Oktoberfest. Munich. This is it. This is what I came for, and it’s finally time for me to experience the REAL Oktoberfest.
But first, we need to do a little time traveling for a bit…
So last post I mentioned I went to berlin and Dresden, what I left out However, was that I spent a day and a half in Munich before that. I figured it would be easier to just it all at once rather try to split it up, so I’ll start with that.
Wednesday sept 21st: Hello München
The morning started with a sad goodbye to Italy. As much as I wanted to stay and bike, I also had other exciting plans for this trip…we were heading to Munich to get my feet wet at the REAL OKTOBERFEST then go to a BAYERN MUNICH GAME. So yeah I was sad to be leaving, but definitely looking forward to what the rest of the trip had in store.
We arrived in Munich around early afternoon and we quickly got ready for Oktoberfest. Elia wore the traditional Bavarian lederhosen and I wore a Bayern jersey. Müller to be exact. There was no time to waste since we needed to be at Allianz Arena around 7, so, we met up with Fabian and took the subway to the Oktoberfest.
Fabian doing Fabian things…always all in.
Now this was only a sample of Oktoberfest. It was a Wednesday at a weird time, so it wasn’t too packed. This was just an opportunity to get a little feel for it before we do it for real. They don’t tailgate in Europe like we do in America for real football, so we figured hitting the Oktoberfest for a couple beers would be the second best thing to tailgating in the grove at Ole Miss.
It did not disappoint. Even on a slow day, the atmosphere was incredible. We drank a couple beers, sang a couple Bavarian songs and we were ready to cheer like crazy for FC Bayern Munich.
We joined a hoard of Bayern fans on the subway all headed to the arena and all decked out in Bayern attire. The passion many of the fans have for their team rivals that of something you would see for college football in the south.
We arrived at the game early so we could see some of the warmups and make sure we had ample time to find our seats. The seats were absolutely perfect and provided a great view of the field and players. We grabbed some traditional Bavarian food and beer from the concessions, and were ready to yell our lungs out.
Bayern destroyed hertha 3-0 which provided us with plenty to cheer about. The game was so much fun and provided a great opportunity to experience a real European soccer match. Attending a game while I was in town was an absolute must and I probably texted Elia about tickets every week while planning the trip. Amazing experience for sure!
The next day, we moved back our bus to Berlin to have an opportunity to bike around Munich and get some food and see a little of the city since the weather was absolutely perfect.
Okay, now fast forward to normal time…
Alex and I arrived in Munich from Dresden late Monday, which gave me a full six days to explore Munich and Bavaria. I thought six days would be plenty, but there is so much going on, especially with Oktoberfest, I wouldn’t have minded a couple extra days.
The next morning, Alex and I headed to Dachau, a small town just north of Munich with a haunting history. The town is most famous for being the home of the first concentration camp set up by Hitler in Nazi Germany.
Visiting a concentration camp museum, although maybe a bit morose, was a must see while in Germany. As I mentioned in Berlin, I’m fascinated by the history of the war and wanted to see as much while I’m here.
I won’t talk to much about it, since it’s such a solemn subject, but I will say for anyone interested in history I would highly recommend visiting. I grabbed a couple pictures, but I wanted to show some respect to those who lost their lives and use the time there as a time of remembrance and learning.
After we saw Dachau, we went on a hunt for some local Bavarian restaurant in the small town. We had seen a sign coming in about a place to eat, so we figured we would give that a shot. We followed signs down a tiny back road, before we finally found the place, only for it to be closed.
We went through the same process again, before finally finding a third place that was open. We ordered a pretzel, sausage salad (which is delicious but in NOW WAY resembles actual salad), German potato salad and a famous beef dish which I’m not sure what it’s named. All the food, especially both the “salads” we’re incredible. The food will probably one of the things I miss most about Germany…especially the milk rice 😭
Before heading back to the house where we awaited the arrival of Alex’s girlfriend Anna, we stopped by BMW Welt. We then got dinner with everyone and called it an early night to make sure we were well rested for what would come the next day…
If I ever got a motorcycle it would be this bad boy.
Oktoberfest. All. Day.
The time had finally come for the full Oktoberfest experience. Technically the full experience is getting to the tent at 8 AM and staying there till close at 10:30 PM, all the while spending hundreds of Euros on beer on food, but we didn’t have that kind of money to blow, so we got our day started at the house with a traditional Bavarian breakfast and beer. Lots of beer.
