I had been wanting to go to Oktoberfest ever since I had arrived in Italy. What could be better than a few days of partying at the world capital of beer? I wouldn't have been able to go in the first place if it wasn't for a little hard work, clever thinking, and of course luck. Hotels and even hostels are not only ridiculously expensive (think $300-$500 per night for ho-hum three-star room), they are also nearly impossible to book around the Oktoberfest period. People literally make reservations years in advance, and everything is basically fully booked months before the party starts in mid-September. Even flights into the city become outrageously expensive due to demand. In July, when I began to look into making the trip, there was nothing open in either hotels or hostels. I did, however, manage to track down a pretty cheap train ticket to Munich, so as long as I could find a place to stay that wasn't too expensive I would be good to go. Day after day I checked hostel websites to see if there was any vacancy, with no luck. Miraculously, after a month of searching, a span of several consecutive nights in a cheap hostel opened up, and I booked it on the spot. I booked my train ticket afterwards, and just like that, I was golden.
Fastforward to the date of departure. I had to get up pretty darn early in the morning to get started. Of course travelling by train would be more comfortable than flying, and I wouldn't have to arrive hours early at the airport to check in and go through security; but obviously it takes much longer for the actual journey, and on top of that I would have to switch trains up north in Verona. I headed out the door well before the sun was up, and caught my first train from Bologna to the city of Romeo and Juliet.
I didn't eat much for breakfast, and planned on grabbing a bite in Verona as I would have about an hour to kill before the German train arrived to take me to Munich. I didn't care much to eat inside the station, as typically it's overpriced and lower quality than regular Italian cafe fare. I exited the station, and wandered around with thoughts of a nice little sandwich in my mind. Now, normally you can't go more than 30 yards in Italy without coming across a cafe, diner, sandwich shop, pastry shop, etc. But someway, somehow, I managed to find the sandwich black hole of Italy - I walked around for a good 30 minutes, down almost every street north and west of Verona's station, and I never came across a single establishment that was open and selling anything resembling a sandwich or croissant. I was pretty distraught, but Millers never miss a meal, so I wound up settling for a chocolate-creme filled croissant from the station cafe. I know, life is rough. Right on time, my next train showed up - it was operated by Germans, after all. The journey continued.
Strangely enough, the train ride was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. Between Bologna and Verona, the pastoral countryside was beautiful. This area is the breadbasket of Italy, a vast plain of green fields dotted every now and again by a small brown thicket of trees. Pale gold light from the eastern sky began to brighten the horizon as we pulled into the small station in the village of Poggio Rusco. While stopped there, I was treated to a picturesque Italian sunrise as dawn broke and the sun peeked out between the spindly trees of a nearby wood. It was a breathtaking display, mitigated only by the fact that I was viewing it from inside a train stopped in a village whose name translates roughly to "garbage hill". Well, I guess nothing's perfect! Likewise, the train ride north from Verona into the mountains was like riding through a brochure put together by the people who filmed Heidi or The Sound of Music. The flat plains gave way to ever increasing amounts of hills, then mountains, then towering snowcapped Alpine peaks and steep green valleys as we neared the border with Austria. This part of Italy is in reality territory gained from the country's spoils of war during World War One, and the culture here is as much German-Austrian as it is Italian. Signs are all bilingual, and the houses cease to be the blocky Italian kind; instead, Alpine wood cabins with their steep rooves line the sloping mountainsides, which themselves give way to cow-filled pastures alongside the banks of turbulent snowmelt rivers. As much as I wanted to get some sleep during the journey, I couldn't close my eyes to the striking beauty of the countryside and the mountainous terrain. It certainly made the seven-hour train ride seem to go by that much faster.
Passing through the Alps, we traveled across a narrow strip of Austria before entering Germany. A brief train stop in Innsbruck was as close as I'd get to the city, which is a place that I've always wanted to visit - but I'll make it back some day. Once over the Alps and in German territory, the scenery played out in reverse - the towering mountains with their snowy peaks receded once again into ever-diminishing hills, and before long we were pulling into Hackerbrucke Station in the very center of Munich. Backpack in hand, I set foot on German soil and wandered out into the Bavarian streets.
