Munich, Germany: Oktoberfest

Taking place just once a year in Munich, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival in the world. I, of course, like to consider it to be the world’s largest multi-day German beer rager, but that’s just me. This awesome festival lasts 16 days long starting in September and ending at the first weekend of October. Millions of people from around the world come to feast, dance, and enjoy the rides and games.


 This year was the first year that Ben and I visited his side of the family in Bavaria during Oktoberfest so we lucked out with the timing. We packed our bags (and of course, our dirndl and lederhosen) and happily made our way over to Germany to join in on the celebration. Since it was my first time at Oktoberfest, I had no idea what to expect or how difficult it could be to get a space to drink beer in a tent.

The squad is ready to take on Oktoberfest!

Getting There:

The Oktoberfest grounds are located in the downtown area of Munich and easily reachable by public transportation. However as it is a popular time of year, be aware that the trains going towards the festival will be packed. We went on a random weekday and it was still jammed packed. Imagine the New York subway during rush hour packed. A good percentage of attendees will be wearing a dirndl or lederhosen so don’t be surprised if you end up in a train car full of people dressed up for the occasion. No, it’s not Halloween for you Americans! Ben did get a laugh when I blurted out “everyone is in costume here too!” in the middle of the train.

Things to Do:

I was quite surprised to find out how expansive the Oktoberfest festival really was. My expectations were going to be beer, obviously, but there were a lot of carnival games and roller coaster rides. We walked past a ton of food stands that sold typical Bavarian food and settled on trying knödel (German dumplings) with a creamy sauerkraut and mustard. There were so many food stands that it was really difficult to choose only one thing to eat! I recommend coming here with friends and sharing plates to try a bit of everything.

It's like a dumpling, but PURE meat. They call it a bratwurst knödel.

Getting Into the Infamous Beer Tents:

One thing the average visitor would not expect for Oktoberfest is that despite it being a beer festival, you are not allowed to walk around the grounds while drinking. Unfortunately drinking is restricted to mostly the tents and some smaller stands that specifically sell beer and have a small patio for drinking. The tent, however, is where those infamous moments of dancing on tables in a lederhosen while clutching a beer stein happen! In the tent, duh!

Now the deal with the beer tents is somewhat similar to a nightclub on a Saturday night. Only a limited number of people are allowed in and there are people checking the traffic flow at the door. Early goers are allowed in if there is room. Once inside, visitors need to find a seat to get beer and food, otherwise the waiters will not serve you. An alternative to getting into the beer tent would be if your group has a table reserved. Think of this as booking a table at the club. Groups with tables are generally allowed in more easily than bystanders at the door, especially as the tent starts to fill up.

Inside the Hacker Festzelt Tent:

My group luckily had a table at the Hacker Festzelt tent since we had a reservation. We easily made our way into the tent and were ushered up to the second floor where we sat with a view of the entire bottom floor, including the band. The lower floor is really where all the action happened. At the start of the evening, everyone was eating at their tables and drinking their beers. A few hours later it transitioned to dancing on tables and sing-alongs! It was amazing how packed and how much energy radiated from all corners of this place!

After a filling dinner of German food and a few masses of beer, quite a few in my group were also singing along and jumping on the tables. Being the only American in a group of Germans was interesting. I was pretty sure they saw me giving them some quizzical looks at what sounds too awesome to be a tradition. Nonetheless we enjoyed the atmosphere of the night and my friends and family even taught me a bit on how to sing along and dance to songs at Oktoberfest. It was quite the authentic experience!

This beer is bigger than my head!

Now to figure out if we’re going back next year…