Oktoberfest! Prost!

Munich, Germany

September 26th - 29th, 2013

10 Things you should know when going to Oktoberfest

1. Don't camp - It sounds like a fun and creative time to spend your experience but you will soon regret it when you realize it is very cold, especially at night. Also, everyone likes a party, but after a long all day drinking experience who doesn't like a warm bed and a little quiet? The sounds of people puking and hooking up all night when you are uncomfortable is pretty horrible. 

2. Dress the part - Dirndls and Lederhosen are expensive but you are at Oktoberfest! You stick out like a sore thumb if you don't dress up and it is totally a part of the experience. There are places to buy them all over the city and if you look for a good deal you might be able to find one! 

3. Go early! - Tents fill up fast especially the popular ones like Augustiner and Hofbräuhaus. The tents can fit up to around10,000 people but they do reach capacity at one point, leaving one and getting back in is nearly impossible. Security is not nice and they don't care if your friends are in there or not. Also, at the first tent I went to, all of the people on the balconies got kicked out after awhile so find a table on the ground floor! Plus, the tents don't stay open late like you probably hoped, day drinking is more festive. Most tents are kicking people out at about 10 pm! 

4. Find a table - You cannot be served unless you are sitting at a table in the tents. People tend to be quite nice when you ask to sit down so don't be afraid. You might even make a friend or two. People often love to talk when they are 3 steins in. 

5. Tip well - The more you tip on your first round with the beermaids, the better chance they will come back to your table when you are looking for round two. Also, be nice, those women are clearly awesome because they can carry like 15 steins when I can barely hold one up with two hands.  

6. Stick with friends - Oktoberfest is huge and being alone in such a big place can be overwhelming. One of my friends left the tent to go to the bathroom and literally could not get back in and lost the people she was with. Being under the influence and alone makes you a target ladies, be smart. 

7. Go on the rides - I didn't get a chance to go an any but they actually looked really cool. They were a lot different than American fair rides and even though tickets are expensive, you might only go once so do it! 

8. Be spontaneous - There is a lot of chanting, singing and dancing in the tents. Some people wait all year for Oktoberfest and their excitement shows. Hop on a table and show off your moves and sing even though you don't know the words. Like I said, you may even go once and this is the perfect place to act crazy if that isn't a norm for you. 

9. Know your way home - Chances are, you will be drinking at the festival. It goes without saying that being in a new place drunk can get confusing so make sure you have a metro map and pass to get back to your hostel or camp site. 

10. Have fun - Some people dream of going to this festival and never get the chance. You are in Europe and this is something that you will remember forever. Some of the best times that I had in Europe was at Oktoberfest. It is an incomparable experience. I highly recommend going. 

Now to my experience, I booked my Oktoberfest trip through Bus2Alps and I chose the camping option. We had an overnight trip by bus from Florence to Munich and it took about 8 hours. We arrived at the Stoke Travel campsite in the morning and upon check in we were served beer and then shown to our tents. Roughing it was an understatement. Because this was my first trip, I packed like I was staying at a hotel. I did not expect for it to be as simple as it was, lets just say. The tent consisted of a pool floaty and a old sleeping bag. Not my first choice but I was so excited to be there it didn't matter that much. The campsite was about 30 minutes away from the festival by public transportation and all we wanted to do was see the festival. When we got in we put down our bags and headed out into the city to explore. I had been to Munich in the past for a class I was in. I spent about two weeks in Germany in March of 2013 and our first stop on the trip was Munich. When we returned for Oktoberfest we were dying to go to the bar we really liked when we were there earlier that year and to indulge in the lovely goodness of a doner kebab, which is a popular Turkish sandwich all over Europe. After that, we went and bought our Dirndls for the festival and then we found ourselves at the festival to see what we were going to experience the following day. The first night we just walked around and looked at all of the interesting things Oktoberfest had to offer. We ate Spätzle and people watched. We didn't drink at the festival that night but we were so ready for it in the morning. When we went back the campsite there was partying going on there too. It was unlimited beer and sangria and a bunch of cool Australian people. We had a good time and a few drinks but went to bed early because we were waking up really early the next day for the festival. 

After a sleepless night due to freezing temperatures and sounds of hooking up, we got up and started to get ready for the crazy day we had ahead of us at the festival. We put our dirndls on and braided our hair and headed for the festival at about 7 am to wait in line until 10ish to get into the tents. The wait took forever but when we were finally in we got a table and started drinking. The chanting and singing was insane and I couldn't believe how strong the beer was. We were kicked out at about Noon for some reason and we went off to find another tent. We got into the Augustiner tent and drank for another few hours and then ended up going to walk around the festival for awhile. At about 5 pm after a day of non-stop drinking, my friends and I were ready to go back to the campsite and relax until going out again that evening. After the nap we woke up and spent the night at the campsite partying it up.

On Sunday we woke up and headed to Dachau, Germany to visit the concentration camp there. I had been there before and it is something that I completely recommend doing if you are interested at all in that part of Germany's history. It isn't far from Munich and free to enter. One of my roommates and I went back into Munich and had lunch and did a little shopping before we caught the bus back to Florence that afternoon. 

I loved my experience at Oktoberfest and in Munich in general. I really hope that I have the opportunity to lead other people to have an even better experience than I did. 

All of my love,