An Un-Beer-Lievable Weekend at Munich’s Oktoberfest

Caitlinepstein415/ October 7, 2018/ Europe/ 1 comments

An Un-Beer-Lievable Weekend at Munich’s Oktoberfest

Almost from the moment that I knew that I would be attending LIU Global, I knew for certain that I wanted to go to Oktoberfest during my sophomore year. I’m young and I’m in Europe, how could I have passed up the opportunity to check this festival off of my bucket list?

Fortunately, my friends felt the same way, and I found myself furiously searching for flights from Madrid to Europe and booking tents for us with Stoke travel this summer. The trip definitely put a dent in our travel budgets, and we are surely going to need days to recover, but it was well worth it.

Attending the Festival

After flying in to Munich late Thursday night and an iffy night of sleep in a tent (more on this later), we headed to the famed beer tents of Thereisenwiese, the Oktoberfest grounds. We took public transportation, simply following the other Lederhosen and Dirndl-clad festival goers.

I had only read several dozen blog posts about the festival, so I was prepared to fight for a table in the tents. From what I had read in post after post was that people line up hours before opening to secure a seat in one of the main tents, and that you can only order drinks if you’re seated. We must have gotten lucky, though, because we strolled into the Hofbrau Festzelt tent right after opening and immediately found seats. This brewery, Hofbrau, is one of only 6 Munich breweries that meets special brewing requirements to serve their beer at the festival.

It’s probably worth mentioning that we may have had luck getting seats in this tent because this tent, the biggest at the festival, seats 6,896 guests inside.

Then, at about 10 in the morning, we ordered our first beers, which came in a  liter stein called a maß.

This beer wasn’t just my first beer of the day – it was my first beer ever. I’ve known that I am allergic to gluten since my Sophomore year of high school, so I’ve avoided the wheat-based drink, but I knew I could not pass up a maß at the world’s largest beer festival.

And it was gross.

Hate to say it, but I do not get how people genuinely enjoy drinking beer. Does anyone truly like its taste? My friends, who have consumed many more beers than me, even told me this is the smoothest, easiest to drink beer they have had.

Huh. But no matter, because the atmosphere of the tent made the taste of the beer worth it. And I greatly enjoyed that atmosphere throughout the 3 hours it took me to finish that one beer. My classmates cheered me on as I managed each sip long after their steins were empty.

If my dad were there, he’d probably make a wise-crack about me going into the medical field, as a nurse.

As I sipped my beer, I sang along with the band, chatted with our kind table mates from France and Italy, and watched men and women alike attempt to chug their beers from the tops of tables. This usually ended in failure, and a lot of boos. Even for the victorious few that finished their steins, security came around and promptly escorted them out. It provided interesting entertainment, though.

And then…victory!

After that, we all ordered Radlers, which is a half and half mix of beer and lemonade that was much easier to drink. One of the incredible waitresses brought them around in record time after placing our order. These women train hard before the festival in order to carry up to 10 of the heavy glasses at one time, and it is said that they only need a second and a half to fully fill a maß.

After the Radlers, we were feeling pretty good (I mean, each of those glasses equals several regular beers), and we headed out to explore the grounds. We ran into horses, which Kendall fell in love with.

I also had to grab some more photos in my dirndl. This is the traditional Bavarian dress that women everywhere could be seen wearing throughout the festival grounds. I got mine off of Amazon for a mere $20, but some women spend upwards of 500 euros on their traditional outfits. As for the men, they wear lederhosen, which can be more expensive than the dirndls. The getup made the festival so much better, as we fit in with the crowds and looked pretty stinkin’ adorable.

On day two at the festival, we walked around the grounds and went into the old section, or the Oide Wiesn. Here, there were more beer tents, rides, and activities. The section seemed to draw a more family-friendly crowd than the rowdy main tents filled with young foreigners. We saw many adorable children dressed up in mini lederhosen and dirndls.

We also browsed the decorated cookies that men traditionally buy for their significant other. It is said that the bigger the cookie, the greater the love.

After walking around the old section, we went to the Herzkasperl Festzelt tent, where Kendall had read they they serve vegan food options. We had the most divine pumpkin soup and apple fritters with ice cream.

The atmosphere in this tent was relaxed and happy, and it was nice to listen to the band and watch couples and children dance. After lunch, we walked through the section of the festival that boasted huge amusement rides.

Imagine giant roller coasters, a log flume, themed fun houses, and the flippiest fair rides possible, and that’s what Oktoberfest has and more. I haven’t the faintest idea how people ride these drunk, and the prospect of being vomited on is what kept me from riding the rides myself.

 

After having fully explored the festival, we headed into the city for a bit to explore and make it to the Hard Rock Cafe. I collect pins from every Hard Rock I can make it to, and I was happy to add Munich to my collection. Along the way, we came across some beautiful bits of the city away from the festival.

It was nice to get a taste of the city, and I may try to make it back one day to see more of the city when it is calmer and not inundated by drunk tourists in lederhosen.

Stoketoberfest

When we weren’t at the festival grounds or out in the city, we were at the Stoke Travel campground. It was here that our group had two little tents to call our own during our trip. For only 60 euros a night with Stoke, we got a double tent at a campground near to the festival, breakfast and dinner, and access to bathrooms and nightly parties. This was a tremendous deal for cheap college students, especially considering that Airbnbs, hostels, and hotels prices during Oktoberfest are astronomical.

Now, this was a good deal, but that does not mean that sleeping in a tent was a fun affair. It was my first time staying in a tent, as the Epsteins are not campers. And for good reason. The tent was small, and the nights were freezing. Temps got down to the low 40s, and my layers and the provided sleeping bag did little to help with the chill. It was an interesting experience that I do not foresee myself repeating.

Outside of the tent situation, Stoketoberfest is incredible. The meals were delicious and possibly the best mass produced meals I’ve ever had: french toast and bacon, nachos, an egg and bacon bread roll, and a German potato dish that was to die for. On top of that, for just 10 euros a day, travelers can partake in unlimited beer and sangria. This is an amazing deal, especially after shelling out 12 euros a beer at the tents. We definitely partook in the booze (I stuck to the better-tasting sangria) and the huge parties each night.

On Friday and Saturday nights, we enjoyed the live bands, DJs, and dancers that performed. I danced with my friends and with strangers, and turned down several propositions for a night in a stranger’s tent.

The best line used on me? Or at least the funniest?

“Where are you from?”

“North Carolina”

“Ohhh, that’s why your ass is so fine. All that cornbread!”

……….?

We also had an interesting time watching drunk people spin the ‘Wheel of Misfortune.’ This wheel boasted 8 different acts that one would have to do if they spun that number. I stayed far from the wheel myself, but amusedly watched people drink beer from their shoe, swap clothes with a stranger, give up their undies, run naked, do beer bongs, and more.

Overall, Stoke was a wild ride, but I would definitely stay with them again if I ever went back, and I would also consider staying with them at any number of other festivals around Europe.

The fun came to an end at 12:30 in the morning on Sunday, when we had to make our way to the airport before the buses shut down so we could catch our 5:50 am flight (a terrible decision, but hey, it was cheap!). It was a huge relief to fall into my comfortable, warm bed in my dorm at 4 in the afternoon after bus and subway journeys and two flights.

My weekend at Oktoberfest was unbelievable, and one I will not soon forget. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and when I say this, I mean my body can only handle it once. I was amazed at the people above the age of 30 not just drinking at the beer halls, but also sleeping in tents and partying with people half their age. Mad props.

Oktoberfest was awesome, and everything I hoped it would be. Now to just recover in time for class on Monday morning.