Achtung! Oktoberfest 2012

[Tulane Skins Fan]

My wife and I are trying to plan a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich this year. I'm wondering if anyone has been to it before and if they have any comments that could help.

My biggest questions are 1) do you need to go into the actual Oktoberfest tents to experience it, and 2) how does one actually get into them if reservations are so hard to come by?

[SkinsHokieFan]

I went to it in 2002 through our study abroad program

1) Yes you do need to go to the actual Oktoberfest, but its very easy to get into (if I remember right its free entry but you'll spend your money on beer)

2) Don't go on any of the rids in the park after drinking

Not much else to really add. Do a bit of sight seeing in Munich while you are there, go visit the big ass castle a few hours away from Munich. That was a real fun place to visit

[pjfootballer]

Went to Munich in 1985. Loved the city. We went to a place called the (not sure how to spell it) Houfbrahous there and got so damn drunk. I was only 17. Very clean city and it was fun riding the subway back to our hotel ****faced!

[afkidd]

ive been 3 times. once each year between 2007-2009. the best part of the fest is the tents tbh, other then that it's basically like a state fair. the food is legit outside of the tents, and i guess so are the games and rides. if you want to get into a tent, just show up around 9am, and you'll be one of the first to get in. in 2009 we left Aviano AB at 4 in the morning, and got to the HB tent (the same one pjfootballer went to, and the best party tent from what i hear) around 10am after checking into our hotel. After the wal-mart black friday like pushing and shoving, they let everyone in and my group was booed for being the first to be served that day. talking to random french, german, brits, italians, polish, russians etc about how much they loved obama was a little weird though.my first year one of the guys i went with passed out like 4 times in 10 minutes waiting in line and we missed our chance to get into the tent early. so we got him some food and a gatorade and just sat outside the tent. the experience is still pretty good that way as well. the attachment is a picture of me after like my 6 or 7th beer. definately not ready for it. (i'm the guy with the red and blue hoodie)

me not ready.jpg

after the 4 days (in 2009) we were there i wasn't the same for about 3 weeks.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Does anyone know what is the best way to go about getting lederhosen and drendles (sp?)? My wife seems to think that its best to go to a department store when you get to Munich.

is there no website to go to?

[Yusuf06]

Does anyone know what is the best way to go about getting lederhosen and drendles (sp?)? My wife seems to think that its best to go to a department store when you get to Munich.

is there no website to go to?

You mean to tell me you're going to get your trockten on and were actually thinking about not going to the tents? IMHO going to the tents and experiencing the singing, drinking, the waitresses and even the bathrooms is what it's all about.

If you're going to go, understand that unless you have some kind of connections you're probably not going to get a seat. That's important because the waitresses aren't supposed to serve you if you're not seated. I don't know how often it happens but in our area there seemed to be an exception to this rule. See pre/post beer pics attached. We waited around a while and then pounced on a spot that opened up after maybe an hour and a half.

Just google Oktoberfest, durndle, lederhosen or just trachten and you'll find plenty of online sources. However in my experience the sizes varied a lot so I think it was best to be able to see and try it on in-person.

Ein Prosit!

[Tulane Skins Fan]

You mean to tell me you're going to get your trockten on and were actually thinking about not going to the tents? IMHO going to the tents and experiencing the singing, drinking, the waitresses and even the bathrooms is what it's all about.

If you're going to go, understand that unless you have some kind of connections you're probably not going to get a seat. That's important because the waitresses aren't supposed to serve you if you're not seated. I don't know how often it happens but in our area there seemed to be an exception to this rule. See pre/post beer pics attached. We waited around a while and then pounced on a spot that opened up after maybe an hour and a half.

Just google Oktoberfest, durndle, lederhosen or just trachten and you'll find plenty of online sources. However in my experience the sizes varied a lot so I think it was best to be able to see and try it on in-person.

Ein Prosit!

Ha.... I was not sure if it was possible to get into the tents. At this point, I have a reservation for the Hofbrauhaus tent. Did you buy your lederhosen when you got there then? That's what my wife is hearing about the sizes so she doesn't want to buy them online.

[Yusuf06]

Yes, exactly. We just walked around a bit - it was everywhere. There were whole storefronts that seemed to be temporarily rented to sell nothing but der trachten and of course it was available in department stores as well. I have to admit I was shocked that people still wore the stuff. I just kind of figured it was one of those quaint, old school things being kept alive out of a need to maintain cultural identity or whatever. However it turns out the lederhosen and such are still widely worn. Who knew?

