Oktoberfest in Munich

This post picks up where my Berlin Marathon race report left off.

Monday, September 30

Monday morning. Tom and I took a train to Munich.  We got to the train station early and bumped into a mutual friend, giving us a chance to hang out and talk until we needed to board our train.

The train ride took four and a half hours, but the train had wifi, and we had seats with a table, so I was able to do things on my computer to pass the time.

We arrived at the central train station in Munich at 2:00.  From there, we were able to get to our hotel on the S-Bahn.

We each bought a weekly pass for the Munich transit system.  It’s cheaper than paying for individual rides, and it’s also more convenient.  I do the same thing whenever I’m in Boston.

When I travel internationally, I always buy an international travel plan for my phone.  In foreign cities, I rely heavily on my phone for both transit and walking directions.  My phone was working fine in Berlin, and it was working fine as we were going to our hotel in Munich.  When we left the hotel to go into town, none of my apps would work.  They all said I had no internet connection.  I was connected to the local phone network, but I couldn’t use any of my data apps.

I later learned from Deb that Verizon was having a major outage.  That may have been the cause of my problems.  Oddly enough, Tom’s mobile carrier is also Verizon, and he seemed to be unaffected.

I had been doing all the navigating, but after that, we had to rely on Tom’s phone.  I eventually found a wifi network I could use when we were in the city center, but other times I was flying blind.

In the late afternoon, we went to Marienplatz, which is a town square in Munich’s old town.  We arrived in time to see the Rathaus Glockenspiel, which re-enacts two scenes from Munich’s history every day at 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM, and 6:00 PM.

First the top part depicts the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V and Renata of Lorraine.  Then, the bottom part depicts the dance of the coopers guild.

We met three other friends for dinner at a restaurant on one side of plaza.  We had seating outdoors, and the weather was nice when we arrived.  By the time our friends arrived, it was raining.  Our server moved us to some seats that were farther under the canopies.  It got chilly, but with good food, good beer, and good friends, we still had a good time.

Tuesday, October 1

We were staying at a hotel where breakfast was included, and they had an extensive breakfast buffet.  We started our day with a hearty breakfast, knowing we probably wouldn’t eat again until much later in the day.

We met our other friends in Marienplatz, where the five of us all took a free walking tour of the old town.

Our tour began just 15 minutes before the 11:00 Glockenspiel show.  We saw it again, but this time our tour guide gave us the history behind it.

Our next stop after leaving Marienplatz was the former cattle market.  Now it’s just a town square, but there’s a statue and fountain, which are a nod to the area’s history.

Our next stop was the farmers’ market.

After the farmer’s market we went to Peter’s Hill, where we saw these two churches,

Then we went to the Hofbräuhaus, where our guide told us all about Bavarian beers.  Our friend Susan was dressed in traditional clothing.  Here she is, with two of the guys in our tour group.

After taking a short break, we continued to Max Joseph Platz.  There’s a statue to King Maximillian, and we were also next to the National Theater.

Our final stop was Feldherrnhalle.  This is a monument to the Bavarian army.  This area also happens to be the site of Hitler’s 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.  Earlier in our tour, our guide talked at length about post-war reconstruction and the multigenerational debate about how to move on, while still acknowledging Munich’s role in the rise of Naziism.

Adjacent to Felhernhalle, we saw Theatine Church.

After our tour, we went back to the framers’ market for lunch.  We each bought bratwurst sandwiches and then went to the beer garden.

We were worried about rain, but we had pretty good weather.  We felt a few drops during our walking tour, but it only lasted a few minutes.  For the rest of the day, it was a nice day to be outdoors.

After lunch, we made our way to the festival grounds where all the Oktoberfest tents are set up.  After strolling through the grounds, past all the carnival rides, we made our way to the Löwenbräu tent.  We were there for about an hour and a half.  We each had a liter of beer.

Next, we went to the Augustiner tent.  Some of us had more beer.  I think I was the only one to order food,  We had a late lunch, so I just had dessert: apple strudel with vanilla sauce.

Wednesday, October 2

Wednesday was the only day that we didn’t have plans.  After breakfast, I did some exercises and went for a short run.

It was raining off and on until about 10:30.  We waited for the sun to come out, and then we went into town.  We stopped by the Hofbräuhaus to have a beer.  Then we had lunch at a restaurant in the old town.

After lunch, we went to the Oktoberfest grounds.  We spent most of the afternoon at the Spatenbrau tent.  Susan met us there.

Finding a table in one of the big tents is difficult.  Most of the tables are reserved, and the ones that aren’t get taken pretty quickly.  We found space at a table that had just been vacated.

We shared the table with another group who arrived a few minutes after we did.  They all live in Munich, but it was surprising how many things we had in common.

The section we were sitting in was reserved for another group at 4:00, so we eventually had to leave.  Then we went to the Paulaner tent.  We couldn’t find anyplace to sit inside, but we found room at a table outside.  We spent the rest of the day there before going back into town.

There are six breweries in Munich that brew beer specifically for Oktoberfest:  Hacker-Pschor, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, Spaten, Paulaner, and Hofbräuhaus.  I wanted to try all six of these Oktoberfest beers during our stay in Munich.  I had one with dinner on Monday, two in the Oktoberfest tents on Tuesday, and two more in the tents on Wednesday.   The only one I had not yet tried was the one from Hofbräuhaus.  We couldn’t get a seat in their tent, but I knew they served that beer at the Hofbräuhaus in the old town, so we went there in the evening.   I could've tried that beer when Tom and I were there earlier in the day, but they only serve it in liters, and I didn't want to drink that much before lunch.

Thursday, October 3

Tom had an early flight, so he had to get up early.  I woke up just as Tom was leaving.  My flight wasn’t until noon, so I had time to have breakfast at the hotel before packing up and taking a train to the airport.

When I got to the airport, I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was a KLM/Air France lounge.  The lounge had a beer tap for the Augustiner Oktoberfest beer, but I had my fill of beer over the previous three days.  I started my long travel day with a bottle of Coke instead.