MUNICH: OKTOBERFEST 2005

Let me tell you, it's amazing what can happen when you go to class! I overheard some Americans studying here mention that they were planning on renting a car and driving down to Oktoberfest in Munich. I was like, dude! I want to go, because I really needed a cup of coffee or 5 with my ol' Aalborg friend Marieke who happens to live 30 km outside of Munich! And so it happened, 3 Americans, a Danish guy and a Spanish girl headed out at 16.45 hours on Thursday in a rented automatic Ford Focus station wagon towards the land of leiderhozen (sp?), oom pa pa bands, and liter sized mugs full of brew!

We drove into the night and decided to stop at 3 in the morning about 160 km outside of Munich to rest up for Oktoberfest the next day. Let me tell you, it is not easy sleeping in a car with 5 people. Garrett (American from Minnesota) and Jesper (the Dane) spent most of their time in the rest stop cafe while us girls, Mia (West Virginia) , Rocio (Spain) and I tried to catch some zzz's in the car. I didn't fall asleep until about 5.30 and then I was up again at 8.30 to use the bathroom (you have to pay 50 cents to get in) to wash my face and brush my teeth and then I was ready to start driving on to Munich. As I had gotten the most sleep the night before and was already comfortable with the car and driving on the autobahn, I was the only driver during the trip. It is over 1200 km to Munich from Aalborg.

After spending about an hour driving around Munich and trying to find the Oktoberfest, we parked the car in a parking garage, walked around the block a couple times, asked a bunch a different people directions, and finally found a map, which led us to Oktoberfest.

We came in the east entrance (above) and were surprised to find a carnival type event. There were rides, game booths, food booths, and of course souvenir booths. We walked towards the middle and found the first of many tents at the Oktoberfest. Now, I could understand when they said there were 6 million people who came to this 3 week festival every year! The tents were PACKED with people!

I have some Husky Band friends that celebrate Oktoberfest in Novembeer every year and I must give them a hand at how well they do in their party. They always encourage us to dress up for the event, and I had always thought it was a little silly to, although fun. Now, I understand why they want us to dress up...because every darn German there is in their leiderhozen and traditional dress for that event! I couldn't believe it! Even on the streets, the underground, and Marieke says at work, Germans are dressed up in traditional garb for the Oktoberfest weeks.

Basically, this festival is awesome. There are people from all around the world at this event. I think if more people got together to drink beer like they do at Oktoberfest, there would eventually be peace on earth! Everyone is singing together, saying Prost! together, and you sit so damn close to everyone around you, you can't help but get friendly! I think the whole world should Oktoberfest-it!

PROST!!

It is amazing how many mugs full of beer a woman can carry! It weighs at least 2 kilos each!

And the meal of choice is half a chicken, roasted to perfection. Crispy outside and juicy inside.

The Husky Alumni Band plays the Beer Barrel Polka every year during football season when that game's theme is Oktoberfest. Well, guess what?! They really do play it at Oktoberfest!

Although I have always wanted to experience Oktoberfest, the real reason I wanted to go to Munich was to see Marieke! I really miss my friends from last year, so I took advantage of the opportunity to spend time with an "old" friend! I left the others to hunt for free seats in various tents, while I got out, met up with Marieke, and got a nice tour of the area.