Oktoberfest

This past weekend I went to the tail-end of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany (the home of Oktoberfest) and had the time of my life! I went with some friends of mine: Peter-the Bostonian who can be mistaken as a Canadian, Davina-the German who basically was our guide, and Tara-the real Canadian. We rented a car and drove the drive that we thought would be six hours but ended up taking nine hours. Poor Davina drove the whole way to and from Munich and it was our duty to keep her awake. We did even though there were several moments of delirium.

We arrived in Munich around noon on Saturday and went straight to the fairgrounds where the festival takes place. Although we were expecting it, we were surprised to see a good portion of the people already passed out drunk on the side of the streets and on tables. There were thousands of people from everywhere, but mainly those true Germans wearing their traditional garments. I cannot express the kindness and fun-loving people the Germans were to us. There are twelve tents through the grounds that are filled by 10:00am, so we had to sit on the tables around the tents. Those were also crowded and the only way to sit down is to walk on top of the tables and weave in and out of people careful to not stop on anybody’s hands to eventually find an empty spot. We sat in the middle of table full of Germans with whom we sang, chanted, and simply chatted. I definitely gained about eight new German best friends within those 14 hours of drinking. It was if we’ve known each other for out entire lives. Great people.

At some point of the night Tara and I ran off and somehow managed to get in the Hofbrauhaus tent (the most famous and difficult tent to get into) and had a blast. There was a live band and every person inside was dancing on the tables and didn’t let us stay still on the ground for long. We didn’t hesitate and jumped on top and joined the rest of the crowd cheering on the German culture. Afterwards we headed to some carnival rides, played some carnival games, and even had the traditional heart-shaped cookies that taste like gingerbread. I’m not sure what time we left, but Tara and made it to the subway. Our journey home took a very long time since we fell asleep not once, but twice on the subway and ended up at the wrong end of the city! We ended up catching a cab and made it back to the hotel, which really wasn’t a hotel, and passed out as our hangover started to kick in. The hotel where we stayed at was a hook up by a friend of Davina’s since ALL the hotels were booked downtown. Where we stayed was a hotel, but the room we stayed in was part of house of the owner of the hotel. We were four people and that was the only room that could accommodate all of us, so in the end it worked out well. It made for a funny story.

We woke up Sunday perfectly chipper, I don’t know how, and headed out again. We had a traditional German lunch and headed to the Hofbrauhaus brewery downtown and had a great time locking arms with the people sitting next to us, rocking back and forth, and singing German songs of which I’ve never heard before in my life. We stayed there for a few hours and headed back to Brussels.

I can’t explain the intense drinking and just great fun I had at Oktoberfest. Every person there just wanted to have a great time and made you feel like you were just as much family as their own brothers and sisters. I tip my hat to the Germans! I can now check Oktoberfest in Munich off my list of lifetime goals.