It was already mid-afternoon when I arrived, and I wanted to check-in at my hostel as soon as possible. I figured things would probably be pretty crazy due to Oktoberfest, and boy was I right. When I finally arrived at the hostel – it was a lot further away from the station than it looked like on the map – I was greeted by a ginormous line at the check-in counter. I waited my turn as revelers of all ages streamed in and out of the hostel, wearing hats, matching shirts, and double-fisting bottles of beer. I eventually got my room key, put my stuff away, and headed back towards the downtown area. It was even later in the afternoon by now, and I wanted to spend some time seeing the city and then join a tour of the city's historic beer halls. I’d heard that if you aren’t already inside the big party tents at Oktoberfest by noon, you probably won’t be able to enter, so I figured I'd have some fun the first night by sampling various local beers and soaking in the beer hall experience, and maybe meet some cool people while doing it. But, first thing's first - I needed to get something to eat, and take in some of the tourist stuff in the old town center.
Bavarian buildings while walking towards downtown Munich
A federal justice court
The Justice Court was on the very outskirt of the historic city center, and to get into the middle one has to cross a very large and busy street. Friends had warned me not to jaywalk in Munich (unlike Italy, where pedestrians jumping out in front of a moving bus is not an uncommon occurrence), so I was dutifully waiting for the walk signal to change. It seemed to be taking forever, and then I noticed a subterranean passage off to the side. I went down the stairs, and it was like I had entered a whole other world. The underground passage was linked to the city's extensive subway system, which spanned three underground levels, and on top of that the passageway sported shops, restaurants, bars, everything - practically an entire underground shopping mall. Pretty impressive, Germany. I walked below the busy streets and popped out in the middle of the square on the other side.
The square, Karlsplatz, is named after an unpopular ruler; but locals still call the square Stachus, named after the owner of a pub that was located here before the square's construction at the turn of the 18th century. Some things the commoners never forget, I guess. From there, I crossed under the medieval Karlstor gate, part of the old fortified wall, and entered the historic city center. Beyond the gate is Neuhauser / Kaufinger strasse, one of the main shopping and pedestrian districts in the city. Tons of stores, shops, restaurants and beer halls line the old streets, leading to the most picturesque areas of the city and its main tourist sights. Even more shops exist underground along the entire route, again linking this part of the city to the subway.
Karlsplatz square
Karlstor, part of the old medieval fortified wall that encircled the old city
I think this store was trying to insult me
Um... I don't think I want to buy anything here
Neuhauser Strasse, full of shoppers and tourists
St Michael kirche (church)
A traditional style building now occupied by a clothing store
The towers of Frauenkirche, a 15th century church
The Neues Rathaus, or New Town Hall, from the late 19th century. That's the Glockenspiel in the middle of the tower
A wider view of the Neues Rathaus. I think it's funny that "Rat haus" means town hall. Coincidence?
The famous Glockenspiel, a giant animated clock with dancing figures and jousting knights that commemorates events in Munich's storied past.
A video of the Glockenspiel in action
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
The barrel makers' dance, commemorating their role as the first group of people to venture out into the city after a particularly nasty bout of the plague
A gilded statue of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the square
Another part of the Neues Rathaus
Detail of this part of the building, showing statues and ever-present flowers
Found a poster in the square for an upcoming show featuring some of my favorite bands; seeing this was like pouring salt in a wound, as right around the time I was in Munich, Jimmy Eat World was playing a CD release show back home in Phoenix. Ugh, the sacrifices I have to make...
St Peter kirche, the oldest church in Munich
Another view of St Peter kirche. Click on the picture to see it bigger, and you can see little tiny people way up at the top of the bell tower
Heilig Geist (Holy Spirit) kirche
Creepy icon on top of the Heilig Geist kirche - either the trinity, or the Illuminati
As I moved through the old town area, I made my way to the Viktualienmarkt. It was an open air market since the old days, and now is a sort of natural/organic foods and flowers market alongside numerous restaurants, beerhalls, and butcher shops. I'd read that this was an excellent place to get some food, and I was on a mission to find some leberkase. It was suggested in my guide because it's only about 1 euro ($1.35) for a sandwich, making it the perfect student/budget traveler meal. The name literally means "liver cheese", but suprisingly it contains neither liver nor cheese. It's kind of like baloney or hot dog meat, and when slathered in local spicy mustard, it hits the spot.
