Destination: Munich

Munich

It only happens once a year… Oktoberfest. This was the significance of my friends and I’s trip to Munich, and how we justified purchases like one liter steins for $11 a piece and felt absolutely in our element when chanting “Omp-pah!” with the locals.

Guide to surviving Oktoberfest:

-Book EARLY, as in months in advance. This includes transportation (flight, train, etc.) to the city, hotel or hostel, and (unless you plan to wing it) tickets for a table reservation at the beer gardens and tents.

-The festival actually begins in late September, but runs for three weeks in a row. Obviously prices on the weekdays are cheaper but if you’re a tourist you’ll most likely be visiting on a weekend.

-The schedule

-Beer is served from 10am to 10:30pm during the week and from 9am to 10:30pm on the weekends. Tents usually close at 10:30pm but food and amusements continue until midnight. The grounds at Oktoberfest close at 1:30 am, reopening at 6 the next morning.

-In order to get a table for a beer garden or tent, it’s best to arrive before noon on that day, or make a reservation months in advance.

-What to do

-Go to the beer gardens during the day and early evening (to take advantage of the warm weather) and the tents at night.

-Placed we visited: Augustiner-brau, Hippodrom, Hofbrauhaus, and other small gardens

-Explore the amusement park. There are some of the most interesting attractions and rides you’ll ever see.

-Drinking

-Everything is on draft. Oktoberfest brews are pale ales which are about 6% alcohol.

-Toasting: Everyone at the entire table drinks together, and cheers are made before each round of steins. Toast with the bottom of the glass (which is thicker) and then clink. Eye contact should made with everyone at the table as well as the cheers, “Prost!”

-Don’t be alarmed if you find yourself dancing on the tables later into the night…

-Food

-Hearty meats are a favorite at Oktoberfest with all the beer drinking going on, make sure you try one of Munich’s specialties—white sausage

-Other things at the festival that are must-tries: a large, doughy pretzel, gingerbread heart cookies, candied almonds, chocolate covered fruit on a stick

-Attire: be prepared to encounter a mix of different people, from 5-year olds to grandparents, and the lederhosen

-Other sites of Munich, apart from Oktoberfest I visited and would recommend: The English Gardens, New Town Hall, the real Hofbräuhaus