Excitement buzzes in the air. The smell of sweet caramelized almonds swirls all around
you, mingling with different scents. Namely that of beer, roasting chicken, a little bit
of sweat and a tinge of vomit.
It's not even noon and yet hoards of what the Germans call "Bierleichen," which directly
translates into English as "beer corpses," lay passed out on the grassy hills.
Where are you? Why, Oktoberfest of course!
Hey everyone! I'm Dana and you're watching Wanted an Adventure Living Abroad. Oktoberfest
can be a lot of fun, so here are some tips and tricks for having the best experience
possible because especially if you're coming from out of town, you wanna do it right.
The traditional Bavarian clothes that you see everyone running around in are called
"Tracht." The men wear Lederhosen, and the women wear Dirndls, but also in the last few
years, a lot of woman have been wearing Lederhosen as well. Although, they are usually made quite
shorter than then men's Lederhosen.
My first tip is: if you can afford to splurge a little bit, I definitely recommend buying
a Tracht outfit. They're not cheap, but wearing the traditional Tracht really takes the whole
Oktoberfest experience to the next level.
And around the time of Oktoberfest, there are lots of stores in Munich that sell them,
and there are also some second-hand stores, where you might be able to find them for a
little less money.
Oktoberfest is basically a big fair. Only in addition to the fried foods, rides, and
carnival games, you've got huge beer halls to visit as well.
Friday through Sunday the Oktoberfest is going to be fuller, and on Monday and Tuesday it's
going to be a little less crowded. So if you wanna get a table inside one of the larger
tents, going on Monday or Tuesday ups your chances.
The halls are full of picnic-style tables, which people reserve up to a year in advance.
So if you don't have a reservation, the earlier you show up at Oktoberfest, the better.
The doors to the halls open up at 10 a.m., but on the weekends, on the more crowded days,
people line up as early as 5 or 6 a.m. just to get a spot inside.
So in this case, the early bird gets a seat inside, but if you're not someone who's interested
in getting up early on your vacation, there is still a chance that you'll find a few spots together.
It's kind of like going to a full parking lot and driving around trying to find a spot.
You might get lucky and some car pulls out just as you get there and you can pull in
and get a spot. Or you don't get lucky and you drive by and the next person gets it.
But if you can't get a spot inside, you might have better luck checking out the outside
patio areas that a lot of the tents have as well.
Oktoberfest is supposed to be an environment suitable for families and older people as
much as it is for younger partiers.
Therefore, up until 6 p.m., the tents are only allowed to play "quiet music," like from
traditional wind instruments. And this music is really nice, but it's after 6 that the
party gets really started. The bands start traditional Schlager music and pop songs,
and everyone stands up on the benches and they all start singing along together, and
it's, it's a really great experience.
But while standing on the benches is okay, don't stand up on the tables or they will kick you out.
Beer at the Oktoberfest is served one liter at a time. One liter. For those of you who
are too lazy to do the math, that's half of a two-liter bottle of soda. That's a lot of
beer. Plus the Oktoberfest beer is brewed to be extra strong. Budweiser and Miller Genuine Draft,
for example, have around 5% alcohol, and the Oktoberfest beer has about 6.3%.
I'm not saying don't drink the beer, because of course, that's definitely part of the experience.
I'm just saying to keep track of how much beer you consume.
But the problem is that if you don't keep ordering beer, you're probably gonna get kicked
out of the beer tent because the servers make their money not just out of tips, but also
they're paid by how much beer they sell.
So another option though is that you could try to order a Radler, which is a drink
that's half beer and half soda. And there's about a fifty-fifty chance that you will get
served that at the tent.
Let's talk food.
Foods to try include "Backfischbrötchen," which is basically fried fish on a roll. And
that might not sound that good, but it is so delicious, especially after a couple beers.
"Brez'n:" a Bavarian soft pretzel, often as big as your head!
"Hendl," which is pretty much the most amazing, moist rotisserie chicken
that I've ever had in my entire life.
"Würstl" are sausages, and you can either get the normal red brown ones or you can get
the special white ones called "Weißwurst." Now these guys have a skin on them that you
don't eat! You peel the skin off! Don't eat the skin, don't eat it!
"Gebrannte Mandeln" are the caramelized almonds that you can smell just wafting
through the whole fair. You gotta get a bag. They're amazing.
And my favorite dessert by far is the "Kaiserschmarrn," which is basically small, bite-sized pancake-like
dough that's been caramelized, and it's served mixed with caramelized almonds and raisins
and served with a little cup of applesauce for dipping it in. It is so freaking good.
If nature calls while you're at the Oktoberfest, which with all that beer, it probably will,
you've got a few options.
If you're inside one of the beer halls, don't leave the beer hall to go to the restroom.
There are restrooms inside the beer hall. The problem with leaving is if you go out
and then the tent gets full, they will close the tent and then when you try to come back
in, they won't let you get back in.
If you aren't in one of the halls, look for this cute little Cupid guy, helpfully pointing
out the toilets for you.
Last but not least, two other things. Oktoberfest is awesome, but if you get tired of the crowds
or you can't find a spot inside one of the beer halls, head on over to one of the beer
gardens. There are several right around the Oktoberfest area, and they serve the same
beer. They've got the same great food, and you can even bring your own food as well.
And the other thing is that while Oktoberfest can be a lot of fun, it's also a huge area
filled with really drunk people. And if you're watching this video, that means you're probably
from out of town. Things at the Oktoberfest can go from really fun to a really bad situation
pretty quickly. So something to keep in mind is that at the back of the Oktoberfest, kind
of down from big, woman statue, that kind of looks like a Bavaria Statue of Liberty,
is a police, ambulance, fire fighter station; you can go there if you need help. Also keep
an eye out for the big while balloon floating in the air; it's got a red cross on it. That's
the sign for the Red Cross station; you can go there if you need help. Also the
Sichere Wiesn, meaning "safe Oktoberfest," is a
privately run organization set up especially for the
safety of women and girls at the Oktoberfest. They've got a security point on the grounds
for those in trouble, and I've put a link to their site down in the linky links, and I really
suggest that you check it out, so that everyone can have a fun and safe time at the Oktoberfest.
Got anymore Oktoberfest tips?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that like button.
Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
Are we all done? Are we all done? I can't breathe. Please get me out of this thing.
Are we all done now? Ow.