Oktoberfest had been on my bucket list for a couple of years and quite of a few of my friends had shown interest in 2022, so I decided to get a group together early and book it. Originally, it was meant to be a group of my friends and some of my boyfriend's friends, however when it came to putting your money where your mouth is, people dropped out like flies until it ended up being only me, my friend, and my boyfriend. Then, at the last minute, he had to work over that weekend so despite expecting to go with a large group, I ended up going with only one other person. That said, this friend has travelled around the world with me, from Cuba to Montenegro to Estonia to Mexico to Bosnia to Tunisia, so I knew we'd have a lot of fun.
Despite its name, Oktoberfest actually runs from mid-September to early-October; during this time accommodation and flights are extortionate, but it was a one-off experience and we tried to book as early as possible so minimise the cost.
We left on Friday 30th September, which ended up coinciding with a work deadline. I'd been working very long hours in the weeks leading up to this deadline, whilst also juggling revision for an ACA exam, so it's safe to say I had barely thought about this trip. Regardless, I was determined to leave work and revision at home and enjoy the weekend while we experienced the phenomenon that is Oktoberfest.
We arrived in Munich, Germany on the Friday night and tackled the public transport as Uber was extortionate despite our Airbnb being relatively nearby. On the way, we saw many lies dressed in the traditional dirndl dresses and men in lederhosen. A couple of people were already hammered on the metro (including one guy who was so contorted he seemed to override the laws of physics) so we managed to see a glimpse of our future selves.
We woke up on the Saturday morning in our Airbnb, full of excitement and curiosity. We took the train directly to the venue, making sure to get off at Theresienwiese, where crowds flocked to the entrance. I was very surprised by the venue as it was very reminiscent of Winter Wonderland in London, whereas I hadn't anticipated any rides and I didn't realise there would be so many children about. Regardless, we headed straight for a tent in order to get the full experience. A common misconception is that you need a ticket to get into the venue; in actual fact, it is free to enter, but you can reserve a table if you are with a big group to guarantee seating within the tents. Being two young girls, we thought we'd try our luck and just squeeze onto the end of a bench if need be.
I'd recommend arriving early as tents will close their doors once full. We arrived at midday and didn't have any trouble getting into the first tent, however we were very confused as to how we could order our beers due to the lack of bars. Eventually we learnt that in order to buy a beer, you had to be at a table, and a very kind waitress led us to a table and stood us on the end of a bench occupied by a group of Germans and Colombians to party with them. We finally managed to get our beers, and as the host of the Airbnb had warned us, they were delicious but deadly (especially the Spaten and Paulaner brands) - the alcohol percentage is higher than usual (~6%) and the mugs are about a litre each. At this point, I'd recently learnt that I was intolerant to beer but despite the bloating, they were very easy to drink and before we knew it we were merry (see: drunk).
The tent we were in (Paulaner) had a live brass band, people were mostly dressed in traditional outfits (we weren't but I'd recommend dressing up), and everyone was singing and dancing - the atmosphere was great. The Germans on our table were very sociable and helped us a lot, but surprisingly extremely gropey with all the girls which was a shame. Eventually they left and we decided to explore another tent, a mistake on our part.
By this time it was mid-afternoon so most of the tents were full and hence the bouncers were restricting entry. This wasn't a problem however as we simply got in a queue (where we could still buy beer) and here we met a Russian and Israeli couple who were residing in Denmark. They were a lot of fun and kept us entertained in the queue, however when we realised that we weren't going to get in anytime soon, we sat on an outdoor table instead and got talking to others. This group consisted of French, Italian and Swiss men who taught us a simple drinking game which ended up being a highlight of my night. After a couple of hours, they too had to go so we tried yet again to get into another tent.
As we queued, we met a Mexican couple who were recently married and touring Europe, followed by various others, including a Portuguese group, more Germans and a Kosovan - it was like being in the United Nations. We drank a lot and met various characters, my favourite being the Portuguese group (although, of course, I'm biased). It was very chaotic but a lot of fun. We also tried the traditional German foods including pretzels and bratwurst and I bought a lebkuchen (typical gingerbread in the shape of a heart) as a memento for my boyfriend.
The next day we were feeling fragile so decided to skip the tents and instead explore Munich, as although I'd been only a couple of years beforehand, my friend had never visited before. The city is fairlytale-esque and we managed to see all of the main landmarks, alongside the changing of the guards, which I enjoyed greatly. One thing that surprised me was the large shrine in honour of Michael Jackson which was in the city centre, but other than that the city was exactly as I'd remembered it.
Oktoberfest definitely isn't for everyone but it was a great cultural experience and I'd definitely recommend any beer-drinkers to go at least once in their lives as it's a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world.
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