September 21-24 was spent in Munich, Germany. While Oktoberfest was the main attraction, other sites were enjoyed as well.
To begin, let’s just say opening day of Oktoberfest (this year 9-22-07) is unbelievably busy and crowded. Our day began early with a five minute walk from the hostel to the festival grounds. Along the way were many other early birds dressed in traditional attire, eager to get the day started. We arrived and began the wait in line at Schottenhammel tent – this is where the mayor of Munich taps the first keg to officially begin Oktoberfest. Lines were long, people were shoving, cigarettes were smoking, all in anticipation to rush inside and find a table. Once the tents opened at 10am the crowd intensified and the race was on. We continued to wait… and wait with the eventual result of no table. The tent was full in a matter of 30 minutes. We headed across the way to another tent where we found a table outside in the sun. We enjoyed brunch to the tune of sausages, pretzels, soup and water. From here was got up from our table (big mistake) and watched the opening day parade. It was a wonderful experience full of horses, carriages, marching bands and more.
With the parade over we attempted to find another table and wait for 12 o’clock to strike so beer could be served. No tables, beer tents were full – it was a sea of crowds with no place to get a beer. The thought of returning to our hostel beerless and sober was beginning to creep into our minds.
But not so fast!
After a couple hours of searching for seats we stumbled upon a group that welcomed us to join their table. Our spot was outside of the Lowenbrau tent and under the warm sun. From here our true Oktoberfest dreams were lived out. We met people from all around the world, drank cold beer one liter at a time, marveled at the beer servers carrying 8-12 steins – it was just the experience we were looking for and more! It was a long day that ended early in the evening. This gave us plenty of rest for the next day of touring Munich.
Day two was spent covering the city – first stop was outside of Munich to a place in the hills called Andechs. This is an infamous site where monastery meets brewery, if you can believe it. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in a beer garden area where we feasted on pork knuckle, ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, two styles of potatoes, pretzels, and of course a few servings of the local brew. The weather continued to be sunny and clear to make our time even better.
It was back to inner city where we walked through the English Gardens. This is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world – bigger than Central Park in NY. The park includes nude sunbathing areas, horseback riding trails, a Chinese pagoda, acres of grass to throw the frisbee, and Ben’s personal favorite – surfing. The river that flows through Munich and into the park has a section where a standing wave is created. Young kids full of courage were entertaining the crowds with their best moves on the wave. It was amazing to see surfing on the river in the middle of Munich.
We headed back to the hostel for a quick siesta and geared up to go back to Oktoberfest. On our way to beer tents we spotted a large ride called EuroStar – a roller coaster with loops, corkscrews and all the thrills. We gathered enough confidence and gave it a try. The end result was Liya with her eyes closed and constant screams from Ben. All in all it was a great way to get our blood going before the beer starting flowing. We made it to the tent we originally tried to get a seat in the day before, this time with success and a stein of Spaten Pils as our reward.
Munich is a great city, Oktoberfest brings loads of experiences – from chaos to joy. From Munich we traveled south to the border of Germany, France and Switzerland to the city of Basel.
