Oktoberfest

Friday morning we got up bright and early as we were told we had to get to Oktoberfest early to secure a seat in one of the 14 tents on “the fields”. We weren’t really sure where to go, but we trusted that following the people who were dressed in traditional German clothes would be our best bet—and we were right. Oktoberfest is held on the fairgrounds of the city of Munich, and it really just looks like a giant carnival. There are food stands, souvenir stands, lots of rides and, of course, the infamous beer tents. These “tents” are each owned and operated by a different brewery, and each has an elaborate facade in theme with the brewery. I’ve heard different numbers on how many people the tents can hold, but it’s somewhere between 5,000-20,000 in each. We arrived at about 10:00am, and decided to go to the Hofbrau tent, because I have been the fake Hofbrauhaus in Cincinnati so I knew the name. We entered the front doors, and it was like nothing I have ever seen. The tent ceilings are probably 30 feet high, there’s decorations and hops (I thought they were dried out flowers) hanging from the ceilings, and there are back-to-back tables and benches covering the entire floor. In the center of each tent is bandstand, raised about 10 feet above the crowd. The tables are so packed together that there is no space between the benches; you sit back to back with the person behind you and if you want to get out you climb over people or walk across the tables. When we got there at 10:00am, all the tables were already full and there were people standing on top of them, singing and chanting songs from their home countries.

We wandered for a bit looking for a table, and eventually a group of creepy old Italian men scooted over and made room for us at their table. I ordered my first beer of the weekend, and the stein was so big and so full of beer that I had to use two hands to drink it! I had a great spot next to one of the few aisles in the tent, so I got to sit on the rail defining the aisle and talk to all the people walking by as well as the people coming and going from our table. I met people from all over the world, and LOTS of Italian men. I think they have a thing for blonde Americans. We spent half the day in the Hofbrau tent, then wandered around a few tents in the afternoon, and went back to the Houfbrau tent that night.

The next morning we got up to do it all again…..this time we didn’t arrive to the fields until about 11:30am, and by this time it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a set inside a tent. Luckily it was gorgeous, sunny fall day in Munich so we got a seat outside the Paulaner tent in their beergarten. Same thing as the day before, but a with new cast of crazy characters. I met some Italians from Verona (they didn’t know any English, but knew what I said when I said “Ahhhh, Romeo and Juilet!”), some Italians from Pisa (they tried to teach us a card game, and by me speaking Spanish and them speaking Italian we sort of figured out what was going on….), and an Italian from Tuscany. It was a great day and ended in my classmate, Cas, and I riding two of the carnival rides with two random German girls. You never quite know what’s going to happen at Oktoberfest.

Who wants to go with me next year???



Pictures: My first taste of Oktoberfest, the Hofbrau tent; me in the Paulaner beergarten.