Nowadays, many people celebrate Oktoberfest around the world. But Munich has been hosting Oktoberfest since 1810, originally to celebrate a royal German wedding. It is the largest beer festival in the world. Munich had to cancel the festival the past two years, so we’re very happy to have the opportunity to go this year.
We rode a train 2 hours from Stuttgart to Munich on a Monday morning. Oktoberfest draws millions of visitors over its 17-day run, so we went on a weekday to avoid the crowds. The city of Munich thoughtfully marked the directions for us on the sidewalk from the train station. We followed these signs, and also followed everyone wearing dirndls and lederhosen.
We spent our time in the Hofbräu tent, which can hold almost 10,000 visitors with standing and seating room options. The band is on a raised stand in the middle, and, a special feature of this tent, there is a cleared space for dancing. Dancing on the tables is not allowed. 😜
Wooden pillars are hung with huge garlands of hops, and Aloisius, the guardian angel of the tent, floats at ceiling level on a fluffy white cloud, playing a harp.
The servers are working hard, and full of smiles. We hear that they can make €800 – 1000 / day. But, they must be able to carry 10 of these liters of beer from one end of the tent to the other, speak multiple languages and have a lot of patience!
It was an epic day at a special event, filled with fun and happy people. We had a great time both with our group of friends, and the new friends we met from England, Scotland, and all around Germany. A festive atmosphere, beers, chicken, pretzels, singing and dancing. It was a fabulous day out.
Prost!
This page contains affiliate links and we earn a commission if you make a purchase through one of the links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Leave a Reply