Oktoberfest - Munich, Germany

Oktoberfest - Opening Weekend

September 19-20, 2009

J and I went to Munich, Germany for the opening weekend of Oktoberfest. It was a very fun and memorable experience!  We were walking through the main gates of the grounds as the gun started firing signifying the tapping of the kegs.  Our timing was perfect... except for the fact that at that exact moment the thousands of people there with us were all looking for beer... 

This was the first beer tent we walked in to... AUGH!  We couldn't believe how crowded it was.  We could hardly walk, let alone find a seat at a table to order a beer.  Apparently people reserve seats in the beer tents for a certain time.  We didn't, making our first beer a challenge.  

We were also surprised to learn that you can only buy beer in one of these beer tents.  We thought that we could by a beer on the grounds and walk around with it, nope.  Beer can only be purchased in a tent, you must have a seat, and you can't bring it with you.

We left that tent and continued on our beer quest.  We walked around a few of the other big beer tents and then decided to wait in line at a smaller beer hall.  

This turned out to be perfect!  We were seated at a long table with strangers.  We ended up sitting across the bench from a group of Italians who just about fell off their bench when we started speaking Italian to them (they were highly impressed).  This ended with the Italians giving us all their contact information so we could call them and be their guests in their home.  So cute!

After enjoying a liter of Oktoberfest beer and having a very yummy meal, we decided to hit the midway for some rides.  We had a blast!  We went on the swings, a roller coaster and the tilt-a-whirl.  J. took pictures on some of them, I think they are so funny...  

After a few hours of walking all over the Oktoberfest grounds (wishing we were in Lederhosen and Drindl) we decided to head back to the tent from earlier in the day.  As with most of the tents, there was a live band that led the crowd in songs and dances.  I can tell you that as the night went on and more and more beer was consumed, the German crowd got louder and rowdier!  It was a blast!!

This is our German friend, Armin.  He sat across from us at the table.  He was from several hours away and had come to Oktoberfest alone.  After talking with us for a while he told us he was "surprised at how much he liked us" and decided to spend the rest of the evening with us.  We had a great time and it was fun to have an "authentic" German telling us about Oktoberfest and teaching us the words to the songs.  

To finish off our night, we went on the huge ferris wheel.  It was really fun to see all the lights of Oktoberfest from above.  

The next day, we actually woke up early and went to the historical center to see the cool sights.  I had been there in March with my brother, so I tried hard to remember all the interesting facts for J.  Here is J in front of Rathaus. 

Then we went to the Oktoberfest parade.  It was SO cool.  There were so many people in the parade.  People from all over Germany in their traditional clothing.

This was one of the many beer floats.  Each beer tent had a bunch of kegs pulled by beautiful horses and all were decorated with different kinds of beautiful flowers.  

This one was my favorite!!!  SHEEP!!  It took 12 sheep to pull a wagon full of hay and one man.  It thought it was sooo cute!

After watching the parade for 2.5 hours, we decided to leave even though it wasn't over... I wonder what the record for the longest parade is, this has to be up there!  We went to the Hofbrauhaus for a beer and lunch.  It was great because we got there before the parade ended, so we found a seat without a problem.  We sat right behind the polka band.  We loved it here!

We went back to the Oktoberfest field for one more walk around and to buy some souvenirs before heading back to the hotel to pick up our bag and head to the airport.  We had an amazing time on this once-in-a-lifetime experience!