Tag: Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest – Part 2: beer tents and amusements

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Imagine a big beer tent in the US, a few hundred people in it, live music of course, good mood and great food and drinks. Now that would be the equivalent of a small tent at the Oktoberfest. And there are 21 small tents, usually specialized: fish, wine, sweets, etc.

Additionally to the small tents, there are big beer tents. 17 of them to be precise, and they are BIG! They seat 6-10,000 people and the have additional outside beergardens for a few thousand people. It’s amazing!

Seating is not difficult before 4pm, if you want to get a seat after 4pm, you need a reservation (that you can do at the official website: http://www.Oktoberfest.de) Don’t book through any other source, they’re not legitimate! At the entrance of each tent is security, they check bags, sort out drunk people and count how many people get in and out. If the tent is full, it’s full and there is no way of “schmusing” your way in – even a low cut dirndl doesn’t help! Believe me 😜

Entrance

A general good idea is to not carry a big handbag with you. At the entrances is a bag check and – unless you have a baby with you – they don’t allow bigger bags inside the “Wiesn”. They also sort out glass bottles or anything an airport security check would not allow. So just be smart and bring: nothing and your wallet!

One big difference to any American Fairground, where you pay ~$15 or $20 to get in, the Oktoberfest is a free event!

No entrance fees!!!

😍

Amusement

There are 2 main streets at the Oktoberfest, the Wirtsbudenstrasse and the Schaustellerstrasse (Beertentstreet and the amusement street) with several streets connecting them.

At the south end is the big Ferris Wheel. It is 50 meters high (~150”) and has 40 gondolas for 8 people each. It is not the biggest Ferris Wheel on earth, but it has the most beautiful view. To the south you see the Alps, to the north, at the foot of the Ferris wheel, is the Oktoberfest, surrounded by Munich with all its beautiful landmarks. it costs €10 per person and goes around 5 times. Since I’m afraid of heights, it was 4.5 times too many and my photos are not taken from the top. That’s where I had my eyes closed and my hands were holding on to the seat with a death grip 😖

My friend Lisa leaning over to me – emotional support!

And of course there are numerous rides you can try, some of which originated from the 19th century, some brand new, super fast and scary like hell! more than 50 different choices, from the little fairytale ride for the little ones to everything that challenges the beer you just drank. They do recommend to wear “throw-up proof shoes for a reason! 😳

Oktoberfest – part 1: history and food

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History

Oktoberfest, annual festival in Munich, Germany, held over a two-week period (with three adjacent weekends), and ending on the first Sunday in October. That’s why most of the Oktoberfest is happening in September. The weather in October is sometimes a hit and miss, that’s why the organizers moved it to earlier times.

The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the royal marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

The locals call it “Wiesn”, because it happens at the Theresienwiese, meaning “Theresa’s lawn“, a huge fairground area in the middle of Munich.

The Beer

The beer is specially brewed for Oktoberfest and extra strong! 5.9%. It is slowly fermented throughout the summer months to allow the beer to pick up the rich malt flavors. Only beer brewed in Munich is allowed at the Oktoberfest!

1.8 MILLION GALLONS OF BEER (7 million liters = 7 million mass) are consumed at the Oktoberfest each year!

PROST

The Food

But the beer is not the only specialty at Oktoberfest. The food is awesome too! For example grilled oxen. In 16 days, they grill ~150 oxen, roughly 10 per day. Along with 500,000 chickens, 15,000 ducks, half a million sausages, 52,000 kg of fish, etc. Walking around the fairgrounds makes you hungry; the smell of every booth, every tent is just like heaven!

“Steckerlfisch“ – fish (usually Macarels) are grilled on a stick
Oxen roast with potato salad
Smoked fish
Ox on the grill (this one used to a 550kg animal)
Brezn, white
Sausages and sweet mustard have to be eaten before 12pm!

Sustainability

If the Oktoberfest would be in the US, you’d end up with a mountain of waste, a garbage pile as tall as the Zugspitze! But here in Munich, they are more environmental conscious: they use porcelain plates and “real” silverware! No paper plates or plastic cutlery! The silverware, roughly 1 million knives, forks and spoons DAILY are brought to Passau, a town 200 km East of Munich on the border of Austria and the Check Republic, where they are washed, dried and wrapped in a napkin and shipped back to Munich. 4 truck full loads of silverware per day. The porcelain plates and the glass beer mugs are cleaned on site. One of those special beer mug dishwashers can clean 2800 mugs an hour with a cold rinse at the end, so they can be filled with the liquid gold right after the cleaning process.

People

About 6 million people visit the Wiesn each year! It gets very crowded at night and on weekends. No baby strollers are allowed the fairgrounds at those times, otherwise the Wiesn is very kid friendly. In the morning there are many school classes to be seen, lots of rides especially for the little ones.

Transportation

For Americans, the most unusual fact might be that there is not public parking at the fairgrounds. None! Zero!!! So you take public transportation, which is excellent, easy to use and self explanatory. Take the underground lines U3, U4, U5 or U6. Or S1,2,3,4,6,7,8. Or tram 18,19. Or bus 58, 62, 53, 143. Or a taxi. Or a bike. etc. And just follow the crowds, go where everybody else is going. Or just ask anybody. Or, if you are a shy person, follow the sign “Zur Festwiese” (to the fairground)