Beer, Bratwurst, and BMW

Munich at night
see all photos »

Oktoberfest in one word is unbelievable. Munich in one word is fantastic. This amazing trip started at 6:30 in the morning when all of us from OSU met at the train station to board the 7:00 train to Hamburg and then on to Munich, where we arrived at 7pm. As a group, we had been planning this trip since the spring when previous Aarhus study abroad students insisted we go to Oktoberfest. Once on the underground, we were instantly introduced to the event nicknamed "beerfest" when one passenger failed to get off at the last stop after passing out across two benches from the day's festivities. We stayed at the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel, where one of the boys booked a room. The Arabella Sheraton had a rolls royce, bentley, and mercedes and lines of newer luxury cars parked out front. It is a 4-5 star hotel, where we were clearly out of place. Regardless, we all shared 4 barely double beds and the floor for three nights and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

first litres
see all photos »

After arriving at the hotel we headed downtown to the Hofbrauhaus, a famous brewery in Munich. Munich was packed with people and we all got the feeling that Oktoberfest doesn't just happen in one part of the city for three weekends out of the year, but everywhere almost everyday. Once inside the Hofbrauhaus we grabbed some tables outside and a beer maid came carrying litres of beer in both arms. Other waitresses were walking around selling giant 12inch across pretzels that tasted sooooo good but were so salty that we all sucked down the first litre of beer in a matter of minutes. We eventually moved inside to the main beer hall and sat at one of the long tables. The favorite but often impossible pastime of many visitors is to steal one of the glass litre mugs from the beer gardens and houses. The bouncers at the exits often search bags and chase after people who attempt to sneak one out as a souvenir. But Chris figured out the foolproof way by sticking the litre down his pants and walking outside with it between his legs. Over the weekend, he took four litre mugs using this method. Around 11pm we decided to head back to the hotel in order to be well-rested for our first day of the world's largest beer festival.

completely common to see someone passed out anywhere there was space
see all photos »

Up at 6am and on the underground by 7:30 we arrived at Oktoberfest with thousands of others, half of who were wearing lederhosen and traditional german bar maid outfits. Oktoberfest is like a city all to itself. The place is absolute chaos with mor etourists than Germans. Lining the streets were booths with food, sovereigns, and games and all kinds of carnival rides were spread around the park in clusters. While nothing was open yet, thousands of people were already lining up outside the beer tents and strolling the streets. We stopped first at a beer tent that looked like it promised a good party. Doors were to open at 9am and over the course of the hour the line grew out into the street and into the line of the tent across the street. Every time a beer truck or security car rolled through people had to make room and so each line was squished and smashed together. Approximately every ten minutes I would be pushed up and down and around, with my arms stuck to my sides and my feet in a completely different location than my body. At one point I completely relaxed my muscles and stayed standing because there wasn't room to fall between five people smashed against me. After 9 came and passed and the line still hadn't moved, we discovered that the tent was already full with people who had bought tickets. Apparently, there was another line for those with tickets who get priority. In order to get these tickets you must buy them a year in advance or have awesome connections. We chose to bail on the line and began walking around the booths, checking out souvenirs. After awhile, we decided it was time to find a tent, because after all, we came here to drink beer. The Paulaner tent had tables outside and we were able to grab an empty table with an old Italian couple. The trick about Oktoberfest is that they won't serve you beer unless you're sitting down, so tables are the hottest commodity. Once you have a table, you DO NOT MOVE. The rest of our day was spent drinking litres of beer at this table. Cindy and I bought a sausage and later we ordered sauerkraut and sausages with mustard. For me, the Oktoberfest experience was complete. I also had a gingerbread cookie. These frosted heart-shaped cookies were everywhere and people wore them around their necks with a ribbon. They were also shrink-wrapped. That should have told me the quality of these cookies, not to mention I never saw anyone eating one. But i ate it, and it tasted like cardboard with stale frosting.

arriving at Oktoberfest
see all photos »

