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There is really only one thing I can say about Oktoberfest: WHAT A RIDE!
I don't think even those words do it justice. But what an experience.
After several emails back and forth with our friend, Mike, who we found out was also traveling in Europe and we actually overlap in Munich, we decided on a meeting place and time to meet up.
Our hotel was altitude less than a mile to the Theresienweise, which we knew would come in handy for the end of the night walks back. And as we walked to it for the first time, we knew we were going the right was because of all the people walking like zombies or stumbling home walking from where we were headed.
We met up with Mike, but he had met a girl that he promised to walk to the metro station, so Kev and I were on our own fir the first tent.
Walking into our first tent on Tuesday night (The Hippodrom) was like the scene i n the movie "Moulin Rouge" when Christian (Ewan McGreggor) walked into the Moulin Rouge the first time. It was loud and full of red faced, drunk, outgoing and happy people speaking all different languages. Most were standing on their seats singing as the smashed their drinks together (Kevin calls this "swash buckling"). I think I stood there for a moment just looking around and taking this all in.
People were singing, "Heeeeeeey Baby, I wanna know, if you'd be my girl", a favorite among Germans I suppose because we heard that one over and over no matter which tent we went to. Some other favorites were, "you're the one I want" (from Grease), "99 luft balloons" (of course), and some other 80s songs. When the band would play these songs, the people would go nuts! Even stop when you are mid conversation to yell, "yes! I love this song!" (mind you, it was a guy who did this.
The rule is that in order to be served a beer, you have to be sitting at a table. So you better be ready to get chummy with people. However, the servers make most of their money on their tips, so if you are standing near a table they might still serve you. That is how Kev and I were able to get our first beer.
The beer at the hippodrom was pretty good, and according to Kevin, it was his favorite our of all of the tents we ended up visiting. They only serve beer by the liter, which is the way it is all over Munich, with however there are 2 places that offer a half a liter. By the time we finished our beer, it was time to meet Mike again.
We met up with Mike again and went to our next tent (Hacker-Festzelt). Before I know it, we are standing on the seats of a table down in front and I have a German guy telling me all about how he got the. It under his eye, "I got in a fight and the person threw the first punch, but he never got another hit in.". I replied politely with an, "oh wow.". Or something like that. Then he said, "Just kidding, iz a sporzz injury.". I don't know, but the German people loved me.
We stood and danced and sang until the closing of the festival for the evening. And when the festival closes, you better pound your beer and get on your way.
We decided to follow up the finishing of Oktoberfest by heading to a nearby bar and grabbing one last beer before we headed back to the hotel. That night was probably the first night that both Kev and I were able to sleep straight through the night.
The next day we walked around and got a little history of the town with an audio guide (thanks Rick Steves). We saw some pretty interesting stuff, the new town hall clock, a few churches, fun open markets that serve traditional German meals, etc. but soon, it was time to head back to the room and get ready for Oktoberfest night 2.
We met up with Mike again around 5:30. The place was packed! But it didn't stop us as we entered into the Augustine tent. Kev and I learned on our tour that Augustine was the oldest brewery in Munich. Kev and I both agreed that their beer was probably our least favorite.
After Augustine we went to the Paulander tent (which is one if Kev's favorite beers in general). And finally, we went back to the hippodrom where spent the rest of the night singing and Dancing and meeting tons of people.
I haven't even talked about the food at Oktoberest! It's amazing! It's like going to the fair - great food that is cooked to perfection. We tried a ton of food that night, grilled chicken, sausage, fried fish, fries, and so on. I think the best food I had in Germany was at Oktoberfest. Otherwise, I was not really a fan.
The following day, Friday, we had to catch a bus at 4 to Prague, so we were still able Togo and enjoy a traditional German meal and a half liter of beer. We followed that up with a trip tithe Hofbrauhaus. Hofbrau is another really old brewery that was exclusive to the royal family. They have a tent at Oktoberfest, which we avoided only because we knew we were going to be paying a visit to the hofbrauhaus.
After our liter of beer there, it was time for us to catch our bus.
Fun Fact: During the end of WWII, the allies bombed the hell out of Munich destroying everything. The first buildings that were rebuilt we're Hofbrau and several other of their breweries. (German priorities!)
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