Trip 43

Saturday September 16, 2023

We’ve been to Munich so many times, but never timed those trips to coincide with attending Oktoberfest. We planned (or rather my wife, who is the chief travel planner did) to finally attend an Oktoberfest about 10 months in advance. We spent the first few days after arriving in Munich in Berchtesgaden, but drove back in on the 15th. September 16th is the first day of the 188th Oktoberfest, which runs until October 3rd.

Oktoberfest traditionally begins in September because its origins date back to 1810 when it celebrated the October 12th wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The festivities ran into October, and over the years, it gradually shifted to start in late September due to better weather conditions and to take advantage of the milder days of early autumn. The name “Oktoberfest” has stuck even though the event now primarily occurs in September. Today, over 6 million people come from all over the world to join in

We thought we’d leave the hotel about 9am, with about 30 minutes travel time to the Theresienweise (Theresa’s fields), also called Wiesn, where the festival is held. I’d rather decided we wouldn’t be able to get to the area where the opening day parade of the landlords and breweries starts, in time and know where to stand. When we checked the weather forecast for today before we left the US, it indicated rain, but today is anything but that. Blue skies and mild temperatures. We left the hotel later than planned, at 10:30 and joined a throng of people in the UBahn obviously going the same place we were, a lot of dirndls and lederhosen being worn (which included us). After a couple of line changes, we arrived near the Theresienweise about 11 am.

There were people streaming towards the grounds, but we heard the sounds of a band and could see, not far away, the parade I thought we’d miss, was coming ‘round to enter the grounds of Oktoberfest. We managed to get close enough to see the brewery wagons (YouTube), being pulled by huge draft horses, interspersed with bands. I’m unsure how much of the parade we saw vs. missed, but enjoyed the chance to watch for a bit.

We turned and headed towards the grounds, first barely squeezing through the crowd still watching the parade, and joined the long line to get into the grounds. Though Oktoberfest celebrates beer, you can’t drink out in the open (has to be in one of the tents or Biergartens) and there was a security guard taking up bottles from people in line before entering the grounds. There was the expected security check too, but all in all, pretty smooth process entering the grounds.

Having never been, I was unprepared for how big the grounds are and how much there is to see, the rides, the tents, the food. We will not see nearly all of it all today, but hope to come back in a day or so for a second chance to explore. There is no entrance fee for the grounds or tents. We weren’t committed to going to one tent or another, just hoping we’d arrived early enough to get seats in one. It was now about 11:30 and half an hour to time for the first keg to be tapped by the mayor of Munich. By tradition, this takes place in the Schottenhamel tent (not ours), Oktoberfest’s oldest; the Lord Mayor of Munich taps the first keg of the year.

We entered the tent Ochsenbraterei, which has a seating capacity of 5900. The ground floor looked pretty packed, but we tried a few tables to see if we could squeeze in and join them, but everyone was full or holding the last few seats for others.

Tables can be reserved, but it takes 10 people to reserve a table and you have to pay for the group ahead of time (cost = 2 beers + 1/2 chicken per person or probably $50/person * 10 people). There are unreserved tables, but just maybe some of that early morning crowd beat us here. We decided we’d see if we could have better luck upstairs. Some of the tables were reserved, but there was a good stretch of tables completely open. (Part of ) one was now ours!

While waiting, the band from this tent’s (YouTube) parade group entered the tent and paraded around the tent, just below us.

We sat for a few minutes until our waiter came around and we ordered zwei (2) Maß, grilled chicken (kind of the staple dish here). At noon, onstage (we could hear, but not see), the first keg was being tapped; the crowd on the ground floor cheered with every tap until O’Zapft Is!” (“It is tapped!”). The beer arrived and then we started having guests at our table. Unfortunately, two of the four only spoke German. Wild coincidences do happen though, and the couple seated next to my wife had lived in Plano, Tx, just 20 miles from us.

This waiter came up the stairs carrying at least 12 Maß (12, 1 liter mugs>60lbs).

The band on stage continued to play and folks joined in singing along. You’re not allowed to dance on the tables, but you can stand on the chairs. Some went a little farther.

We finished lunch (and the beers of course) and decided to look around the grounds. On the way out, we stopped where the waiters queue up to get their food orders. These folks work really hard, carrying so much through such crowded conditions. Tents are open until midnight.

Back outside, we walked along the midway, trying to decide which other tents to visit and browsing souvenir booths.

We wanted to see what a couple of other tents were like, so we walked into the Hofbrau (6900 inside seating , 3200 outside) and the Paulaner tents (6400 seating inside and 2000 outside). Just huge crowds and the Paulaner tent definitely seemed somewhat rowdy by comparison to ours.

We strolled about some further, but it’s time to call it a day and head back to the Ubahn.