Das leberkase
Some more typical Bavarian buildings
A view looking past the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) towards the central square
Another view of the Altes Rathaus. It's been rebuilt after being completely destroyed during WWII
I had some time to kill before seeking out the beerhall tour, so I wandered around a bit more
This area was inside a secluded square behind the Neues Rathaus
You can see the back of the Glockenspiel tower
Tons of creepy gargoyles lined this secluded square
I wandered into the Frauenkirche to have a look around. Not as ornate as churches in Italy, but still pretty
The marquee from a nearby theater - I felt obliged to take a picture
This claimed to be the world's largest beer stein. I would only be interested if it came filled with beer
A creepy fountain statue back near the Karlsplatz
I headed back towards the train station so I could meet up with the beer hall tour group. It was meeting up at the train station, and I was still a little early when I arrived, so I bought a beer from a station shop and waited around for people to gather. While I was waiting, some people came up and sat right next to me, and they started speaking in what sounded like American English. I struck up a conversation and found out that one of them was a student in Munich and the others were visiting for the week. They planned on going to Oktoberfest, and invited me along with them, so I figured what the hell, I might as well go. Apparently it was still early enough to get in at some places, so we headed down to the station's subway connection and hopped on the metro.
When we emerged from the subway station at the Oktoberfest grounds, I was amazed at what I saw. I had been expecting never-ending rows of beer tents, beer halls, and beer gardens, with drunken twenty- and thirty-somethings carousing and cavorting about like idiots. Instead, it was no different than walking into the state fair. There were people of all ages walking around - kids, adults, and grandparents. There were tons of carnival rides and carnival games, and everything was lit up in neon lights. Vendors selling candied nuts, giant pretzels, and sausages lined the paths and walked about. I don't know why, but I guess I was expecting a sort of a Renaissance Festival atmosphere, if you took away everything about the Renaissance Festival except the beer vendors. Clearly, this was not the case. We headed forthwith towards the Hofbrauhaus tent, and once inside, I got my first true taste of Oktoberfest. The inside of the tent was packed, and we couldn't find a space, but we got some places at the tables around the outside of the building. A burly woman waltzed up about 30 seconds after we planted ourselves there and took our order, which basically just amounted to "How many beers do you want?" Soon she came back, carrying our beers and a bunch of others in front of her like a mountain of liquid gold. I don't know how they manage to lug around all that glass and beer, but it's damn impressive.
Click to play a video of the Hofbrauhaus craziness
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
Inside the Hofbrauhaus tent
Mmmm.... the HB brew
We had a couple of beers there (a "mass" as they're called in Munich), but that was plenty, as they are one liter each and definitely more potent than your average Bud or Miller. And really not any more expensive than you'd normally find a beer in a bar in Bologna, which was a nice thing. After a few beers, the others wanted to walk around and try some of the carnival rides. I was content to watch them ride the vomit comets, because I wanted my beer to stay on the inside, so I just wandered about and took some photos of the festival and all its glittering neon lights.
The Lowenbrau lion
The tents were all jam-packed after that, so there was no point in trying to get back in to any of them. We got some awesome spicy sausages from the late-night vendors on the fairgrounds, and discussed what to do next. The one girl who was studying in Munich knew of a club nearby to the fairgrounds, so we headed there. It seemed pretty nice, but the drinks were definitely not on the cheap side, and I was pretty exhausted from all the travel I'd done that day, so I didn't stay very long. I said goodnight and headed towards my hostel, getting epically lost along the way (pretty sure I managed to get outside the city limits). I eventually found my way back to the hostel, and crashed for the night.
