The Wandering Pope: Munich and Oktoberfest

With a successful trip to Prague behind us, we looked ahead to the second leg of our "15 days for 15 years" European tour: Munich.

Getting There

Departing from Prague could not have been easier. The airport is clean, well marked and customs took no time at all.

Air Dolomiti is an Italian based carrier and the only nonstop option from Prague to Munich. We had never heard of them prior to our trip so of course we created all sorts of fictitious visions in our minds about the dilapidated old planes that we would be strapped into. That could not have been further from the truth. The planes were new, clean and the flight attendants actually provided service on a 60 minute flight.

Iran Air...don't see that much!

When we landed in Munich there were no customs to go through since we were coming from Prague. The Munich airport is huge compared to Prague but it took no time at all to claim our luggage. Our driver was waiting for us and we were off!

Downtown is about 45 minutes from the airport. Part of the drive was on the autobahn but it was dark and let's face it...some of the excitement is lost when you are in a minivan (even if it is a Mercedes).

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Le Meridien which is directly across from the main train station in Munich. It is also about two miles from the Marienplatz and within walking distance of the fairgrounds. It is on a busy street with lots of options for food and entertainment.

There is a bar in the lobby and in the mornings they had a coffee cart in the lobby. They also have a more formal full service restaurant. This is primarily a business hotel so the rooms are very crisp and sleek. We looked out over a busy side street where the lights never dimmed but the blackout shades were great.

The concierge desk at this hotel was the best we have ever dealt with. In addition to helping us with some dinner and transportation arrangements in advance, they moved mountains to help us with a day trip to Salzburg that had originally been booked as a group tour via train but was cancelled due to the refugee crisis. The concierge found us a driver within 48 hours of our arrival. More on Salzburg in a separate post.

What We Did

Geisel's

We arrived in the early evening, just in time to see tons of Oktoberfest revelers heading to the train station. It was very easy to spot them...lederhosen and dirndls were everywhere.

After checking in to our hotel, we headed to a late dinner at Geisel's Vinothek. The restaurant was several blocks from the hotel and is itself located in a hotel. It is a great tapas style restaurant with a very large wine list. It was the perfect place for a low key dinner before Oktoberfest and lots of beer drinking the next day.

Muncher Stubs

On the way back, we continued to see more Oktoberfest revelers so we decided to stop for a drink so we could watch them. Munchner Stubn is a Bavarian bar and restaurant located just a few doors from Le Meridien. We found a table by the window and proceeded to spend the next two hours watching the drunks walk by. There was no better show in town.

The Idiots

Of course, after watching this and having several beers of their own the husbands decided that they HAD to have some lederhosen for the next day. So off we went in search of clothes for the idiots. If you have ever been to a Final Four, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras or any other large event then you know that pop up shops with souvenir items are everywhere. We went to several storefronts but wound up at the pop up tent by the train station because their prices were at least 20% lower than other stores even though the products looked exactly the same.

After watching the guys try on various styles as well as watching a drunk guy urinate all over the bicycles parked in front of the train station (remember this if you decide to rent a bike!), we were ready to hit the sack to rest up for our big day.

Oktoberfest

We didn't know much about Oktoberfest other than the fact that you have to have a ticket to get into most of the beer halls. After doing some research and talking with some friends who had been before, we realized that booking a tour through Viator (an online tour and activity company) would be the best and cheapest way to go.

We booked our tickets several months in advance because knew that they tend to sell out pretty quickly. We met at the train station in the morning and went with the group over to the fairgrounds. The package also included a tour of the fairgrounds. Initially we weren't all that fired up about it but in hindsight we are really glad that was included because we actually learned a few things rather than just drinking beer all day.

Changing of the kegs

First, each of the breweries makes a special brew for Oktoberfest each year and only their beer is served in their tent. They also make a big deal of bringing new kegs to the tent because a team of horses decked out in their finery lead the beer wagon to the tent to change out the kegs. Additionally, an Oktoberfest brew averages about 12% a.b.v.. As reference, a Budweiser is 5.0%. Also, a can of Budweiser is 12oz. while a stein at Oktoberfest is 40oz. You do the math.

