Munich, Germany: Let´s Brost to Oktoberfest!

The PARTY Tent

I was so excited to get off that night train. Caitlin and I had taken the cheap route and saved 20 euros to not book a sleeper. I don't get much sleep on these trains anyway and luckily I got to sprawl out my legs. So a tiresome sleep-waking up every stop once in a while to check the time and see where we were coupled with the border control constantly turning on the lights in our cabin to check our passports.
   Arriving at 6am to my friends flat, Claire woke up and we chatted until breakfast time. It's pretty awesome how solid friendships are able to take off right where they left-it had been 2 years since I studied Uni in New Zealand. We learned there were 2 American guys also crashing there, in addition to another Kiwi. So a one bedroom apartment housed 9 that weekend! That day we decided to walk around the city. To our surprise we walked right into a city parade, obviously applauding to our arrival (really it was National Unity Day). Cool scene, tons of people, lots of tents, the smell of sausages and German food, and good jams. I said, I bet Oktoberfest isn't busy today, Lauren laughed-even on a slow day Oktoberfest is crowded. We walked to a park, grabbed some beers, and found a nice spot to chat. This was the only day Lauren actually got to hang out with us. She works as a bar girl during Oktoberfest and has very long hours, and when she had a later shift we were drinking at the festival. As we were leaving the park, we walked past this river popular for surfing. It was a very cool spectacle.

National Unity Day Parade

      We went to bed early that night as we were all waking up early the following day for our first Oktoberfest experience. I was crazy tired that morning, but once we were waiting in line all I wanted to taste was beer. Doors opened at 930, and we all sprinted in searching for a table without a reservation. We found a clutch spot by the band and chose a long table to have visitors. Purposefully we had gone to the German party tent, there are tons of tents, but another popular one is usually full of Aussies and we wanted to spare ourselves and get a genuine experience. Who asks to sit next to us than a group of Aussie boys, oh well at least there were some cuties. German songs. American songs. Everyone dancing on the table. 5 or so masts later I had lost the group and left the tent to realize it was night time. Wow. 12 hours had gone by in the blink of an eye. Off to find Lauren at her liquor tent and figure how to return home.

First Beer

          The next day with a mighty hangover, cured by some Asian food with Liam, us Americans took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. Wow, breathtaking. Besides feeling horrible the train ride was amazing. We walked around the city using a new App called Triposo the guys had shared with us. So convenient to have a pocket guide of a city, and you don't need wifi to access it! Salzburg had the river ways and awesome mountain views as a backdrop. I knew I was hurting beyond a hangover when we walked up a hill to a castle and my body was aching. I hate being a quitter and I don't like giving up on things, but I sensed I should see a doctor so I left the group and took the next train back to Munich. Wandering to the station I took a nice leisurely path and snapped some great scenic pictures of the city. Doc ordered rest and no more drinking, but we had one last day of Oktoberfest and I wanted to at least give it a try.

Salzburg, Castle on the Hillside

Line Behind Us Before We Got Shafted

        The following morning was a Saturday so Lauren suggested we be out the door at 630AM. Once we got to the tent I realized we could have woken earlier. The whole park was PACKED. 2 hours of waiting and we continually got pushed to the wall side, I took a picture of behind us and was happy we had gotten there early. Although the group in front was pretty large as well I thought we were definitely guaranteed to get inside. Well, about 20 minutes before entering I looked behind us and there were only a handful of people. Shit, fuck, wanka, bollocks. Turns out security was having enough of the pushing so they just lifted the rope barrier, allowing everyone behind us to loop in front. The boys were getting anxious and decided to just go check out other tents. Caitlin was stern on staying put. Luckily with batting of some eyes we got into the outside area, the beer garden. With a mast in hand we were still keen on getting inside, as that is where the true fun lies. We did our best at knocking on the window and trying to convince passerbys to open the door. No luck. Security finally made us move once they saw what we were trying to do. Finding some friendly Germans by the entrance door they welcomed us to sit at their table. After helping the table consume some more masts, us girls started smoosing the security. I guess they took a liking to me, or maybe it was Caitlin's short dirndle, but we were finally allowed to sneak in. Aghh! The music, the gusto, the best tent. To my dismay I was seeing lots and lots of younger people. Lauren told me later this was because school was out and on the weekend this is the young tent. After talking to way too many 19 year olds and after 3 liters of beer consumed i just wasn't feeling the craze I had experienced before. I think it was the combination of this young crowd and the fact that none of my mates were there, last time we had a whole table of just friends, and maybe, just maybe, coupled with the fact I was truly sick. So I had to wave the white flag and left Caitlin to conquer Oktoberfest from 2pm on by her lonesome. She was the happiest girl with all those Germans so it made me gutted I had to leave. After checking in with Lauren at her liquor who was definitely the best looking and nicest bartender of them all.

Day 2, Mast 3

             I slept at the flat, then made a dank meal of fajitas for dinner for the Oregon boys. YummO. The group left around 10 to go out with Lauren since we hadn't spent any time with her. My body was still aching so I opted out. Tick tok, tick tok and all I could think about was how I wasn't going to see my best friend in who knows when since we were leaving Munich at the crack of dawn the following day. So up and out I went, on the metro, and then walking against the crowd to find my clan. I asked someone which direction the park was and was told it was closed, yeah I'm meeting up with friends, no you can't drink, i know can you just point me there, if you want to drink just join me. Ayayaya! I figured out the direction as I started seeing all the drunk people walking away. It was so dirty, incredible how in 6 hours they make the whole place look immaculate. Sometimes it's really funny to be completely sober whenever is off their face. I'll have to try that more often. We tried to make our way to a bar, but all had covers, and once we found one we were set back by Caitlin's german love affair. We ended up walking back to the place as it was 1AM and the last metro was about to pass, plus us Americans had to be up at 6AM to begin our 5 hour train journey to Amsterdam.