Oktoberfest

I went down to Munich, Germany, with Lukasz and Trond this weekend to check out Oktoberfest. We had an interesting trip, and could have been pretty awesome if I actually drank beer. I had always wanted to see Oktoberfest tho, and had a good time overall.

The trip started on Saturday evening with an overnight train from Utrecht to Munich. On the way to Utrecht tho, we got fined because only 2 of us had tickets from the Hague to Utrecht due to some miscommunication. It's like 30 extra euros (on a 10 euro fare!) if you don't buy tickets before you board. So don't try to get on a train without one! (Though I am convinced I once saw someone hang out in the toilet the whole entire time to avoid being checked for tickets.)

We arrived in Munich bright and early, like 0730. We couldn't check in yet, but we dropped our luggage off at our hotel and then headed out to city center to eat breakfast. The boys wanted sausage and that's what we got. We sat in a traditional German restaurant and observed in awe as everyone around us drank beer at 0930 in the morning. The next thing that happenned was Lukasz losing his phone in the toilet. Apparently he tried to search for it with his hands, without success, so I tried to avoid touching him rest of the day.

After breakfast, we did a 1 hour city tour of Munich for 12 euros. It was a nice day out, so we sat on the top of the double decker open top bus. I had actually been to Munich before and had seen much of the city already. I suppose it's an easy way to see the various parts of the city. They also offered a 2.5 hour tour for 19 euros. This one takes you to the Schloss Nymphenburg (castle) and Olympiapark so you get to see a bit more. I wouldn't call Munich a striking city, but it has its charms and I like it.

At noon, we were close to Marienplatz so we checked out the Glockspiel (mechanical clock) play. I saw this last time I was here too, and each time I think it's funny how so many people gather around to watch this cheesy thing.

We finally checked into our hotel a bit before 1. We stayed at the Innside Premium Hotel. Now this was an interesting hotel. We picked this hotel because it was not too far from Oktoberfest (12 minutes ride on the U-bahn, and about 5 minutes walk on each end), it was relatively cheap (roughly 150 euros per night - or 50 euros each per night), and it looked nice. Everything looks modern, or made of glass and steel - including the bathroom. The interesting part was that there were no doors to the bathroom, and the shower was see-through, and the toilet is almost see-through if you had the lights on in-side. Not to mention that there's no lock on the toilet, a huge crack between door and wall, and you can hear everything that's going on inside. There are mirrors everywhere too, so even though you could sort of be hidden behind a wall to undress, one could easily see what's going on back there with the mirrors. (Check out the virtual tour of the room.) Absolutely no privacy whatsoever. And I was sharing a room with two guys....

We decided that the rest of us would hang out in the bar while one showered, so 3 showers later, we were ready to head down to Oktoberfest. It was about 1600 when we got there and the place looked like a huge carnival. Rides, food stands, games, and souvenirs were all over the place. This must certainly be the biggest carnival I've ever seen, and probably rivals many theme parks in the number of rides.



Ofcourse the boys' objective there was to hit the tents and drink beer, so that's what we did off the bat. We went into Paulaner's tent, and surprisingly, we had no problems finding a seat. Even better was that the Germans were so efficient that there are no queues in the women's restroom. I found this unbelievable, but sure enough, even my second visit to the toilet was nearly waitless. Also surprising was that the music played inside the tent was mostly American. Songs like Country Road and YMCA played over and over again in this tent, and even others I checked out later. Someone also once said that Oktoberfest was for bunch of stupid American tourists wanting to get drunk. It's not so. I didn't see any Americans. Majority of attendees were locals. Those who were from Bavaria also wore their cool traditional outfits. The women looked very beautiful in them and the men looked like hobbits.

Now, as much as I had wanted to see Oktoberfest, I knew that I did not drink beer, and that my two companions would drink lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of beer. I was prepared for the worst and braced myself for what I was about to observe. It was nice to see people have fun, but I must admit it was not all pleasant. Lots of stupidity and senselessness. The upside was that the boys were so drunk I was able to take advantage of them for a threesome. Ok, not really.... I only took advantage of the fact that I could shower without worries that night since at least one was passed out and other was close enough. The night ended pretty early - by midnight.

On the second day there the boys took their time getting up. I was wide awake bright and early at 0730 or so. Why does this never happen when I need to go to work?!? I went down to breakfast on my own and ate up at the expensive buffet. By noon tho, everyone was up and ready to head out. We spent the afternoon checking out Deutsches Museum. It's a very good science and technology museum, but too bad not everything had English translation to it. In addition to the museum, we also spent some time walking around various parts of the city.

By the time we got to Oktoberfest on this night, it was like 6 or so. This time we had a bit more difficulty finding a seat in a tent. We ended up sitting at the tables outside, and just as much nonsense went on outside as inside. I was glad the night started late, because come to find out, the night also ends early at Oktoberfest. Last call is around 2230, and all shops, rides, etc. shut completely down at 2330 sharp. The second night was more bearable than the first.

Our third and last day in Munich was spent puttering around the city mostly aimlessly. We caught another night train back home, which arrived around 1000ish back in the Hague. I showed up to work waaaay late and I hope that none of my bosses read this in case they didn't notice.

Pictures here.