The "hill" in the distance

Second, you don't want to wind up "on the hill". There is a hill leading to the exit of the fairgrounds. Every night there are dozens of individuals who can't quite figure out how to make it out of the ground and wind up sleeping it off on the hill. Luckily we all made it out!

Finally, Oktoberfest is like a state fair in that there are tons of food stands and rides throughout the fairground. The best piece of advice we received is to make sure to not walk under the giant swing ride after mid afternoon. (Think about it).

Our tour provided us access to the Hofbrau tent for four hours and included two beers (the 40 oz. kind) and a chicken lunch. At first we were a little irritated because they tried to cram us all into tables in the corner of our section. However, after we were there for a few minutes we realized that they were just trying to make sure there was enough room for everyone so we got up and moved to our own table since we had some friends from Atlanta meeting us.

Bier

The next four hours went something like this: Order beer. Eat lunch. Find bathroom. Order beer. Get excited when friends arrive. Order beer. Watch English woman in her late 60's throw up in her bag at the table while her husband has to be physically escorted to the bathroom because he can't walk. Sing songs. Take selfies. Order beer. Watch a guy from Philadelphia get taken out on a stretcher after blowing chunks and get told by the beer wench that "oh, it's never good to get the mask" then find out that "the mask" is basically oxygen that you get in the triage tents set up out back. Order beer. Pay money for the "Hofbrau Cop" to give you a breathalyzer. Watch our drunk tour guide almost get in a fight with his surprisingly more sober U.S. customer over who won WWII. Order more beer. Have a drunk girl propped up for you to hold while her friend goes to the bathroom. Act shocked when you find out you have to leave the tent because it's already been four hours.

Hofbrau Tent

When 5pm rolled around, we had to leave so that the next group of reservations could be seated. Because we didn't have a reservation anywhere else, we headed to the Lowenbrau tent because they had an outside beer garden that didn't require reservations. After about an hour and several generous "tips" our waitress said that she would be able to get us into the tent but that we wouldn't have a table.

We had gotten separated from one of our friends a bit earlier. When we got inside, he texted us and it turns out that he was also in the Lowenbrau tent and he had a table for us up front with some new friends of his. Needless to say, navigating through the crowds in the tent in the evening is a lot more challenging than during the day. We were thankful to have our 6'5" friend with us!

AC/DC Polka Style

When we got to the table it turns out that the new friends were from Chile (Or Brazil. Or maybe Argentina. It's all a bit fuzzy.) and the table was located right below the band. Suffice it to say, you've never really partied until you've danced with a bunch of Latins to a German polka band playing AC/DC's "Back In Black".

Despite our best efforts, we managed to make it out of the tent before midnight and somehow managed to find our way to the taxi stand, successfully avoiding "the hill" and headed off to the hotel for the night to rest up for our day trip to Salzburg (more on that in a separate post).

Munich - Post Oktoberfest

Needless to say, after our early morning wake up call and day trip to Salzburg we were exhausted. But did that stop us? Nope.

Zum Alten Markt Dinner

That night we had dinner at Zum Alten Markt which is a quaint little Bavarian restaurant near the Marienplatz. There were plenty of options for those who weren't quite ready for traditional Bavarian dishes and the service was great. The decor makes you feel like like you are in someone's mountain cabin instead of a large industrialized city and even though there was a bit of a language gap (no, not English to German but instead hungover vs. not), they handled our group of ten with no problem.

After dinner we had no other option but to visit the Hofbrauhaus beer hall (versus the tent at the Oktoberfest celebration). After all, when in Rome...

The calm after the storm

It is everything you think it is going to be. Loud, touristy and lots of beer muck all over the place. It was easy for our group of ten to find a table and even easier to get ten steins of beer to enjoy. The band was in full swing moving from table to table and lots of tourists were dancing on tables. It's worth going just to say you've been but you don't need to have more than one drink here. There are far better options for finding the local flavor.

Once we were done with our beers it was time to turn in for the night. After all, we were heading to Florence to kick off all the wedding festivities!