We also met several Americans who were studying in Prague and had come to Munich for Oktoberfest. They were in need of a table and so we scrunched together to make room and increased our party to about 15 people at any one time, because after all, the more the merrier. Oktoberfest lives up to every stereotype nad expectation. Everyone was drinking beer, singing songs, making new friends, long lines for the toilets, and everyone happy happy happy. But most of all it's about consuming as much beer as possible. In all the souvenir booths there are shirts that say "I survived Oktoberfest" with a picture of a fat drunk guy lying on his back. At first we were laughing at the shirts, thinking that it couldn't be that hard to suvive Oktoberfest. But by Monday monring, everyone agreed the shirts had some truth to it, and it is quite the accomplishment to make it out of Munich with your wallet in your pocket, not arrested or dead.

the beer tents
see all photos »

By about 3:45 people began passing out. I was smart and spaced my three litres of beer over 6 hours managing to be happy but guarantee I would be feeling good the next morning. By around 6pm those that were left and I made our way to the boys' favorite ride; a spinny-upsidedown-twirly-swinging thing. It was fun, but my favorite ride of all time is still The Dragon at Tivoli in Copenhagen. We eventually made it back to our hotel around 8pm and ordered room service before falling asleep at 11:30.

see all photos »

Sunday morning we all slept in until 9 and decided to start our day sightseeing. On our way downtown, the group got separated and so I spent the day with Brandon, Cindy and Kent. We ate lunch at the Hofbrauhaus, which consisted of coleslaw, potato dumplings, and a pork knuckle. The waitress laughed when we all ordered water and soda and no beer. After lunch we checked out the Deutsches Museum. The museum has over 100,000 original objects from science and technology including every industry from mining to power tools to aeronautics to atomic physics and dating back to the stone age to the present. There are over 30 different exhibitions and one could spend all day at the museum, but because we were pressed for time and wanted to spend most of it at Olympia Park, we only visited the aeronautics, astronautics, and some science exhibits.

the boys in their hats
see all photos »

Olympia Park was magnificent. We arrived around 3:30 and didn't leave until the sun had set at about 7:30. Olympia park is a sprawling, rolling park with paths full of walkers, runners, and bikers, and wrapping around ponds and the different athletic complexes. Tourists as well as locals were spending a lovely Sunday afternoon at the park. We first visited the BMW Museum which had a few exhibits on display at Olympia Park while the main building is being renovated. Being one of my favorite cars, I will definitely be coming back to Munich to see the new BMW museum as it promises visitors the ability to breathe, taste, smell, touch, and hear everything BMW. The highlight of the museum was seeing my favorite model (the 2000) in a shiny, bright cherry red from 1971.

sausage
see all photos »

Our next stop was the Olympic Tower where we viewed Munich at 190 meters in the air. It was breathtaking. In the horizon we could see the hot air balloons dotting the sky against the backdrop of the Alps. We also noticed people touring the Olympic Stadium and so we eventually made our way down to the ground to set off to our next destination. But we got held up by a sign saying, "Trampoline-Bungee". For a euro each, we all got five minutes to jump on the trampolines. Laughing the whole time, we all agreed that it was the best euro we ever spent and the best time we had had so far. Walking along the path, we spotted several benches and rocks and several photo opportunities. By the time we made it to the Olympic Stadium, the gates were closed and we couldn't figure out how to enter. But we just continued on the path and made it to a little lookout point at the top of the hill and took in the sunset. I could have spent all day there. Visitors can swim in the olympic pool, eat at the beer garden, and enjoy the calm but vibrant outdoors at this popular tourist and local attraction.

my Oktoberfest is complete
see all photos »

Sunday night was a peaceful night for me. We ordered room service once we arrived back at the hotel and then I chose to stay in and get ready for the trip back to Denmark while the others went out for a last night on the town. While everyone had a blast, we were super tired from not sleeping well that night and so we woke up early and caught the 7am train home to Aarhus. After 13.5 hours on the train and bus I made it safely home from Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest was an unreal experience. It was a lot of fun but only in moderation. Munich was an enjoyable city that I didn't get to spend enough time in. I hope to visit Munich again so that I may devote more time to Olympia Park, soak in the world of BMW, and visit the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle - "an architectural masterpiece set atop a precipice among the Bavarian Alps just 90 min. south of Munich near the Austrian border." I encourage you all to google this castle...it's idyllic.

sausages and sauerkraut
see all photos »

While Copenhagen was fun and Stockholm was beautiful, Munich was both, times ten. I loved Munich and will definitely be back.