Oktoberfest
Ahhh what a weekend it has been….
Day 1
Before I moved to Paris one of my oldest friends from Atlanta, Mary Scott, told me that she was going to Oktoberfest. So naturally, I had to meet her there. In order to make it for the last weekend of Oktoberfest, Claire and I took an early morning flight from Paris to Munich. Here is a brief history of Oktoberfest:
Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to help celebrate the royal matrimony. These fields were later named Theresienwiese ("Wies’n" – what locals call Oktoberfest) in honor of the Crown Princess.
As part of the royal wedding events, horse races marked the close of the festival. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest. The horse races, which were the oldest event of the festival, are no longer held.
As part of the festivities, visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 beer tents replaced the beer stands and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries.
When we arrived in Munich we quickly checked into our hostel and changed into our Dirndls. A Dirndl is a traditional Bavarian dress that dates back to the 19th century as the uniform of Austrian domestic workers. At Oktoberfest, it is tradition for women to wear Dirndls and men to wear Lederhosen. Fortunately for Claire and I, my cousin Paige already had two Dirndls from a party that she had thrown a couple of years ago so we just wore those. While we were changing, three of Claire’s friends (one from Michigan and two from Munich) stopped by the hostel to say hi. They brought us our first beer of the day and walked over to the festival grounds with us.
Once we arrived at the festival grounds I was shocked at how many other things there were to do besides go to the beer tents. It was basically a giant fair that included various food stands, games, carnival rides, and 14 beer tents. Claire and I had table reservations at Schottenhamel so we headed straight there. When we arrived at the tent, we met up with Mary Scott, what seemed like 50 Wharton MBA students (Mary Scott’s fiancé is a 2nd year at Wharton), and my cousin Paige. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking over-sized beers, singing to German songs that we didn’t know, and meeting new people from all over the world. It was an entertaining afternoon that ended with a nap at the hostel. When we woke up, Claire and I met up with her Michigan and German friends at a local bar nearby for a couple of drinks.
Day 2
Deciding to take a break from Oktoberfest, Claire and I went to lunch with Mary Scott and friends at Restaurant 181. The restaurant is unique because it is located 181 meters above the city and turns slowly as you eat. As such, we were able to enjoy beautiful views of Munich while eating some traditional Bavarian food. After lunch, we walked over to the BMW headquarters/museum and fantasized about buying a new car.
For dinner, we ate at Enter the Dragon, an awesome Asian fusion restaurant and then headed to a bar/club called Lucky Who before calling it an early night.
Day 3
As it was the last day of Oktoberfest, we decided to get to the beer tents early to make sure we got a table. And by early, I mean 9:30 a.m. Let me just say that this was a mistake. Not only were there plenty of tables available at 9:30 a.m., there were plenty of tables available at 11:00 a.m. And to starting drinking beer at 9:30 a.m. in hopes of lasting the whole day is not a good game plan. But we learned our lesson and survived with the help of good friends.
Day 4
On our last day in Munich we moved slowly. We took a long morning walk and ate a healthy lunch at Wagner’s Juicery & Health Food. The afternoon was spent walking around and doing a little bit of window-shopping. It was the perfect lazy day that was finished with an aperitif at a rooftop bar and dinner at Fei Scho, a Vietnamese restaurant. In conclusion of our Munich trip, Claire and I absolutely love Germany. Everyone we met was so kind and welcoming and eager to show us the best parts of Munich.
