Leah got dressed in her dirndl and I decided to go with the Lederhosen today as we were expecting temperatures around 28. I have to say that Leah looks like a fucking delight in her dirndl.
After a quick breakfast we headed out on the S-bahn train to the stop before central station. This area was a little underwhelming and felt like it could be old soviet era with a hot riveted bridge and this crazy looking rail yard.
We didn’t have any trouble finding the Thresenweise, we just had to follow everyone dressed for the occasion. I had so idea of the scale but this is something that you need to see in person, this place is huge! We quickly decided on the Paulander Armbrustschutzenzelt tent and found a seat on the back wall. After about a 1/2 hour we were asked by four men from Finland if they could join our table. We were happy to oblige. One from the group, Marcus spoke really good English and as it was not his first time he was able to explain things to us. He really set the tone for the table. He taught us the Ein Prost song and its significance. These guys were a hoot to party with. I was able to purchase myself a traditional felt hat later in the day and the lovely lady selling it even grabbed me a great feather set to go with it.
4 o’clock rolled around and one of the Fins said they had a reservation in the Oide Wiesn at Boandlkramerei (one of the smaller tents), they invited us to join them. Marcus scooped up Leah as she had already become stumbley. This tent was quite a bit smaller than the first one but was still super impressive. After having who knows how many beers, Leah decided she needed to have a nap and slumped over on the bench. I ordered her a coffee and after her nap she awoke fully charged and ready to go. She headed onto the dance floor and this is where I was left unsupervised as my first mistake. My second mistake was I wanted to get some video of the dance floor so I decided to get up on the bench. Well that did not work too well as the bench tipped over and I think the back/side of my rib cage made contact with the edge. We can say it may be just bruising or it may be a break, all I can tell you is it hurts like hell.
After some additional beers and icing of the bruised area, we lost our Fin friends so we decided to head back to the hotel for some rest. I think this may have also been due to the tent had turned on their “get out of the bar lights” I guess it really was that late.
Day 3
Well I can tell you I was really feeling the injured area then next morning as well as how many beers and possibly the schnapps consumed the day before as well. We were both a little slow to start and decided that it would be best to sleep in.
After some much needed additional rest we headed back to the festival but this time at a little bit slower pace.
Today we wanted to scope out the grounds a little more before settling on a tent, making our way basically to the Ferris wheel and went for the Lowenbrau-Festzelt tent bier gardens to start. Leah ordered the spare ribs and I had veal meatballs with German potato salad. The food was fantastic but I would have to say not a huge fan of the beer or the fact that everyone was smoking around us. This was something that we have really taken note of, everyone here in Germany still smokes and it’s everywhere.
After having enough of the smokers we decided to head across the strip to what I believe is one of the biggest at the festival the Hacker-Festzelt tent. This this was huge and included multiple galleries and a huge central stage.
The atmosphere at this tent was quite different and we quickly asked a small group if we could join them and they obliged. The group we joined this time involved an uncle from Munich with his two nephews from Berlin that have never been and it showed. I watched the one nephew wander away to puke in a garbage can and come back almost refreshed.
The music in this tent was quite different with the band playing songs like Country Road, Sweet Caroline, Mama Mia, and even some Neil-freaking-Diamond. All this music made for a rowdy group that then had their fun spoiled by being at a reserved table and being well basically kicked out.
Leah and I decided that that was also our cue to walk the grounds and maybe buy some souvenirs then head back to the Marienplatz to find a good Bavarian restaurant, it did not take us long until we found the Augustiner Klosterwirt where we ordered a plater for two with pork knuckle, crispy pork shoulder, schnitzel, sausages, cabbage, warm potato salad and potato dumplings.
After finishing our supper we headed back to the hotel for some well deserved rest.
Day 4
Last day of Oktoberfest for us and I feel that we were starting get a good handle on how things work which was great as it just so happened that I was meeting up with a co-worker at the festival. We got onto the grounds around 10:30 and quickly decided on the Ochenbraterei tent. This one seemed to be pretty classy and this time we were smart and asked a server where we could sit and not get kicked out at 3:30 and she were happy to oblige. She showed us to a table and got chatty as the tent wasn’t full yet.
The first group to join us was my co-worker Angie with her husband and traveling friends. They had a beer with us and then because they were not intending on staying in Germany for too long, they decided to leave to explore. It was really great to see Angie half way across the world at a beer festival.
The next group to join us was a young group from Berlin. They sat down and had just a single beer and left. But they seemed to be nice. I went to the bathroom and apparently a group tried to poach the table from us. I go back and they looked at other options as I don’t think the tents like tables of greater than 10 people and when they saw the bearded Canadian come back to the table they left. We then ordered this platter of meats and cheeses, think German charcuterie platter. It was amazing with some wonderful sausages and all sorts of things I’ve never had.
That left us with an opening that two fellow North Americans scooped up from Chicago. Maygan and her fiancé Eric (I was too drunk and forgot his name). We had such a great time with them singing and chatting and of course drinking beer. I could tell that Meaghan was the type to maybe push the limits as she seemed pretty similar to Leah and the two of them hit it off right away.
Soon enough we decided that we had had enough beer and wanted to hit a few rides. The first was the Ferris wheel which was absolutely incredible. Second was the swing ride that takes you 70m above the fair grounds which was just amazing.
Of course that worked up our appetites and knowing that it would be quite hard to find a seat for four people we headed back to the Oide Weisn and quickly found a seat at one of the smaller tents. I had a sausage and sourkraut plate and we can’t seem to remember what Leah had (we were 6-7 MaB into the night by this time). After eating and not really feeling it in the smaller tent we as a group decided to head back out into the grounds. A couple of us had to use the facilities so we ducked into the Paulander tent and we ended losing our friends. Leah and I decided that while unfortunate it may have been for the best and headed back to the hotel for some well deserved sleep.
Keith and Leah's travel on 2 wheels 