I had to wake up relatively early the next day. Prior to making the trip, I joined CouchSurfing, a social networking website similar to Facebook but geared towards travelling and meeting people in other countries to hang out with. There was an organized group of Couchsurfers meeting everyday at the Oktoberfest grounds to go together to the tents, so I had to be at the meeting spot by 11am to get in on the action. I was out the hostel door by 10am and followed my free city map towards the festival.
The immaculate, tree-lined streets of Munich
Along the way I stopped by a fruit vendor to buy something fresh for breakfast, and to have a go at speaking some German. It must have been awful because the fruit vendor responded in English when handing me back my change. Oh well, I tried. I made it to the meeting spot early, and others started to trickle in. In the end, we ended up being a pretty international group: four Americans (myself, a defense worker staying in Stuttgart, and a couple from New York), a pair of Mexican guys studying in Austria, my Argentinian roommate from the hostel whom I'd met that morning, an Indian guy, and a real Munich-ite (Munich-ian? Munich-er?) to guide us. Our merry little band headed off towards the Augustiner tent at high noon to start the party.
The meeting spot: the Statue of Bavaria, about 90 feet tall from the base to the top
The statue, a personification of the State of Bavaria, is the largest bronze cast statue since the times of the Greeks and Romans
The festival looks a lot different during the daytime
That rascally Lowenbrau lion again, this time in the daylight
Germans with guns. A nearby group of Frenchmen spontaneously surrendered
OUTTA THE WAY, THE BEER IS HERE!
Finally inside the Augustiner tent. This is about noon, and it's only about a quarter of the area in the tent
We were luckily able to find a table big enough for all of us, sat down, and promptly put in our order for beer. I hadn't eaten much yet, so I was ready to get my hands on some real traditional German fare. The others felt the same, so we put in our food orders too: everyone else got hendl, half a roasted chicken, but I chose to go all out and spring for the schnitzel. And was I ever glad I did.
The beers have arrived!
PROST! (cheers)
Mmmm, schnitzel!
The hendl eaters
It was apparently 'Italian Weekend', when lots of southern Europeans come to Oktoberfest. These guys sported pope hats that read "God save the beer"
The Augustiner brew - each of the big tents serves only its own brand
Our very international gang
The Argentinian guy couldn't get enough of the pretzel girls
Cheers to your health!
Here's a short video of the Augustiner experience. Keep in mind, there are about twelve other giant tents like this one, and countless smaller tents.
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
We stayed there for hours, eating and drinking mass after mass. It's way too good, and goes down far too easy. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, we decided to venture out and find something new. First we swung by the Hippodrom tent, so named because of the importance of horse racing in Oktoberfest's roots. But there wasn't really anywhere to sit, so a few of us decided to head to the downtown area to walk around, get something else to eat, and some cheaper beers at the beer garden in the Viktualienmarkt.
Inside the Hippodrom
Every tent had its own oompah band, but they all played the same damn drinking song that I heard about a million times over the course of the day
At the Viktualienmarkt beer garden. More leberkase and sausage sandwiches
I decided to broaden my beer horizons at the beer garden, since they had a wide range of brews. I went for a dunkl, a dark beer (as you can clearly see)
The New Yorkers and I throwin back a mass
After we'd had our fill once more at the Viktualienmarkt, we somehow decided to head back towards Oktoberfest. It was by now getting pretty late at night, and chances of getting into a tent were significantly slimmer. But somehow, magically, we managed to get into yet another place to continue the party.
We made new friends all night long
Crazy German Guy is crazy
Silly tourists, tables aren't for sitting, they're for dancing!
Beer, dirndls, roasted meat, oompah bands... who could ask for anything more?
PLAY FREE BIRD!
I like this photo because of the mounted animal heads watching benevolently over the craziness going on below
A late-night train taking all the local revelers home. This has to be the drunkest train in the history of the world. What do you think it's called: the Regurgitant Zephyr? The Upchuck Express? Also, notice all the babysitters making sure no one passes out on the tracks
I stumbled home to the hostel, quite content with my Oktoberfest experience up to this point. There is still lots more to come. Due to the lengthiness of this post, I decided to break it up into two parts, so you can continue reading on in the next post, or come back tomorrow and finish. Don't miss the rest of the tale! Click here to go to the second part right away!
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