jeudi 24 octobre 2013

Oktoberfest. A Beer Celebration That Gets Munich's Festival Mood On

By Jordan Ebor


I think I would really love my wedding to be the reason for celebrating beer! Feast a queen and a king by tasting as much beer as my liver can bear, eating while people are dancing until their feet go numb. OK, Challenge accepted. I'm getting married at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany!

This Beerfest is for the celebration of the best beers in the world, Bavarian Lagers. It is held in Munich over a 16 day period every September/October. If you go to Oktoberfest one thing that will blow you away is the size of the crowds in Munich. There is millions of people EVERYWHERE! So you really need to plan ahead and get there as early as you can, because actually finding a seat at a table inside the beer halls could take ages. So that is one thing that you have to keep in mind when are Oktoberfest in Munich - Get ready for the crowds!. I actually read up about this beforehand so I got in line at 8am on the opening day so that I was ready for the festivities.

If you really want to get into the tradition of Oktoberfest then I suggest you get yourself the costume. If you are a girl then look into getting a Dirndl, the traditional dress for Bavarian girls. If you're a bloke then get some Lederhosen, the Dirndl's male version. You can rent or buy these traditional outfits from a numbers of shops across Munich. They cost somewhere between 80 and 300 Euros, but I recommend that you definitely consider the costume, it will make your experience so much better.

I stayed in a hotel that was a short walk to the Theresienwiese, which is the name of the area for the Oktoberfest grounds. Munich has plenty of accommodation options, but like anywhere if you want the cheapest price then you should book early. Hotel prices start from around 150Euro per night for a 3 night stay. If you're looking at saving a bit of money on the accommodation then you can also look at hostels and campgrounds.

Like most European cities the public transport is incredible in Munich and you can easily get into and out of the Oktoberfest grounds. The U4 and U5 Metro Lines will take you right to the Oktoberfest grounds with a train arriving around every 10 minutes at the most.

When I first got there I was dazed and confused seeing so many Bavarian people ready to start to party. One wise solution for meeting new people to spend time with, particularly if you are by yourself, is just start up conversations with the people around you. The party people at Oktoberfest are very friendly and if you get the chance to meet locals you will have a more authentic trip and probably learn a thing or two about Munich or the Oktoberfest along the way.

I caught up with some local Bavarians in the Paulaner beer hall who mentioned that there favourite Oktoberfest food is a 1/2 metre long Bratwurst sausage in a large hot dog bun. It is basically a gigantic grilled pork sausage hot dog! Im not normally a big pork eater, but I found out that it is very popular in Germany. Now of course it would not be the Beerfest without beer would it? I found out very quickly that the Oktoberfest beer is much stronger than normal beer and that is just not the alcohol, because the glasses are HUGE! The beer comes in a gigantic 1 liter glass stein. This is also called a Mass in German. So if you want one beer, remember "Ein Mass". A Mass costs around 9euro, but a tip is pretty much mandatory, so a beer will cost you at least 10Euro. After a few drinks you will definitely be singing drinking songs, dancing on the tables and having so much fun. The atmosphere in a beer hall is fantastic with everyone dancing and singing all night long. I left the Oktoberfest when my beer hall, the Lowenbrau, closed at 10.30pm. The trip home in the Metro was hilarious with everyone still partying from the beer halls.

One last thing, if you want to go with a group of similar people you should hook up with one of the Oktoberfest tour groups. Use search engines for companies that specialize in that. They are offering a place to sleep, sometimes with breakfast includes, as well as transport to the festival ground. Some even fly or bus you there from London.

I highly recommend that everyone celebrates beer at least once in their life. Oktoberfest should definitely be on your to do list. I will be back next year for sure.




About the Author:



Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire