Oktoberfest 2k9
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October 23rd, 2009
Eric and I got back to Zürich from Prague on a Friday night, then woke up on Saturday morning and got on a train to München, aka Munich, Germany. There were 8 of us that all went together from Zürich – myself, Emily, Eric, David, Peter, Rich, Julia, and Adriana. We had a couple hotel rooms booked but no reservation at the Oktoberfest tents. We spent Saturday walking around Munich and resting up for our big day on Sunday. We got a good, traditional Bavarian lunch at Ratskeller next to Marienplatz in the center of town. Then we walked over to an outdoor cafe in Hofgarten near Odeonsplatz. After resting in the hotel for awhile, Eric was lucky enough to be able to watch the Michigan football game in the sports bar that happened to be in our hotel. For dinner we went to the Augustiner beer hall between Marienplatz and the Hauptbahnhof. It was a very festive place with good food too.
On Sunday morning, we all woke up early and got over to the Oktoberfest tents around 9:15 am. Since we didn’t have a reservation (we tried but you have to many months in advance or spend a lot of money), we had to get to the tents early in the morning to make sure we got a seat. We chose to go on a Sunday rather than a Saturday because we thought it would be a bit less crowded, and I think that was a good decision. The tents all open at 9 am and we were told that the best bet for people without reservations is to get there very close to when it opens. That means drinking steins of beer at 9:30 in the morning! We chose the Schützen-Festzelt (tent) on a recommendation from some friends and it was over half empty when we got there. This meant that we were able to secure a couple of crucial extra inches of space for our group before more people arrived. The atmosphere in the tent was pretty calm and quiet, partially because of the tent we chose and partially because it was so early in the morning. But as the day went on, the brass bands started playing, the tent filled up, people started standing and dancing on the tables, and things started to get more lively. Although none of us bought the full lederhosen outfits, we did all buy some hats for the occasion. We spent all morning and afternoon drinking liters of beer, eating pretzels and chickens, singing, wearing various hats, and generally having a good time.
We left the tent sometime around 3 or 4 pm and decided to try a few of the carnival rides. The first one was great, but I would definitely not recommend the second one – Turbo Power. Funny enough, I actually remember riding that same ride the last time I was at Oktoberfest back in 2002 when I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I guess I hadn’t learned my lesson, but I will remember for next year. And we’ll probably have to plan ahead a little and get some reservations next time so we don’t have to start so early too…
See all my pictures from Oktoberfest
