Ground zero for beer… at least in October

Hello Everyone,

If I were to ask what place on earth epitomizes beer, what place would you mention? Would it be a pub in London? Maybe. Perhaps the Budweiser Brewery? No no, that wouldn’t be it. Would it be beautiful Ireland, the birth place of our beloved Guinness? That’s getting a bit closer but not the answer. The central nervous system of beer can be found in one city during one month of the year – Munich during Oktoberfest.

This past weekend, I visited this pristine city during its not so pristine legendary festival. I decided at the last minute to take the train from Frankfurt to Munich to spend a night and enjoy ghastly large mugs of beer, pretzels, and half chickens. Many have told me that Oktoberfest was a once in a lifetime experience. These assertions were more than correct.

The party is so infectious that it starts well before you actually arrive in Munich. After having done some work and reading on the train, I felt a bit hungry. The German railway offers some of the best snacks in the meal wagons. So, I made my way along the narrow path in the modernly designed ICE train. People were sleeping, reading or enjoying each others company. As I neared the food wagon a swell of noise increased. There was laughing and shouting. Yup, fellow “Oktoberfesters” couldn’t wait for Munich. They had to bring Munich to them. The wagon was rammed but the atmosphere was electric. Then, without any provocation, the singing started. A few folk songs warmed the crowd. Then the countrymen and women that brought us such classic rock megabands such as Scorpions dug into the depths of glam rock. A man led the charge and began singing… wait, wait… “Come on feel the noise”. The entire wagon became energized and sang at unimaginable decibels. All knew the song, all knew the lyrics. It was truly hysterical.

The electric vibe from the train paled in comparison to what awaited me on the “Wiese”, or “field” in German. But before I go into that let me account my first impression of Munich as I exited the train from Frankfurt. One always mocks Germans for sticking to their tradition of wearing Lederhosen. I now know why this subject of ridicule will never go away. Everywhere you looked men and boys of all ages and even races strolled around in these silly outfits. Fortunately this humorous site was offset by the far more appealing one of the traditional garments of the Bayerische Frauen, or women from Bayern. They too were tightly worn by a surprisingly large percentage of the population. You somehow feel compelled to grin (well at least I do).

A quick stop at the hotel and I made my way to the Wiese. I encountered numerous stumbling men in Lederhosen. There is something right but immensely funny with a hammered man in leather shorts and an obscure top. One of them approached me and asked for the direction to the Wiese. It was only a half a block away from him but clearly his sense of direction and sight was a bit shaky. He looked at me, then my pointed finger, then back at me. “Danke”, he said. As I walked away he dropped his funny pants and relieved himself in the middle of the sidewalk. I laughed.

Entering the field my jaw dropped at the sheer size of this event. Huge tents littered the entire kilometer wide (certainly what it seems) terrain. Amusement rides of all shapes and sizes separated the tents. Roller coasters, bungey drops, bumper cars, you name it, the ride was there. Now isn’t that just a bit masochistic? You fill people with unorthodox amounts of beer and then send them hurling through the air upside down. Only in Germany.

More impressive than the torturous distraction offerings were the volume of visitors. Honestly, I would have to say that hundreds of thousands of people filled the Wiese at any one time. The pathways were shoulder to shoulder full. All the tents were over capacity. There were line-ups 50 people long at each ride. It was simply insane. After trying to get into 4 different tents I was beginning to think that I had better return the next day in the morning. Apparently there are already line-ups at 11AM and if you did not reserve a table your luck may be out. I wasn’t in the mood for poor fortunes so I kept at it and eventually came across a tent that was letting people through in dribs and drabs. The waitresses would come to the people waiting and pick those who she felt would be good for her table. It reminded me of scenes outside Studio 54 in NYC (from what I’ve seen in photos and films). I encouraged one of the waitresses to pick a group of 3 so that I could tag as the 4^th person. She agreed and I was on my way to the true Oktoberfest.

We were guided to a long wooden table and were rammed between a group of younger locals and two older men at the foot of the bench. A round was quickly ordered. The beers came faster than an already prepared burger at McDonald’s. More impressive was that this little frail blond girl comfortably carried eight of these liter (or more) mugs. It was astounding and, actually, a bit sexy. We all cheered one another and in no time became befriended with our neighbors. The friendship was surprising given that you are mixing an excessive amount of men, alcohol, and lack of space. Nonetheless, the vibe was awesome.

A great atmosphere usually includes singing. Well, just as the “Come on feel the noise” crew on the train, the people around us in this tent were also chant hungry. It really all started with a bunch of Kiwis. Four rugby players from New Zealand began singing the All Blacks Maury chant. They did it with such conviction that I actually wondered whether they were members of the team. Regardless, their passion fueled the crowd. As they finished there was a roaring applause. Shortly after another group nearby started their own chant (either a local song or football cheer). This spawned a different group to also entertain the crowd with their musical expression. The Kiwis had started a “chant off”. It was hilarious because few actually had any oratory skills. Aside from the huge New Zealanders, everyone either shrieked or screamed with a raspy voice.

The night on the Wiese eventually came to a close. However, the beer filled partiers had no desire to stop celebrating (myself included). The scene was actually quite amazing. Tens of thousands of people poured out of a field into the city of Munich. From someone sitting in a café down the road it must have appeared as if a mob was approaching. I left the tent with a group of people sitting along my bench. We all wanted to hit another spot before calling it a night. However, the aimless destination and beer-slowed-pace disassembled the group block by block until eventually I was left with two others. We tried to get into one spot, then another. Everything was full or simply didn’t want us. My Oktoberfest came to a close.

The next day, I woke up feeling, well, a bit heavy-headed. The sun streamed down on the magical city. The endless gardens brightly displayed their autumn colors. The stunning city architecture carved up the blue sky. The warm air sparked laughter with kids of all ages. But all I wanted to do was sleep a bit more. However, I forced myself to get a move on. While heading back to the Wiese was out of the question, I did spend some time wandering the old-city. My beer haze seemed to give the city even more allure.

Finally, I boarded the train back to Frankfurt. I decided to park myself in the food wagon to grab a nice bite and do some reading. Apparently, many Germans figured that Munich didn’t provide enough beer to their system. Very shortly after departing the station, several groups of 30+ men and women streamed into the wagon and ordered multiple rounds of beer. The trip back to Frankfurt was highly entertaining, where two groups of men attempted vigorously to attract the attention of a group of beer guzzling women. The lines that flew back and forth would have made the most shameless womanizer cringe. The experience was complete.

So if you like beer, you owe it to yourself to visit Oktoberfest in Munich. No beer town or event can rival it. Expect the unexpected. Bring a hearty amount of headache pills, and take the train.

Until next time.

~ by fmertens on October 2, 2008.