Oktoberfest: What You Need to Know

This last post on Oktoberfest in Munich will hopefully be useful for anybody who wants to attend in the future. Its based on my recent experiences and what I wished I knew before I attended.

What to Bring

It all depends on how long you’re going to be there but there a few things I’d bring along. For clothing, make sure you bring a good sweater or coat as Munich is actually pretty cold (by Vancouver, Canada standards) and you’ll get the occasional shower. Not a big deal if you’re inside the entire time but in truth you’ll spend a great deal of time outside the tents on the rides or even sitting in the outside beer gardens. As with any event that involves booze I’d also suggest bringing a goodly amount of aspirin/tylenor and antacids. We went through an entire bottle… Don’t bring a backpack to the festival itself as it will get searched or worse yet, you’ll get completely hammered and forget it somewhere. Of course do bring a camera because you’ll really want to capture all those special moments (oh my god, I can’t feel my legs!).

Money wise, you’ll need to plan on about 100eu a day. Each litre of beer costs between 8-10eu and a plate of food another 12eu. If you can drink 5 litres a day (which my mate Forrest and I did), plan on a plate of food for in-between each beer (yes, that’s like 4 full meals :)

Where to Stay

Yeah this is the real pricey part. We found a hotel about 6 blocks away but we had to pay over 300eu a night. This is pretty normal. If you book 9 months in advance, you might get a cheap hostel but they book up fast. Start looking for accommodation by Dec. Here are some useful links:

• Backpakers.com
• Discover Munich
• Vacation Rentals by Owner: Good site but book early
  

Where to Drink

Honestly, every tent we went to was great and everybody was really friendly. That said, there are few places (hells-bells there are over 14 big tents!) that were better than others, either because they had better beer/food or the atmosphere was unique. If you are a party of 6 or more you will need to make reservations at least 3 months prior to the festival. If there are only a couple of you, you can just show up, ask a server to find a seat for you and you’re off to the races.

Click the image to the left to see where these tents are on the ‘Weisen’.

1. Hippodrom: This is arguably one of the best big tents at the festival. Its located on the far northern side of the ‘Weisen’ grounds and always has the biggest line-up for a seat. Arrive before it opens at 10am to get a seat and stay at least for a couple hours. The band was great and the crowd was almost entirely Bavarian (we were looking for the genuine article). Eat the Hendel (chicken).
2. Hofbraeuhaus or HB: I’m X’ing this one out because its known as the ‘English’ tent and no self respecting Bavarian would be found there. As it states on the Oktoberfest site, “Americans and Australians feel especially happy here”. I like Americans and Australians as much as the next dude but I didn’t fly halfway across the world to Germany to drink with them :)
3. Hacker-Festzelt: We spent a lot of time at Hacker. Great beer and the design inside is brilliant. Young crowd but you’ll still see lots of families at the tables. Again, get there before 11am if you want to sit inside and be there by 10am if you want to sit near the bandstand. Excellent sausage, sauerkraut and pretzel.
4. Käfers Wies’n-Schänke: This is the high-end tent at the festival. It’s a smaller venue with excellent music and a menu you’ll not find anywhere else. Almost all the food is game based (pheasant, boar ect) and they also have an excellent wine list. We had our last dinner and drink at this tent and it was the best food we had on the trip. Forrest highly recommends the Duck and if you’re struggling with the menu, ask a server and they’ll walk you through it.

See all the beer tents here.

Getting Along

Oktoberfest is very safe and I never felt intimidated or unwelcome at the tables. Unlike Pamplona during San Fermin (the running of the bulls) where the locals wore shirts that promoted the hanging of tourists, the locals in Munich are very welcoming and patient. Try to speak some German, be polite and the festival-is-your-oyster. Its always hard to get a place to sit so go up to a server and ask them if they can help you out. We found this the easiest way to get seated.

Tips for Surviving

I’ve mentioned a few of these in earlier posts, and so I'll summarize and add to these:

1. Eat, eat and eat. Not only is the food great, but it will help you survive all those beer. Especially the Hendel (chicken). Very close to a religious experience.
2. Get to the tents early to get a seat. Yes, it might seem odd that you start drinking at 10am, but the upside is you’ll be on number 5 by 4pm and passed out on a park bench by 6pm.
3. Pace yourself. You’d be amazed how much you can drink over a 12 hour period if you eat and don’t guzzle the beer (re: the young Americans beside us who downed 3 litres in two hours and were in bed by 1pm…)
4. Ask to be seated by one of the servers. And then tip them appropriately when they bring you your first beer.
5. Ride the rides. This is a festival and there are some great amusement rides.
   
6. Prost! When you’re beer arrives Prost! (cheers) everybody at your table. To no do so is very bad form.
7. Good form. Hold the handle of the mug, not the mug itself and after a toast (Prost!) tap the glass on the table.

I hope this was useful. Add you comments or questions below.

~ chris

Oktoberfest Day Five: The Way Home

My closest friends (and family) will attest that even through at times, I can be sentimental, I am not one for epiphanies. So believe me when I say that every time you travel, you have an opportunity to learn something about yourself. For my trip to Munich, my singular attempt at 40ish self indulgence, I learned the following: my children must lean good kung-fu and I like to travel more with my family. Please don’t construe this as a slight on my traveling companion Forrest, as he is a great person to travel with. He is a patient as grandmother and game for any mischief (which we had a fair bit of). It’s just that every time I think some adventure would not be a good fit for my wife, I realize at the end of the trip, that she probably would have enjoyed it. My Friend Glen might see this as my married-drivel, but he knows better, since most of his traveling usually includes somebody more effeminate than me :)

As for the ‘good kung-fu’? Its more of combination of my own dreams imposed on my children and the fact that I watched “The Forbidden King” on the way home. No, really, the kids need to learn some kung-fu!

And speaking of the trip home, we missed our connection from London to Vancouver (flight delayed in Munich). The upside is that Forrest secured a decent exit row seat (to himself) and I got upgraded to First Class. A quick tip for you intrepid travelers out there: don’t ever underestimate the power of a kind word. It’s what got Forrest and I upgraded on the trip to London from Vancouver and me upgraded on the trip home. And this First Class, unlike some more regional Air Canada flights, was well and truly top notch. The tiny cabins with their own little beds…. that was a first for me. So I arrive home after watching some great movies (love Iron Man), great grub and a head full of Cab-Franc from Lake Erie. All in all, a great way to end my 40th year celebration. Every man should be so lucky. But in truth, luck had nothing to do with it… Thanks to everybody who helped make it a reality: Forrest for being a boon travel mate and friend, my family who helped out with child care and most of my wife, who worked many extra shifts to pay for my little excursion. Love you all dearly.

~chris