Oktoberfest.. Willkommen Zurück

Gutentag!

Oktoberfest is back!

And so am I, with another short story of a moment in time.

We are going back to 2018, 2nd of the 10th month. A mid afternoon flight from London’s Heathrow to Salzburg, I am feeling healthy, feeling fit, feeling eager, feeling fine.

I initially wrote about how stunning Salzburg and the west of Austria is, how I spent time exploring Mozart’s old kick-a-bout — but when there is the worlds largest beer festival to get to.. who has the time?!

I’m going to bulletpoint the next few hours (days).. to the best of my memory;

Meet Luke & James in Salzburg.

Find out it’s German Unity Day the next day so no shops are open.

Realise I do not have a lederhosen to wear (I really wanted one), so fork out a couple of hundred €€€’s in Salzburg for an authentic piece.

Train from Salzburg to Munich.

Find our accommodation, meet the others of the group, claim sleeping quarters etc.

Head to Oktoberfest (need to be there before 1900).

With terrible cell phone coverage at around 1850 I need to find a German friend of a friend who has our tickets, who I have never seen nor met before.

1855-1859, we find our friend with our tickets into the tent (sell out on unity day).

Realise we are in Schottenhamel - a near German only and oldest tent at Oktoberfest since the start, the feelings are so much more real

1905 order “Acht Bier Bitte” for the table

1910, into it.

1915 dancing, singing, feels of euphoric bliss and total liberation.

Somehow survive the night, wake up on a sofa with the sun beaming right on my face.

Shower, back down to the Festleitung.

Same again, try some new tents.

Join our antipodean counterparts in the Hofbrau Festzelt.

Link on to a table of young Australian lads on a contiki tour trying the local delicacies in food and drink, whilst attempting luck with the busy barmaids.

We had a bit to drink.

We check out Augustiner-Bräu, Paulaner and Löwenbräu to name a few.

We loose each other for a bit.

Later into the evening I found a stand alone vodka bar out in the wilderness of it all.

I also, swear on my life, found the most delicious vegan burger ever (I have a photo for proof!)

And I have sworn - as Oktoberfest is typically meat, meat, pretzel and more meat.

Which is fantastic, and can elaborate why in a later post.

I find Luke in a queue for the rides, James is somewhere else, the rest of our crew pop up from time to time.

Everyone’s on an adventure, and there is no worries about anything at all.

James and I walk home eventually, Luke’s waits for the tram.

We are halfway home, and in the still of the night a tram comes steaming up the road at over 50/60km an hour.

Luke’s halfway down the carriage in the window flipping us the bird with two fingers.

We get slightly infuriated but James was determined we will beat Luke home.

A couple of hundred metres up the road the tram boots off to the left and we were laughing so much, all the beer near on came back up.

I’m sure we beat him home, crash out, wake up to the sun in my face, repeat.

For cheaper flights sake, we flew from Nuremberg back to London, a dusty pint at a bar whilst wasting time, I’m sure there was a game of rugby on the broadcast.

One thing to note, no matter when you arrive at the festival from 0830 through to 2100 - the tourist tents are typically always pumping. The feeling walking into a hall with songs, beer, wondered faces, men on tables necking steins with the encouragement of a few hundred others, the bier bitte, the prost, the danke schön.

Oktoberfest is 100% happiness.

Whether you are a beer drinker or not, there is much there for everyone.

Authentic and traditional foods, alternative drinks, theme parks, live music, attracting a mere 6 million folk per season who consume an average 6.9 million litres of beer over the two and a bit weeks.

Absolute chaotic scenes, and I encourage you to get along sometime — even if it’s just a day.

A moment to never forget.

It is so good, my girlfriend and I went the following year for ONE DAY.

Front door of our apartment to stein with great friends in 9 hours I believe.

If that’s not a selling point, I don’t know what is!

I’m going back again one day, maybe for a birthday excuse one year perhaps.

If you are there this year, enjoy welcoming the best beer festival in the world back post pandemic.

I am sure it will be better than ever.

Danke Schön and Prost!

Thank you for your time, yet again.

I appreciate the readings, feedback and hearing your own experiences.

SBG