Oktoberfest

About a month ago, my friend Lisa told me that she was going to Oktoberfest in Munich.  It turns out that the German office was hosting a table at Oktoberfest and there was an available seat at the table.  How do I turn that down?  Now, I’ve been to Oktoberfest in Lincoln Square, but, other than the size of the beer, that didn’t adequately prepare me for Oktoberfest in Munich.  This was what I would call hard core.

Before I get too far into my description of the event, I wanted to answer the question that everyone seems to pose to me about Oktoberfest: why is it in September?  Well, Oktoberfest was started in 1810 to celebrate King Ludwig I’s marriage to his wife Theresie.  They were married in mid-October, but as time went on, the event got longer and longer.  It grew from a one-day event to a two week deal.  Since it is not unheard of to snow in mid-October, they decided to move it up to cross September and October to hopefully avoid the snow.

Now, with that little bit of history out of the way…

I had no real expectations going into Oktoberfest other than I knew I would be drinking some beer.  I think part of me was thinking it would be like Opening Day ---- a really long day of drinking.  Well, there was that and a bit more…

Here are some random observations about Oktoberfest:

German Attire

The number of people that were dressed up in traditional German attire (i.e. dirndls and lederhosen) was unbelievable.  It started with people dressed up on the plane. 

But it didn’t end there.  When I agreed to go, Lisa told me she was buying a dirndl to wear.  I didn’t believe her at first.  I thought she was pulling my leg so I would be the only one dressed up.  After some research of people who have been there before (thank you, Carrie & Jim!), I decided to dress up.  Lederhosen is cool looking.  All suede and funky.  Dirndls are interesting.  For the…um…well endowed, it is awfully hard not to look like a hussy.  (Yes, I said hussy.)  I will say, though, that at least it was long enough to cover the boot.

Lisa and me in our dirndls

Size of the Grounds

The grounds are big!  They saw it is the world’s largest fair and they aren’t kidding.  It’s like a combination of Great America and Summerfest in Milwaukee.  There are roller coasters, food stands, water rides, bumper car rides, and lots of beer.  

Oktoberfest Grounds

There are 14 beer tents to choose from and some of them seat up to 10,000 people.  

It was crazy large.  The tent where work had a table was called the Hippodrom Tent.

The tent we went to at night

It is known as the posh tent and is where a lot of the celebrities go (Of course!  Because that’s how I roll).  I wouldn’t know a German celebrity if I stumbled over them, however, so I knew there wouldn’t be any celebrity sightings that night.

Reservations

The Germans have an interesting (and smart) little rule that you have to be seated in order to get served a beer.  As a result, the tables get filled pretty quickly.  For afternoon seatings, it is recommended that you book a table in advance.  According to Matthias and Andy, you have to book about a year in advance, particularly for some of the nicer tents.  

Servers Wages

The waiters and waitresses that work at Oktoberfest make a lot of money.  According to Matthias and Andy, they can make 15000 Euro in 2 weeks!  One of Matthias’ friends took a leave from his job as a chef to work in the tents for 2 weeks.  It almost makes me think I chose the wrong career.  And then I see what they have to deal with and I reconsider.  The beer is served in liter glasses ("eine Maß Bier") and some of these waiters carry 10-12 of them at a time.  It is very impressive.  Five in each hand and then some stacked on top of those.

Lisa and Matthias holding one Maß each

Me finishing a Maß

Music

Each of the tents play music.  In our tent, the music during dinner was traditional German, but it all went crazy after dinner.  Around 8:30pm, the band changed and the crowd went wild.  The band started playing 80s and 90s music (in German, of course).  They played "99 Luftballoons" by Nena.  It was hilarious because everyone was shocked that I knew the lyrics.  I explained that this was one of the few songs released in the US in German.  They also played "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling.  Of course, that one was sung in German.  The music went on to Motown (e.g. Jackson Five) and then Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive".  It's reassuring to know that even in a foreign country, that song elicits the same reaction from women.  Hilarious.

Cookie Hearts
There was a random souvenir that you could buy for friends.  There were these really large cookies in the shape of hearts that you could give to people to wear around their neck.  They had all sorts of German phrases on them.  One of the clients at the tent bought me a small felt pin version (won't go stale!) that said "Chef".  

He said it meant "the boss".  I'm afraid to find out what it really means.  

I would highly recommend to anyone that they should go to Oktoberfest if they get a chance.  It was so fun to hang out, drink beer on a beautiful day and just absorb a bit of the atmosphere.  Just make sure to have your drinking boots on as it is not for rookies.