Prost to Oktoberfest in Munchen, Germany!

Prost to Oktoberfest in Munchen, Germany!

We decided to head to the original Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany while we were still (somewhat) young and kidless. What an experience and wow, the Germans sure do know how to party!! I think we are still recovering 3 weeks later:). Munich is situated in Southern Germany within the province of Bavaria– the a very rich & opulent area of Germany. Although it would seem that Oktoberfest is held in October, it actually starts in mid-September and ends on the 1st weekend in October. Munich moved it up so they could get better weather year over year. For the most part, it works in their favor, although for us, while the weather was not ideal for the 4 days we were in Munich, the beer, sausages, and sauerkraut did not disappoint…..

We stayed at the Hilton Munich City and we truly can’t complain too much because we used our points, thus our stay was free. That being said, we wouldn’t put this hotel at the top of the list for a repeat. The lobby and lobby bar were actually very nice, as was the complimentary breakfast. The rooms however were sub-par for a Hilton and the bathrooms were small & disorganized. Everything seemed very outdated, especially for the amount of points (or money) they were charging per night. Sometimes the lights worked in the bathrooms & sometimes they did not. The king bed did not have either a sheet or an all-in duvet cover. They simply put 2 single down comforters on each side with pancake width pillows. Awful. On top of that, the A/C barely worked. On the plus side, the location of the hotel was wonderful. It was close to the center or town as well as close to the Oktoberfest Fairgrounds.  The access to the metro was fantastic!! Right from the hotel lobby you could enter a metro station that would take you to either the Oktoberfest grounds or to Marionplatz (main center), amongst many other stops.

First things first, we arrived and headed out to watch the opening ceremonies for Oktoberfest. Basically all the brewers head to the streets of Munich with horse-drawn carraiges carrying kegs of their specially brewed Oktoberfest beer. The “tap” the first Keg, and Oktoberfest is officially under way!

Before heading to the tents, we took to the streets of Munich for some shopping to get our “authentic” outfits- lederhosen and dirndls :-). As you can see from the above picture…..we went all out and blended right in with the locals- haha. There are a TON of shops around the main square Marienplatz that sell the traditional attire- word to the wise, these outfits are NOT cheap so be prepared to spend upwards of $200 for the lederhosen alone!! An investment for future Halloween parties- LOL. We happened to find David’s lederhosen at Lederhosen Wagner- a small boutique specializing in traditional men’s clothing, and we found my dirndl at Modemarkt- a men/women shop that offers both new and second-hand options.

After these big purchases, we needed a beer in celebration so we headed to a popular local brewery- Schneider Weisse Brauhaus where we sipped on some hefeweizen beer and indulged in some sausage, sauerkraut, and homemade pretzels!    

No trip to Munich would be complete without a trip to the original Hofbrahaus!! We had our rehearsal dinner at the Las Vegas Hofbrahaus 1 yr prior so it was only fitting to celebrate once again at the original one in Munchen! It was pretty much just like Vegas except louder, crazier, more chaotic, and more rambunctious than ever! We were told to seat ourselves “wherever” and promptly met “friends” from Italy, Denmark, and Canada. We had a great time- the beer was of course amazing, the service fantastic (for a beer garden), and the food delicious! Highly recommend this tourist stop!!

The following day was more sightseeing around town, along with another brew stop at the Augustiner Brew Haus– a very popular brewery…. complete with long wooden tables and locals who are willing to “scoot” on over and join you for a beer. The food is as to be expected- good german sausages & pretzels a plenty.

We also took the advice of others on TripAdvisor and booked a 5 hour bike tour around Munich from Mike’s Bike Tours, which included a stop at a local beir garten for a pint & some good conversation. The only complaint I have for Mike’s Bike Tours was that they seemed very disorganized. Instead of having everyone meet at their office (which was right off the main plaza Marionplatz), they asked everyone to meet under an old clock tower at Marionplatz (which was under construction), so it was chaotic and confusing at best. Once we got to the office to confirm payment, there was also more confusion on who was going on what tour. All that being said, once we met our tour guide Matt and got going, our 5 hours spent was amazing! Matt was the perfect “host”- he took us around town, explaining Munich & Bavarian history, and all the while, interjecting his own unique & hilarious brand of humor and fun. We also stopped at a local beir garten for a liter and some good conversation.  The biking was at a leisurely pace and did not require much effort…. just bring along the ability to have a fantastic time (rain, cloud, or sun!)

Here are some sights from around town:

For dinner later that night, we headed to Weinhaus Schneider, Das FONDUE Haus. This quaint & cozy little family run restaurant is right off the main Marionplatz area of Munich. This local establishment produces an amazingly delicious menu, specializing in Fondue- quite the splurge though!! We enjoyed both their cheese fondue as well as a combo plate of chicken & beef. Their wine menu is customized for them, with a bottle in their honor that wonderfully pairs with the fondue served. The owners are always on hand to make sure your meal is going well and take care of your every whim. Wonderful & amazing- not to miss!

OK, now for THE Oktoberfest Celebrations:-)!!

The “tents” are located at The Theresienwiese fairgrounds. This area is located close to downtown Munich and is easily accessible via the main subway system. Theresienwiese gets its name from Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, who married the Prince Ludwig of Bavaria in 1810. Their marriage celebration was the first Oktoberfest and became so popular with vendors, locals, and tourists, that it became an annual celebration to this day!! Unfortunately for us, it was pouring down rain the day we went so I don’t have much input to give on the actual fairgrounds themselves but through the rain I did see that there are a TON of rides & “fair” type food vendors. 

The star attraction of course are the beer tents. There are quite the variety to choose from and all the local brewers have a tent. What we found out (after drinking all day) was that the brewers have a special brew that they make specifically for Oktoberfest every year. For this brew, this kick it up a notch and increase their alcohol % from 4-5% to upwards of 6-8%!! Watch out, it’ll sneak up on you BIG TIME (speaking from experience- haha)!! The tents open at 9:30am and they start serving beer at 10am. Its a good idea to get there early so that you can grab a seat at one of the many long wooden tables. If you don’t get there int he morning, I hear from others that it is best wait until about 4pm, when the morning drinkers leave and the evening drinkers arrive. However, we arrived at 9:30am and didn’t leave until 9pm- YIKES!

We sat at the Hofbrahaus tent- easily the biggest and most popular. There is a live band that starts around 11am and everyone, and I mean everyone, joins in on the singing. There are the traditional german songs, but hilariously enough, there are also a TON of 80’s and 90’s american music played and EVERYONE knows the lyrics and belts them out- truly a sight you do NOT want to miss. This party was so much fun- everyone is friendly & there is plenty of beer & pretzels to soak up the beer (along withe a huge menu of other options). Here are some (less embarrassing )pics of our amazing experience at Oktoberfest 2011 in Munchen, Germany- Enjoy!!