Hi there! I am Anna. I am in my late 40’s and in relatively decent shape. I love to travel! I have been to Hawaii, South Africa, Ireland and England. I am just getting started on all of the places I want to go. I really believe travel is the key to understanding the different cultures of the world. I feel that for each place I go, I grow as a person. I am positive that the world would be a better place, and everyone would have more empathy for each other if they would all travel.
I have never blogged before, but it seems like a fun way to share my experiences.
I love to read books and history has always been a passion of mine. I always read books about the places I am going to visit, but I haven’t started my book list yet for my next trip, which is to Munich, Germany. I would love suggestions, especially any books regarding the history and biographies of personalities of Munich; however, I cannot read German, so please stick to English recommendations. I read about Princess Ka’iulani before I visited her birthplace in Honolulu, Hawaii. I absolutely love it! It gave my trip more meaning and granted me an appreciation that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
I am a planner above all things and secondly, I really like to save money. I work hard for my money. Don’t we all? I do it so that I have money for trips, but I also like to be wise when planning. The essentials to planning are the flight and sleeping accommodations coupled with planning the dates for travel. I try to book things in advance as much as possible, and no trip to Germany would be complete without going to Oktoberfest, which meant I had to do some research. Unfortunately, information about Oktoberfest doesn’t seem to be in many books, so it was time to go online and make lists. Time to stop dreaming and make my dream a reality.
First things first…The Flight
I have some time before I leave for Germany. I usually check ScottsCheapFlights.com daily and set an alert with Kayak to see if they have any deals for Munich or surrounding areas. Knowing the cost of the flight is essential for me to plan my overall budget I definitely like to book in advance. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for saving money when booking flights?
Second Thing… Sleeping Accommodations
Wow! … There is a wide range of options out there.
Everything from camping …. Nope! My back would not appreciate such an option, but would have definitely been fun in my 20’s, or maybe even 30’s. If you are reading this at that age there are definitely some great options out there, and I would love to hear if you try one or have tried one and what you enjoyed about it.
Speaking of you, younger readers – I just read that the legal beer drinking age in Germany is 16, and 18 for hard liquor!
I am not sure what trouble I would have gotten into drinking at that age, but then again, I suspect it is a culture thing and that makes a huge difference.
Another option is a hostel … Another Nope! Not for me and my husband. However, I do appreciate the economical nature of it. I saw some nice-looking ones when I peeked in the doorway of one when I was in Galway, Ireland. We were picking up tickets for our bus trip to Aran Islands in the lobby when I decided to take a look.
A third option: Hotels … Quite a range here. Time to get busy and look at the options. I do know that I want something that is close to the Wiesn while we are there. I have read that getting to the festival via public transport is super easy, so I will share these with you. Hopefully it helps! I really hope it is as simple as they make it seem. Most of these tips say to follow the crowds. I am good at that!
The Three Ways to Travel to the Festival via the Munich Public Train System:
- S-Bahn – Take the Suburban Train and exit at the “Hackerbrucke” station. Follow the crowds to the Northern entry of the festival grounds which is the main entry. The estimated walking time is about ten minutes.
- U-Bahn –Underground Train System – Take the U4 or U5. Either will stop at the “Therenwiese” station. Be prepared to wait some time with the other festival attendees. Allow at least ten minutes to get from the underground station to the surface alone. Once at the surface, it is about a 5-minute walk to the North-Eastern Entry. This is the most crowded entry point into the festival. Please be patient.
- U-Bahn – Underground Train System – Take the U3 or U6. Exit at “Goetheplatz” or “Poccistrasse”. Be prepared to wait a bit with a potentially large crowd of people. Allow at least ten minutes to get simply from the underground station to the surface. Once at the surface, it is estimated to be about a ten-minute walk to the South- Eastern Entry point of the festival grounds
Dates & Events…
Hmmmm…. I have done all of this preliminary research, but I guess I really need to figure out how many days I want to be there for Oktoberfest. I found a schedule of awesome events, but there is no way I am going to be there for 16 days! I do not think my liver can handle it, nor my piggybank.
