Oktoberfest review 2009, Munich

My friend Susan went to the Oktoberfest in Munich this year and was so nice to share her experience. She wrote this great Oktoberfest review and took some photos.

Prost! During our three-day stay in Munich during Oktoberfest 2009, we certainly said this quite a few times...

Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day Bavarian beer festival held each year in Munich, Germany. It takes place during the days up to and including the first Sunday in October. Oktoberfest started as a celebration for the marriage of Bavarian King Ludwig to wife Theresa, and the tradition has continued since, and expanded.

Today, the festivities are held in the Theresewiesn – referred to as the ‘wiesn’ (meadow). The wiesn is a large area full of attractions, including amusement rides, food stands, and of course, the fourteen large beer tents operated by the Bavarian breweries. Only Bavarian breweries may participate in Oktoberfest.

We had tickets for a Sunday lunch session in the Hippodrom beer tent. We were greeted with a table stocked with typical Bavarian fare – radishes, obatz (cheese mixture with radishes), ham and bread with Bavarian topping. This was of course accompanied by beer, served in litre steins! For lunch we ate roast chicken and haxn (pork knuckles) – delicious! The servings were generous, but necessary to counter the effects of the litre steins of beer that were consumed!

The tents are huge, seating between 5000 to 7000 people (our tents was one of the smaller tents, with space for only 3200 people inside!). We were on the balcony, overlooking the main seating area and the live band. Lederhosen and brindls were the clothing of choice – traditional Bavarian outfits.

A visit to the Oktoberfest is a great experience, but should not be without a ticket in one of the beer tents. Beware, these tickets should be booked months in advance – October 2009 would be a good time to book a ticket for a spot in tent for Oktoberfest 2010. We booked our tickets 8 months in advance, and were only able to find a spot on the balcony in the corner, so book ahead! The website Oktoberfest.de has all the information one may need to plan a visit. (Note that tickets to the beer tents are booked directly with operators of the respective tents).

Apart from Oktoberfest, there is much to see in the region. Munich is a great city, with a lovely historical centre, including tours, many great museums and restaurants. Munich is within driving distance to the famous Bavarian castles, the Romantic Road and the Bavarian Alps. One to two days in the wiesn and the beer tents is sufficient, but weeks could be spent exploring the surrounding areas!

Look for a hotel in Munich here.

Now, that you've read this Oktoberfest review, you might want to check out her photos too!

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