Oktoberfest 2008...Everything you think it is and then some!

I wish I could explain the Oktoberfest experience in words...but there are not any that give it justice. Here is my attempt. First, I thought I knew what I was getting into before we arrived in Munich (called Munchen in German) as I thought that the festival was confined to the park in Munchen where all of the tents are instead where it actually takes place, the entire state of Bavaria. On Friday when we got there we decided to brave the cold drizzle and try to sight see. We went to the HofBrauhaus (the most famous beer hall in Germany) and that is when I noticed that the entire city was in a drunken stooper with people wall to wall and platz to platz dressed in traditional Bavarian dress. I have NEVER seen so many drindels and liederhosen in my entire life! Any where you went in the city people were celebrating with drink and off-key singing. As for the Hofbrauhaus we didn't have a prayer of getting in as we heard a woman who worked there telling the crowd in front that they could let another group in but they had to behave and not pee on the floor. Yes, I am not kidding. We saw famous landmarks like the Frauenkircke, Neo-Gothical Rathaus, St. Peter's Church, and the Residenz House. Munchen is very impressive, but due to our short time there we decided to center this trip completely around beer (as were the rest of the people) and save the sights for next summer. In the spirit of beer we took a beer tour. Yep, they have those there :) We started out at the train station where you first learned to properly toast the beer German-style and we quicky drank it and were on our way to the beer museum, and then to dinner at the Hofbraukeller. I will blog about the history of beer and the history of Oktoberfest tomorrow as it is very interesting. I am afraid that you won't see any pictures as someone , I don't know who, named Annie had too much to drink and left her camera at the Hofbraukeller. It is very sad. Apparently when you marry someone you pick up their drunken habits! We did have a good time drinking and talking with our new Australian friends. I wish we could say we had a good nights sleep, but that is untrue as we had to be up very early to get in line for a spot in the tents the next day.
We met up with Whittle (friend from college), his wife and some other Americans bright and early and headed out to the Ochsenbraterei Tent to wait in the cold. Here is a snapshot to capture a little bit of our cold misery... We waited for about a hour and a half until 9 am when they let in about 50 people at a time. Believe me...when the scary German Polizei says HAULT! You do not push it. It was otherwise pleasant and organized. We did see a lot of these guys...everywhere...
That was inside the tent where rows and rows of tables and benches are set up. The staff is ready too as we were all served 20 minutes after we sat down. This tent is home to one of the four major brewery's in Munchen, the Spatenbrau. Inside the tent we hung out with 7500 of our closest friends from around the world...here they are (And there are more behind us)! It is nowhere near chaotic, it is actually very organized and very fun!
At about 10 am or something an Umpah Band comes in and plays music and people get up and dance, put there arms around strangers and Prohst (cheers in German)! I cannot explain how awesome it is. They play some German music and then some old worldly favorites like "Country Road" and "Hey Baby"! When the band was not singing the Spaniards (sitting behind TJ and at least two tables worth) serenaded us with spanish drinking songs. Of course my table of Americans broke out with "In heaven there is no beer..." SO FUN! Here is a peak at the band.

A table of Aussies sat behind us and they are the most organized drinkers in the world! They had a ring leader that spouted off directions for those who strayed, the finances of the day, etc. And if you have not had a drink with an Aussie please note that their tolerance is amazing. At all the tents they serve beer in 1 liter glass mugs. They are giant and heavy! My left hand that I was drinking with is swollen from lifting the glass to my mouth for 7 straight hours. The glass is taller and bigger than my head and neck. I drank over four liters in that tent...that is well over a gallon! Don't worry I paid for it the entire next day.
TJ also paid for his drinking. Good news...he did not pass out until we went to a bar around 6pm. He was only out about 5 minutes and then went strong the rest of the night. Good job, Honey!

We had a ton of fun and will do it again next year for those who are interested. Next year we will try to have a table reserved so we can stay past 4 pm. For any of you who are interested let us know! I do believe every person that enjoys beer should come and experience this festival first hand you won't regret it! Lets put it this way, Oktoberfest makes my 5 years of college look like a pillow fight. In closing I will leave you with a taste of the fun...here is a video with a familiar song!

If you want to see some other photos of the festival please go to TJ's Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tjlucero. See you next year in Munchen!

Auf Wiedersehen