Calendar of Events
|
Date | Time | Event |
| Saturday | 18.9.21 | 10:45 am | Parade of the Wiesn landlords and breweries |
| Saturday | 18.9.21 | 12 pm | Tapping of the first Oktoberfest beer barrel and opening ceremonies |
| Sunday | 19.9.21 | 10 am | Traditional costume and Hunter’s parade |
| Thursday | 23.9.21 | 10 am | Traditional religious Oktoberfest Mass |
| Sunday | 26.9.21 | 11 am | The Wiesn landlords’ concert |
| Sunday | 03.10.21 | 12 pm | Traditional gun salutes by the Bavaria statue |
I did read on the website that the parade of the Wiesn landlords and breweries is pretty amazing. I really do not want to miss that! I love the idea of the giant horse-drawn carriages all decorated from the eight different breweries. I think that would be super special! I wonder how early I will have to get tickets. One more thing to look into and add to my list. Although, I would be ok with just watching from the streets.
I have been working on planning flight information, sleeping accommodations and gaining a grasp on the dates that I would want to be there for my trip. However, I am going there for the beer. I wanted to share some information regarding it and reveal some of my experience with an Oktoberfest beer (Marzenbier) that is locally made. This experience is what made me start dreaming of going to Oktoberfest.
Beer (Most Important)
I was reading, and it seems that most people really cannot handle more than 2-3 days at Oktoberfest. It really just becomes way too much, and I love beer! Also, I know I love Marzenbier. My local pub, which is also a brewery, does an outstanding Oktoberfest, and I love their Marzen which they make according to the Bavarian Purity Law (Barley, Hops and Water only). It is a wonderful place to gather with my friends. The atmosphere is electric! They serve fantastic traditional food and drinks all around in large glass mugs. This experience makes me excited for the “real thing” in Munich. At my bar, they serve me in the typical (smaller) beer glass. This is not an option in an Oktoberfest beer tent. The waitresses in Oktoberfest serve only one size. I am rather small, and I do not have much of a tolerance. I am not even sure I will be able to drink a full Mass (Maß in German). A Mass is what German’s call the drinking cup. It is a LITER of beer and it is at a minimum of 6% Alcohol by Volume (ABV). This LITER of beer (LITRE of beer would be more internationally correct) is the equivalent of 3 bottles of beer in one Mass. Ohhh! and did I mention I just read these cups weigh over 2 kilograms! I am pretty sure I need to hit a gym and a bar, both, in preparation for this trip. I am a lightweight. I usually have one beer, maybe two in an entire night of hanging out at my Local pub.
Here are some good tips I found about drinking beer in Germany….
*Maintain eye contact when clinking steins together.
*Say “Prost!” This is “Cheers” in German.
*Do not hold a stein with two hands. Ok! I would have totally been doing this, and please don’t laugh at me if you see me doing so. I am sharing to help others.
*There is a natural tendency to grip it by the handle but put your hand all the way through and hold it by the mug part to ease the weight. However, when it comes to toasting, quickly shift your hand back to the handle otherwise sometimes in the exuberance of toasting your fingers are smashed! This is painful and can occasionally end in broken fingers! I am definitely remembering this one!
*Adjust your litre so that you tap glasses at the bottom. Do not tap at the top! No one wants to be in the situation where the top of the glass chips around the rim of the stein and drops chips of glass into your tasty beer.
*A new word I learned! “Noagerl”-Do not pour the last little bit of beer left in your Mass into your new litre of beer. Yuck! It is believed to be too warm to taste good. Sounds right to me. How can so many years of tradition be wrong?
I would love to hear your tips on the do’s and don’ts of German drinking etiquette! Let me know if any of this information was helpful, or any more suggestions in planning for this dream trip.
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