LH2066 from MUC to HAM
Oktoberfest had me for the second year in a row last Saturday. You might already know I’m no beer drinker at all and drinking beer is basically what you do at Oktoberfest. You pick a tent (marquee) (“Festzelt”) and start ordering your first Maß (a liter of beer), then another, and a third one… Make sure you also eat enough – food is delicious!
Getting a seat alone is harder than you might think, because when you’re in a group of 4+ people it’s not easy to get admitted inside and find a spot without a reservation. And this needs to be well-planned in advance: You can submit your reservation request as early as November in the previous year and get the confirmation in spring the consecutive year. So, for a spontaneous visit to Wiesn you’re better off to pick a day other than Saturday or Sunday.
Oktoberfest also has a really cool app which shows you the occupancy rate in real-time, which is a great help to show the bouncers in front of the Festzelt as they might be convinced by that and let you sneak in. Also be sure to try your luck at the side entrances – this year with a group of nine we were let in in an already overcrowded tent… Finding a table is the next challenge once you’re in and have no reservation. Standing in the aisles is no option as waiters will run you over and get really mad at you for blocking their way. And they absolutely have the right to do so: They are working their a**es off for two weeks, and especially for women carrying heavy loads with the average 12 Maß beer in both hands – that’s almost 30kg each time – all day long, it’s no fun at all for them.
But back to Wiesn: What I like most about it is the traditional clothing everyone wears (“Tracht”), not only Munich natives. There’s the obligatory Dirndl (the traditional dress) for her, and I bought mine 5 years ago when I was on vacation in the Black Forest. They also have a big tradition with costumes. I just saw my Dirndl in a shop window and thought “that’s it” – without even having an occasion to wear it! I know it seems odd but I felt prepared for Wiesn ever since and this was such a pretty dress I couldn’t say no to. First I was just curious how I would look like in a traditional dress but then it also fit perfectly and, oh well, I was a fashion victim again…
For him it must be Lederhosen (leather pants). If you ever wondered: I’ve been told that men mustn’t ever wash their pair of Lederhosen. Ever. Dirt? Spots? Stains? No, that’s patina. I stopped thinking about more…
We had terrific weather on this last Saturday of the Wiesn and we were lucky enough to arrive early before noon, so with nine people we made it to Käfer and even though we didn’t have a seat (girls, leave your heels at home, you’ll regret it at the end of the day!) we had a bar table and were placed right next to the outside “P1 bar”. From there we could hear the music and even had space to dance a little. And guess what, Käfer’s is one of the few locations that has wine on its menu 😉
// spot for the day: Käfer Wiesn-Schänke
// App: Oktoberfest App
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