The breakfast included white sausage, pretzels (with butter of course), leiberkasan, and Augustiner Munich Hells beer. A true Bavarian breakfast.
We arrived at Oktoberfest all dressed in our lederhosen and durndls and we found ourselves a table at the Löwenbräu tent. Löwenbräu is one of the most popular tents so we were fortunate to find a place to sit and order some tasty Oktoberfest beer.
While sitting at the table with everyone I had the coolest experience of probably my entire time at Oktoberfest. We were joined by two old Bavarian men, neither of whom spoke any English. Alex, who talks to everybody, struck up a conversation and got to talking with them. Somehow, it got mentioned that I was from America and couldn’t speak any German, and they were completely amazed that I was not from Bavaria. They could not believe It because they said I looked so Bavarian. They dubbed me an honorary Bavarian with a pin of a flower that is a symbol of Oktoberfest. It was such an incredible honor and experience. I’ll never forget it.
The rest of the night involved drinking, dancing, singing and eating. Oktoberfest isn’t something you can really describe in words. It’s something that has to be experienced. The atmosphere is unlike anything you can imagine and everybody needs to go at least once, wear some lederhosen or durndl and experience the true Bavarian Oktoberfest.
I went to Oktoberfest three times. The first two I described, and the last I went on the Saturday before I left. I wanted to see what it’s like on a weekend when it’s really crowded and also to have one last hurrah before I left. Eli and I joined Fabian and his friends and we let loose. All three times were amazing and a slightly different experience for each and definitely worth the trip to Germany.
Oktoberfest also features many rides including a roller coaster and some other crazy spinning things I can’t describe. Being a bit of a thrill seeker myself, I wanted to ride the biggest and the baddest. I picked the two that looked the most wild and gave them a whirl. Definitely didn’t disappoint.
Parks on parks on parks…
One of the aspects I really loved about Munich was despite being a big city, it contained some really amazing parks and scenery. The English gardens and Olympia park are probably two of the most famous, but there were quite a few others that offered an incredible outdoor experience. They were great for playing soccer or just riding the bikes around.
Neushwanstein
When coming to Germany, I didn’t want to do too much of the typical touristy stuff, I wanted to more immerse myself in the culture and try to be as traditionally German as possible. Of course there were exceptions, the biggest however, was schloss neushwanstein.
The castle is probably one of the most well known tourist attractions in Germany, but I didn’t care. The pictures I had seen looked incredible and I definitely had to visit. Elia had never been either, so it was an opportunity for both of us to see it and both of us were glad we did.
I am absolutely in love with the alps and the alpine culture and this magnificent castle was basically built on the edge of a mountain. The scenery alone made it worth the 2 hour drive from Munich, but we also got to do some hiking and seeing the castle really made it an awesome trip.
On the way back to Munich, we stopped by a small brewery town named andechs. My dad had recommended it. He’s never been, but read up on it and wanted to go when he was in Germany, just didn’t get the chance.
I expected a small and relatively unknown place, but there were way more people than I expected. More locals I would think, but there were quite a few people drinking, eating and having a good time.
The beer was probably the freshest beer I’ve had since in Germany. And that is saying a lot. It was poured directly from the wood casket. It tasted amazing and I complimented it with my first German apple strudel.
The last day in Munich was a rainy one which seemed fitting since its always a bit somber when you have to leave. The dreary cold rain really fit the feeling of the day. However, we didn’t let the rain stops us from riding our bikes around the city one last time. I got soaked, but it was fun to see Munich in the rain. Sometimes, the rain can make you see things in a new way and show a different beauty to thing that you’d never notice before.
For my last meal in germany, we went to Elia’s favorite pizza spot. He used to tell me how amazing this pizza place was back when he was in the states and I said when I come Germany we will definitely have to go. The pizza was amazing and I got one last delicious heffeweisen before I caught an overnight bus to Frankfurt where I flew back to DC.
I’m back in the states and headed on my train home, which is fitting since that how I started the blog. I’ve had an amazing time and experience in Germany and I’m sad to say goodbye, but it will be nice to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a couple weeks. I’ll probably write a conclusion post for my experience in Europe and also a little bit on my short stay in DC…
But for the mean time stay tuned, I’ll be back soon!
Nick
“The files are in the computer?!” -Hansel. -Model. Computer Wizard. Still sooooo hot right now.
Nick is Basic 
