Guide to Oktoberfest in Munich

 

 

Right after I finished PA school and took my boards it was more than time to escape on an adventure. A trip with friends to Oktoberfest in Germany was the perfect choice.

Oktoberfest happens at the end of September in Munich. So I figured with some time still left before the end of September- I’d share my favorite parts about the trip and hopefully inspire you to go too.

 

Itinerary suggestions:

The day you arrive I’d advise you to take it easy and not head straight for the festival. Trust me you’ll want to save your energy for a full festival day (or 2). Instead, leave the first day to explore Munich.

 

 

Go to Marienplatz- a beautiful city center with many shops and places to eat. Walk through it and definitely sit in one of the restaurants or cafe’s on the square (most of which have outside sitting areas this time of year). Make sure to order some Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat- a pickle and potato salad, which was my favorite thing to eat in Munich (seriously still crave some till today).

 

 

Also, leave some time to buy traditional German attire, which most wear to the festival (dirndl- for the women and Leaseholder for the men).

 

After sightseeing on your first day, the next day is time to head to the festival. Overall the ideal time to arrive in order to get into a beer hall is early morning, right after opening (we would usually get there around 9 and had no problem getting inside). (I learned this lesson the hard way- the third day we came late and the line was so long we hardly made it inside).

 

 

The festival is big- much bigger than I imagined. Each beer hall is a separate building which interestingly enough is rebuilt before the festival each year and taken apart after it.

Each one is decorated differently. Inside there are long tables where you can sit and music playing all day. To order beer or food you can call over a waitress and pay them on the spot (so make sure to bring euros with you). Its impressive at the number of beers the waitresses carry at once- I tried to hold half as many as them and even that was a struggle (go ahead try it for yourself and see how many you can hold).

We went to- Hofbräu which is one of the most popular tents on our first day but ventured to check out the others toward the end of the night too.

 

 

Drink and eat till you can’t anymore then walk outside and explore the festival rides.