Anywho, have a great time and down a few for me!

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Yes, exactly. We just walked around a bit - it was everywhere. There were whole storefronts that seemed to be temporarily rented to sell nothing but der trachten and of course it was available in department stores as well. I have to admit I was shocked that people still wore the stuff. I just kind of figured it was one of those quaint, old school things being kept alive out of a need to maintain cultural identity or whatever. However it turns out the lederhosen and such are still widely worn. Who knew?

Anywho, have a great time and down a few for me!

Ok, perfect. I will wait till i get there and get something that fits! Its expensive as hell though.

[techboy]

However it turns out the lederhosen and such are still widely worn. Who knew?

That's perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that people still wear that traditional garb.

According to our guide while we were touring Munich, the closest analogy is that Munich is in the German "South" and the lederhosen are worn by people that are the equivalent of Cowboys. It'd be like seeing someone in a cowboy hat, spurs, and chaps. Not exactly common, but not entirely rare either.

We were there in July, and we did see several people dressed like that. Usually older, and not a lot, but frequent enough to ask about it.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

That's perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that people still wear that traditional garb.

According to our guide while we were touring Munich, the closest analogy is that Munich is in the German "South" and the lederhosen are worn by people that are the equivalent of Cowboys. It'd be like seeing someone in a cowboy hat, spurs, and chaps. Not exactly common, but not entirely rare either.

We were there in July, and we did see several people dressed like that. Usually older, and not a lot, but frequent enough to ask about it.

I thought he meant its widely worn during Oktoberfest. no?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Got back from Oktoberfest and it was a great time. If you like beer and hanging out, you'll love Oktoberfest. I'm trying to post some pictures, but may fail:

IMG_1723.jpgIMG_1729.jpgIMG_1722.jpgIMG_1717.jpg

[Skinz4Life12]

TSF, future wife and I may be considering Oktoberfest 2013 for our honeymoon. Neither of us have been to Europe and are dying to go. How long did you stay and did you book everything separately (flight, hotel, tickets) or did you book some sort of package deal? Trying to collect some info to see if this would be a good option because I truly have no idea what it would cost or where to really begin looking

[Tulane Skins Fan]

TSF, future wife and I may be considering Oktoberfest 2013 for our honeymoon. Neither of us have been to Europe and are dying to go. How long did you stay and did you book everything separately (flight, hotel, tickets) or did you book some sort of package deal? Trying to collect some info to see if this would be a good option because I truly have no idea what it would cost or where to really begin looking

First off, congrats on the wedding.

We did not book a package deal, and my wife and I both got free airfare due to our mileage program. So, we ended up booking a pretty nice hotel because we saved a ton getting there. We just went to actual Oktoberfest one day. It was wild. I wouldn't say it was romantic, but I wouldn't call it a bad option either. Obviously, its all drinking, but I didn't see any fighting or aggressiveness during the tent. It was just a good time of beer drinking all day. Of course, you can go to the brew houses any other day of Oktoberfest and those are a good time as well.

We did stay in Munich for about three days. We did a trip to Neuschwanstein castle and some of the other Bavarian castles an cute towns one day. Did a trip to Dachau, which is not really fun but worth seeing. And we enjoyed Munich.

We also made our way to Vienna and Prague though. Of those three cities, I would order them as Prague, Vienna, and Munich in order of my personal favorites. Prague is first. I would not plan a whole week in Munich, and you don't have to do Vienna and Prague either. Could do Berlin, Bern, and other places all over central europe.

So, I would say Oktoberfest was awesome, and definitely something worth doing. I wouldn't say it fit exactly the idea of "romantic honeymoon," but I wouldn't say don't do it either. If you want to have unbelievable beer and just a good time, it makes a lot of sense. But also don't spend your whole trip in Munich because there's not a weeks worth of stuff to see there (unless you can go binge drinking for a week straight I guess).

One more thing, I would say try to go the first week of Oktoberfest and not the second, because the weather is much more likely to be good during September.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions you can ask me here or PM me.

[Skinz4Life12]

thanks for all the good information. how long did it take you to get from Munich to Prague or vice versa? Did you take a train?