Oktoberfest

Michael and I were very lucky to have the opportunity to attend this year's 176th Oktoberfest in Munich, compliments of his company. All arrangements including hotel, festival reservations, and transportation between the hotel and the fest were made for us. We only had to show up and have fun. And we did.

We arrived to our hotel late Thursday evening, just in time for a traditional Bavarian dinner. There were sausages and sauerkraut, a mix of grilled meats, potatoes, and of course beer. A special treat was the group of musicians, in traditional Bavarian dress, that played and sang late into the evening.

The next day we took the train to the center of Munich. Before heading over to the Theresienwiese fairground, we walked around downtown. In Marienplatz, we stood in awe of the beautiful town hall. We were lucky to catch the 11 am happenings- bells rang, the carillon music played and wooden mechanical dancers performed for the hundreds of onlookers with cameras.

We roamed the streets taking in the mix of old and new architecture. We came upon the Odeonsplatz, a large beautiful square. There was the Feldherrnhalle, a building with three massive arches and statues of army generals and lions. I made a comment like "That looks like the outside of the Uffizi in Florence." Not thirty seconds later, one of the members of our group said "That building was modeled after one in Florence." I would have never known that, if I hadn't been to Florence first. :) We gazed up at the Theatinerkirche, a catholic church that is very Italian. The yellow color evoked feelings of terra cotta houses with clay tile roofs. Then, it was on to the' fest.

A little history....Oktoberfest occurs each year in the city of Munich. It lasts about 2 weeks, running from the end of September to the beginning of October. The first 'fest was a wedding celebration for Price Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810.

D' Wisen, as the locals call it, was basically a huge carnival scene. There is a reason it's called the largest public festival in the world. Fourteen beer "tents" (or more like beer buildings), rides, and games were everywhere. It was surely overwhelming to the senses. Many people had on traditional Bavarian dress- dirndls for women, lederhosen for men. Bavarian flags- a blue and white rhombus pattern were all over. I was amazed with the size and scale. What impressed me most was that everything was constructed from the ground up especially for Oktoberfest. Ah...German engineering.

The beer tents were each sponsored by a brewery and were massive! They had a band stand in the center and raised seating along the perimeter. We had reservations for the Schottenhamel tent, the biggest one of Oktoberfest, seating around 6,000 inside and 4,000 outside! The only size of beer served is 1 liter and I felt like I was at a big frat party. There was a oompha band and lots of singing, mostly shouting, of drinking songs. "I am Prosting! I am Prosting!" The beer was quite good, easy to drink.

During the afternoon, we walked the grounds. We played some games and went on some tame rides like a slide and carousel. There were plenty of crazy rides that we avoided...We paused for a much needed cup of coffee and traditional Bavarian sweets. I unfortunately can not remember their names....

In the evening, we had another reservation at the Weinzelt or Wine Tent. This one was smaller than the first though still grand. It also had a band but they played rock and pop rather than oompha and polka. We had a big spread of meats, sausages, sauerkraut, dried tomatoes, cheese and pretzels for dinner and of course more beer. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves- drinking, eating, talking, and dancing late into the night. It was certainly an experience unlike any other and we had an awesome time.