A road trip vs DB Bahn Regional travel pass to Munich… that was the question.
Also to be considered was the possibility of driving while a lil drunk, given the obvious occasion, so also the availability of hotel in and around Munich over the Oktoberfest weekend, starting on the 17th September… if the hotel was in the suburbs, car might be better. Eventually what finalized the decision was the option to drop in at Triberg to buy cuckoo clocks along the way…
So on a crisp autumn day in Sep., we started for our first Oktoberfest adventure in a Citroen with 2 more of our colleagues. A 4 hour drive – we interspersed it with a stopover at Triberg for a (what else) Blackforest cake and a clock buying spree.
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| Factory Showroom 'House of 1000 Uhren' - Triberg on B500 |
3 (expensive) clocks and 4 cakes later, we were on our way to Raeter Hotel (Dependence!) in the outskirts of Munich. Devrupa got stomach cramps, our friends alternated between excitement and endless droning, while Tushar alternated between dangerous high speed driving and alarm on finding the speed cameras in Germany towns – but by 3 p.m. we were camping in our hotel rooms getting freshened for the major event in town – Oktoberfest 2011!
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| Yummy Black Forest Treat |
We asked the hotel reception for directions and set off with the 5 person wochande Tag pass with a city sight-seeing add-on. It was an experience managing to find the right ticket from the Deutsch vending machines, but the sub urban train line took us to Munich and then Theresienwiese by 5 pm. And then the fun started …
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| Munich 'Street View'! |
The entire city was filled choc-a-bloc with party revelers. The bridges, streets and the sidewalks – were without exception – filled with people, like you get to see only back in Hyderabad. And they were dressed in their traditional 17th or 18th century costumes. It was like a big costume party – men and women, boys and girls – everywhere in all shapes and sizes of the most amazing clothing – men in half military dress with shorts and women in Dirndl beer girl Gretchen costumes and aprons.
When we finally hit the entrance, and managed to get inside the actual party zone, it was a bit overwhelming. We required reservations to order once were inside and we hadn’t booked in advance! So we tried our luck at a couple of places and didn’t score any hit. But we used the opportunity to get our bearings on the ways this thing works. First you need to be seated – either outdoors or inside the tents.
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| 6-pack anyone! |
Outdoors is easier, but the real revelry is inside the main halls – where the locals usually go in. The waiters and waitresses however will serve you anywhere as long as you are seated. And you don’t need to call them over. They will take the food and beer order and come over with cash payment only bills juggling in somewhere in between their 6 pack beer glasses. Now this is the origin of 6-pack abs that is touted on the movies these days!
We finally managed to get a seat at the AugustinerBrau tent. And It was well worth the wait … and not only for the beer … Our table was a melting pot of cultures… we had our German friends on the right, with a US Connecticut-couple currently staying in Prague at the other end, with a British lady across and an Italian – travelling back from his Croatian vacation- at the extreme left. Then there was the inevitable Bohemian on his cigar at the other extreme left of the table… Whew you would think it was a billiards table :) And of course, the 4 of us were in the middle of everything. We started off with a beer mug for each and some of the choicest duck and cabbage potato dish – this was the special of the beer house – AugustinerBrau.
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| Having a Great Time - ROTFL |
And we got drunk… Me and Thiagu that is… And we also acted quite drunk… did silly things, but managed to avoid the Police… at the grounds and at the station and till the hotel… pretty much everywhere. Oh, we had taken the public transportation – the sub-urban train, that is why. We managed to somehow reach back the Hotel although it started pouring on the way back. Back home and dry, we dropped dead on the bed without even a shower! That is the luxury of staying in a hotel :)
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| Having a 'Double' Great Time |
The next morning was our last day in Munich – it was a weekend getaway from Basel. So we packed and rushed to Altstadt to see the Rathaus, Residenz, Marktplatz…
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| Grand Opening Parade |
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| Opening Parade - Oktoberfest |
It was grand… and it was fun… despite the drizzling rain… We were statues for the next 2 hours admiring the grand procession, and in fact were fighting to get a ringside view of the whole spectacle. Boy, sometimes the things that you don’t plan for are the most amazing. God’s plans for what you haven’t planned for! Yeah - have a look.
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| Opening Parade - Oktoberfest |
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| At The Residenz |
As we started on our return journey via Bodensee and Swiss countryside, we all were grateful for a most eventful weekend getaway in the middle of a wet September in 2011. Now if we could only do this again!
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| By the Lake Constanz |
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| Swiss Vineyards by the countryside of Lake Bodensee |
P.S. - I also managed the impossible - I managed to "befriend" my Gretchen barmaid Frau Dufner... who she sent me a "love letter"! see below ... I have hidden her phone no!
