A Weekend at Oktoberfest in Germany

Munich, Germany

Munich is located in the southern part of Germany and sits on the northern part of the alps. The primary language spoken in Germany is German, however, many spoke English. When I visited the weather was very cold and rainy. At the end of September it was 50 and rainy. I can only imagine how cold it gets in the winter time.

Oktoberfest is held annually in Munich and is the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. Despite its name the festival is not held in October. The festivities typically begin around the middle of September and conclude just before October. All I have to say is Germany loves their beer and I can see why. Fun fact: Beer is actually considered a food there.

A little history that I found interesting... It was in Munich where Hitler joined the Nazi party and became its leader. 40% of the city was destroyed due to bombing from WWII so their buildings are not super old in comparison to other European cities I've been to thus far.

Getting There

Some friends from school and I booked our trip through a study abroad student travel company. They provided the bussing there as well as housing and recommendations of what to do in Munich. The drive there was overnight. We left around 11:30 at night and arrived in the morning at 6am. Before arriving at our hostel we stopped at a McDonalds for breakfast and it was the nicest McDonalds I have ever been to. It was two stories and looked like a retreat in the mountains. Pictured below is the train station in Germany, my bus view and our hostel lobby bar.

Day 1

When we arrived at our hostel at 7am our room was not ready, however, we were able to keep our luggage in the hostel. We went with a big group to some shops to get our Dirndls for the weekend. Dirndls are a traditional German outfit that are worn by women and girls in German speaking regions. These were so much fun to shop for. We were originally going to rent them, but buying one was the same price/cheaper.

After getting our Dirndls we walked around exploring Munich. I have to say the city was exactly how I pictured it to look like. We headed to the Marienplatz which is a plaza in the center of town with famous buildings surrounding it. One thing that is very famous is to watch the show at the Rauhaus-Glockenspiel which features little figurines in the clocktower and the ringing of bells. Many stood and watched as they danced in the tower. We sat and had lunch in the plaza and had our first true German meal... Sausages, pretzels and if course... beer.

Day 1 (cont.)

We were all very tired in the afternoon, but not too tired to check out the festivities of Oktoberfest that night. I went into the weekend not know much about Oktoberfest, so I was very surprised to see how big it actually was. There were over 15 giant tents for drinking and the carnival itself was massive. There were tons of carnival games and rides including swings, a ferris wheel and a rollercoaster. We rode the swings which was so cool to see everything from above. We wanted more of a chill night because we knew we'd have a long day on Saturday, but of course we got sucked into a beer tent and ended the night dancing to the live music.

Day 2

Day 2 was dedicated to Oktoberfest festivities. We heard that to get a spot in a beer tent you have to wait in line early for when the gates open at 9. One thing about Oktoberfest is you can either (1.) make a reservation to be guaranteed a spot or (2.) just show up and see if you can find the end of a table. For this reason we wanted to get there bright and early to get a table. That meant waking up at 6am to get in line by 7am and a beer at 9am when the gates open. Although I'm not sure this was really necessary, it was still such a fun experience!! We went to one of the larger tents called Hofbräu Festzelt where there was live music later in the day. I met people from all over the world which was honestly one of my favorite parts of it all. I feel like I learned a million different ways to say "cheers!".

Pictured above: Inside Hofbräu Festzelt tent with other study abroad friends from UC.

Middle above: Waiting in line at 7am... it was freezing. The line actually ended up getting super long and we had a good spot.

Left: 1/2 meter long bratwurst. This thing was spicy! And yes I ate the whole thing :D

For dinner we found a Mexican restaurant. I haven't had Mexican food since being in America

which is a big deal for a taco-loving gal! After 3 weeks of no Mexican food this meal hit the spot! When I moved to Italy I didn't realize I'd have to go all the way to Germany to get true Mexican food!!

Overall Rankings of Germany:

Food: 6/10

Cost: $$/$$$$$ (At the festival it was pricier)

Activities: ?

Natural Beauty: 4/10

Architectural Beauty: 6/10

Friendliness: 8/10

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