This past weekend was a long weekend away from school, so we took a little trip. When we first saw the scheduled weekend last school year, we noticed that it aligned with opening weekend of Oktoberfest in Germany. It seemed like a crazy idea to go, but we didn't know if our holidays would match up again, nor do we know where we will be after our time in South Africa and whether Oktoberfest will ever be an option again. So we decided to leave the kids at home with their nanny and go for it.
Yes, it was a crazy weekend, between sleeping overnight on the plane Friday to get to Munich and on Sunday to get back home. But it was worth it! We arrived in Munich Saturday morning, quickly dropped our bags off at our hotel, and took the subway to the tents. While on the subway, almost everyone was dressed in traditional German clothing: lederhosen for the men, and dirndl for the women. We felt a little out of place for not wearing the same, but we carried on anyway.
Once we got to the tents, tons of people were lined up to watch the opening day parade. We, however, did not have a reservation for a table in any tent, so we went straight to the Winzerer Faehnd'l tent to try to get in. After the help of a very nice waitress, we found a seat with a Germany party that had a couple of seats empty at their table. Here we learned about the traditions behind Oktoberfest as our new German friends taught us about the various things that we saw all around us. And of course, we ate the infamous half chickens (hendl) drank the 1-liter sized beers. Justin was definitely faster than I was, but it took me two hours to finish my first beer! Oddly enough, it was actually still cold on the last sip.
After leaving our first tent, we discovered that the other tents are drastically different from one another. The biergardens are loaded with younger tourists who could not get reservations in to the tents. Many of the ones we sat with were from Canada and were staying in tents that night as they celebrated Oktoberfest in the backpackers way. The Hippodrom was set up to look like a circus, and it was absolutely crazy. People were dancing on tables along to a rock band, and no one new could get a seat. Augustiner was a little more similar to the first tent that we went to, with traditional music and a low-key atmosphere. We went here at 9am on Sunday, though, and I wasn't quite ready to drink another 1-liter beer. This time it took me over three hours to finish it! But we did enjoy another chicken here too! While we were in Augustiner, we actually met a guy from Michigan and sat with him for a while along with some Austrians and Italians (one of which was a professional soccer player for Italy).
The Hofbrau tent was slightly milder than the Hippodrom in that people were only standing on the table instead of dancing, but this was mostly because they had spilled too much beer on the benches to sit. We sat in this test for a little while before heading out on Sunday and met some Australians (which this tent seemed to consist mostly of Australians). What a contrast from our first tent where the waitress eagerly helped us find a table to here where the waitresses were mean, yelled at the obnoxious people around us, and even kicked some people out of the tent. The behavior of people in this tent certainly warranted this type of treatment, but it was all the more reason why the tent was different than the other.
The trip was certainly a whirlwind, but it was incredible to be a part of Oktoberfest 2013. I particularly liked the culture of the lower-key tents and the vastly different experiences that we found in all of the other tents. And in the end, with 1-liter beers, we didn't need more than two days at Oktoberfest; two were plenty to get the experience and check another item off our bucket list. Prost!
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Yes, it was a crazy weekend, between sleeping overnight on the plane Friday to get to Munich and on Sunday to get back home. But it was worth it! We arrived in Munich Saturday morning, quickly dropped our bags off at our hotel, and took the subway to the tents. While on the subway, almost everyone was dressed in traditional German clothing: lederhosen for the men, and dirndl for the women. We felt a little out of place for not wearing the same, but we carried on anyway.
Once we got to the tents, tons of people were lined up to watch the opening day parade. We, however, did not have a reservation for a table in any tent, so we went straight to the Winzerer Faehnd'l tent to try to get in. After the help of a very nice waitress, we found a seat with a Germany party that had a couple of seats empty at their table. Here we learned about the traditions behind Oktoberfest as our new German friends taught us about the various things that we saw all around us. And of course, we ate the infamous half chickens (hendl) drank the 1-liter sized beers. Justin was definitely faster than I was, but it took me two hours to finish my first beer! Oddly enough, it was actually still cold on the last sip.
A view from inside the Winzerer Faehnd'l tent
The crazy Hippodrom
The opening ceremony at the Augustiner tent
The Hofbrau tent was slightly milder than the Hippodrom in that people were only standing on the table instead of dancing, but this was mostly because they had spilled too much beer on the benches to sit. We sat in this test for a little while before heading out on Sunday and met some Australians (which this tent seemed to consist mostly of Australians). What a contrast from our first tent where the waitress eagerly helped us find a table to here where the waitresses were mean, yelled at the obnoxious people around us, and even kicked some people out of the tent. The behavior of people in this tent certainly warranted this type of treatment, but it was all the more reason why the tent was different than the other.
The trip was certainly a whirlwind, but it was incredible to be a part of Oktoberfest 2013. I particularly liked the culture of the lower-key tents and the vastly different experiences that we found in all of the other tents. And in the end, with 1-liter beers, we didn't need more than two days at Oktoberfest; two were plenty to get the experience and check another item off our bucket list. Prost!
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