Oktoberfest Madness!!
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2008
1
39
56
Trip End
Dec 17, 2008
Munich,
Bavaria,
Germany
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Obviously, we were going to Munich for the start of the Oktoberfest, so we were just happy to have a camp site to stay at, even though it may not be the prettiest or the cleanest, & you have to pay for showers as well as metered electric - but at least we had a spot for us all, which was the main thing, & Jenny & Paul were also here! To be honest, all the above I've mentioned seem to be common traits at the German camp sites we've stayed at, & we were expecting the complete opposite from a country renowned for its caravanning & motor homing
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! Paul was still not feeling too great, so me, Jo & Dan headed into Munich on the first full day, & left him playing cards with Paul, which will keep him occupied for a few hours & hopefully get him better for the Oktoberfest tomorrow! I was actually pleasantly surprised with Munich, as it was a very beautiful city, which I wasn't so much expecting from it! It had lots of old buildings, nice squares, very clean & it seems everyone cycles around here! I much preferred it to Berlin, but obviously it doesn't come with the history that Berlin does & that's a the reason why Berlin isn't as pretty & hasn't got an old town like Munich, so that I understand, but still I just found it a much nicer place in general! We even stroked the lion's noses, which apparently bring you good luck, but make sure you stroke all four or it may not work!!! When we got back to camp that evening, it was madness - we thought we'd rocked up in Australia there was so many Aussies about & all heading to the Oktoberfest tomorrow - oh dear!!! Don't think we realised how early we were going to be getting up, as you can't be served any beer until midday when the Mayor opens the first keg, but before that you have to get a table inside a tent (if you want to be inside), as without a table you don't get served!!
So, up at 6.30am & away by 7.15am for the bus - this is madness, I've never been up this early for beer before - seriously!!!! It was crazy the amount of people on the bus & train at this time in the morning, & it was literally following the crowds to the Oktoberfest! Jenny & Paul had been before so they knew how it all worked thankfully - see there are a number of different tents, ranging in sizes from 500 in capacity to 10,000, each one serving a different beer, & you pick which one you want to go in & run for a table when the doors open
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! The plan for us was to go to the Paulaner tent, which was a big tent, split up & try to find a table for us all & if that fails head to the Lowenbrau tent opposite which opens at 10am, as opposed to 9am, so we might have a chance of doing the same thing there!We were outside the Paulaner tent at around 8am, some at different entrances, so just an hour to go - oh my God, could time go any slower!! Then the doors opened & it was chaos - my face was just stuck to some random guys back getting dragged along with the crowd, with Paul helping me so I didn't fall over - it was awful!! Anyway, made it in alive, but just had to find a table now - we were all running around like headless chickens, not knowing where anyone else was until we all called each other & realised not one of us had got a table - bloody hell, we're going to have to do all that again - aaarrgh!!
So, we headed to the Lowenbrau tent next only to discover they had opened at 9am also, so there was no chance there! After walking round for a bit, we kind of came to the conclusion we were going to have to find a table outside, until three of Jenny & Paul's friends found a table in the Paulaner tent that was reserved from 5pm, so we could stay there till 4pm, which given that you're drinking litre beers from 12pm should be plenty of time!
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! Once we were sat down, it was like the countdown until midday, & after being told off for playing cards there was very little to do to pass time except eat pretzels & gingerbread hearts, which weren't too cheap at 19 Euro's, but I did get the largest one!The closer it got to twelve, the more excitement you could see building on people's faces - it was like xmas for the adults! The parade came around & then the countdown - eventually we could have a beer!! Luckily we were one of the first tables in our section to get the beers - Agness, our waitress took a liking to Paul, & Sebb, our waiter took a liking to Jo, so we had no problems getting served all day! It's amazing watching the waiting staff, carrying at least 10 steins at a time, sometimes 12 - how do they not drop them??!!
So the beer was flowing & everyone was getting merrier by the minute! You end up talking to total randoms, but it's a great atmosphere, & I definitely think we picked a good tent as there were more local people from Germany & Austria, which gave it a bit of a more traditional feel with the lederhosen & the songs (not that we could understand them mind, but by the end of the day we were joining in with 'em all)! Great day, but we were all wrecked by 4pm & it was definitely time for home, but me being me managed to lose Paul & his phone in the whole going home process - just my usual drunken antics as a lot of you will know!! Anyway, all was fine, we found each other & toddled off back to camp, minus a phone (oops!), & were tucked up safely in bed by 6.30pm - what an eventful day!!!
