So you’ve decided to get some mates together and head over to Munich for Oktoberfest to saturate your bodies with delicious, Bavarian beer. I applaud this decision, because it’s one of the wildest, craziest weekends you’ll ever have.
Opening weekend is when all the fun begins. There’s a huge parade down the main thoroughfare of Oktoberfest with lots of music and tens of thousands of people coming together from all over Europe and indeed the world to celebrate one thing, BEER.
Make sure you get there SUPER EARLY to secure a table in one of the beer halls. Make no bones about it, this is absolutely IMPERATIVE for the first day. Doors open at 9am, and as soon as they do it’s a mad rush to secure a table. The reason this is is because if you’re not seated, you don’t get served. No beer for you without a bench, buddy.
If you’re booked in on a tour (from Topdeck, Fanatics etc), they will probably make sure you’re there at about 7:00am-7:30am to start queuing. You’ll be crammed in with thousands of other people near the doors on each side of the hall, and as soon as they’re thrown open, you need to find a table and OWN it.
But it’s still not beer time. Because even though doors open at 9am, the first keg isn’t tapped until 12pm by the Mayor of Munich after the parade down the main drag. So you’re in for a few hours wait, drinking coke and playing card games.
But let me tell you now, that first 1 litre stein of beer after the epic wait will be one of the sweetest you’ll ever have. Then the band fires up, the ladies serving beer get busy and the fun REALLY begins.
Beside chugging loads of beer, make sure you sample the food on offer. There’s people roaming around selling sandwiches filled with meats and salad, and pretzels LOTS OF PRETZELS. Once you get a few more steins under your belt, make sure you buy what’s been cooking in the kitchens out the back. You can get entire chickens and massive serves of pork knuckle, all piping hot and ready for you to go primal on.
Do make sure you sample a few of the different beer halls. Each has their own characteristics, hall layout, Bavarian oompah band and of course, type of beer. There’ll be dancing on tables and you’ll meet lots of locals (including the ones who bring their ENTIRE family, grandparents and all) and be singing the Ein Prosit beer drinking song with them.
Most people get kicked off their tables and out of the beer halls at 3pm by all the locals that have reserved tables, so when this happens head down to the showgrounds. There’s all kinds of rides daring you to bring all that beer and food up, from log rides to those things that swing you up and down and upside down to fully fledged roller coasters like the one below.
Do try to pace yourself. Many a lad (me) has gone out the gate too hard and ended up on the big hill passed out while all his mates are still going. At least keep yourself upright long enough to get back to your hotel/hostel/campground, because the last thing you want to do is wake up on the other side of Munich, out of cash with no way home.
The first day is hectic, but every day after that is a bit easier. You won’t have to queue so feverishly as the beer flows from 9am and there’ll be much less people to contend with so early in the day.
Oktoberfest is all kinds of rapturous fun.  You’ll meet people from everywhere, sing songs with them, drink a gratuitous amount of beer and eat some damn good food. The best thing about it all? The Oktoberfest beers are brewed following a special Bavarian law that states that they can’t have any preservatives in them, so next morning, no hangover! Edit: I’ve been advised this isn’t why I didn’t get any hangovers the whole time I was there. It was probably just all the pretzels..
My last piece of advice, stay out of the pigpen in the Hofbrau Festhalle if you value your pants. 🙂
I hope everyone going to Oktoberfest has an awesome time, Prost!
Great post! Can’t wait to make it to Oktoberfest at some point in the future, I have been wanting to go for years yet none of my friends have ever been interested (I know, I know, they must be insane…. I need to find new friends). But I don’t mind going on my own and singing with the locals!
Such good memories of my week there 2 years ago. I have never drunk that much beer and eaten such a bread heavy diet in my life.
Made so many friends/bench buddies.
Great post. I can’t wait to get out there.
The only bit of criticism I would give is where you refer to the Bavarian beer purity law saying that it means no hangover in the morning, as it is not preservatives that are the cause in hangovers. Some of the worst hangovers I’ve ever had have been from beers that obey the Bavarian beer purity law.
Hey Bill, thanks for commenting and setting the record straight. I suppose even if it is a really pure beer, a massive amount of it will still knock you around!
Thanks Julia! Let me know if you’re around the UK next year and you can tag along with our troupe.
Justin, I hope to possibly make this event the next year. It was great getting the scoop from you as to what to expect!
Mate, I’m in London and HAVE to get to Oktoberfest this year, but like your fine self can’t get time off work to travel! Would love to hear how you organise your trip, flights are stupid expensive by now.
Yeah it’s well late now unfortunately mate. Last year we booked really late and had to fly Swiss Airlines from Heathrow to Munich via Geneva one way, then via Zurich on the way back and it still cost ~£200.
I’ve always wanted to try this. I’ve been the knock-off event in San Francisco (lame), but I need to make room for Munich.
Great post! Will be living in Germany next year…can’t wait to go!
Nice post and good tips! I am from Germany, but have only made it down to the Oktoberfest twice. Lots of fun! And I do remember the surreal feeling of getting up early just to queue for table and start drinking in the morning… it was weird stumbling home drunk in the afternoon when it usually would be too early to even go out. The special Bavarian law keeping beer pure is by the way called the Reinheitsgebot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot – post is in English). It used to be that all German beers were not allowed to contain water, barley, and hops. The law doesn’t exist anymore because it prevented many, many beers from being imported and that made it illegal. Many breweries still follow it though, so they can claim it in their ads.
Many thanks for clarifying re: the Bavarian purity law Sabrina. Really interesting to read about all the politics involved with brewing beer!
Glad I could help 🙂