Happy Oktoberfest from Munich!

Packed up and ready to head to Munich for Oktoberfest (I hadn't planned much of my dates for meandering around Europe but knew I absolutely wanted to get to Munich for the last weekend of Oktoberfest), I headed to the hospital to say goodbye to Maria, my Couchsurfing host and went on my way. I was actually really lucky to have gotten a message from Jessie, a girl from Couchsurfing who offered to host me because the person she was supposed to host had canceled on her last minute. I knew that I was meeting up with a college friend, Jon, the next day but I wanted to get there a day earlier and thought I'd have to spend the night in a hostel because I figured all Couchsurfing hosts would already be taken up with it being Oktoberfest and all (I got an offer for a couch in exchange for relations though - no thanks) so was so glad to have received this message from Jessie who also offered to take me to Oktoberfest.

Chilling on the train.

Second train was packed and I ended up on the floor...

Since I got in late, I wasn't able to meet Jessie at hers but she gave me pretty good directions to meet her in Theresienwiese, the spot for Oktoberfest, so that was the plan. Once I got into the station, I was swarmed by a sea of lederhosen and dirndls and I don't know why I found it so entertaining but I couldn't help but giggle every time I saw another guy walking by wearing lederhosen which pretty much meant I couldn't stop giggling the whole time at Oktoberfest. Luckily the Munich Hauptbanhof had a bunch of lockers that could be rented for fairly cheap so I put all my things into one and went on my way. When I got to the correct stop, the station was packed that it took forever to even go up the stairs. There were quite a few drunk guys walking down the steps but I really didn't see why there was so much traffic on the steps in general.

Bavarian pretzels at the station

Upon getting up to ground level, I started following the mass of lederhosen headed towards what I supposed was Oktoberfest and eventually found Jessie and she introduced me to her friends Addica and Philong (Phil). Jessie told me that it was fairly late already and the tents were already closed but her friend could get us around back through the smokers' entrance so we headed that way. On my way there, I saw almost everyone wearing necklaces with gingerbread hearts of various sizes with things written in frosting and was told that people give them to their significant others, I guess kind of like how couples give each other things during Valentine's Day.

Made it!

So crowded!

So finally getting to the back entrance of one of the beer tents, we stood around waiting for Jessie's friend to respond but before she could get a hold of him, they ended up striking a deal with these guys who were walking around selling smokers passes for €10 each so that's how we eventually made our way into the beer tent. And it was pretty much everything I ever imagined of Oktoberfest. I was told the beer had a higher percentage than normal beer so was glad that even though I was paying more for a beer than other places I've been to in Europe, I was getting my money's worth. The place was packed with people of all ages and it took forever to catch a waitress's attention but we finally got our beers and stood around people watching for a bit. There was a live band that played a lot of American songs so I was excited to sing along and they would throw in a German song here and there and everyone knew the words but I eventually caught on to the refrain that I faked it along the way but everyone was drunk so obviously didn't care if I sang along or not. I was just excited to be in the atmosphere of it all and couldn't wipe the goofy grin off my face the entire night.

So many people

Masses of people

Addica, Phil, and Jessie

Cheers Addica!

The band

Eventually, we got ourselves a spot at a table so we joined the rest of the people standing on the benches belting out lyrics to whatever song the band had decided to play. Looking back into some photos now, I can't quite remember when I pulled out my camera to take photos with the people next to me but I guess I did. I do remember talking to them though and they were just a funny bunch, with one or two of them nearly tipping over every so often.

View from the bench

Jessie

I guess this guy took my camera

I don't know whose glasses those are...

Who was taking this photo?? The dude on the right bought us beers

What the rest of my night looked like

I have on different glasses... 

By the end of the night, Jessie didn't want to get caught too much in the rush so we cut out a bit early to get some food and catch some rides. I had some delicious chicken before heading out to go ride on some roller coasters with them and all I remember is a blur of lights and colors and a random moment of  yelling at a guy in line for continuously trying to say hi to me in Japanese. After the flurry of a few rides, we got some chocolate covered strawberries and headed to the station to collect my things. It took us a bit of wandering before I found the correct locker but at this point, I had no sense of time so maybe it didn't really take that long at all. And before I knew it, we had made it to Jessie's flat and I got settled in with water, the WiFi password, and got fitted for one of Jessie's dirndls for the next day before quite literally passing out.

Sweet looking roller coaster

Yum chocolate covered things

This one is always the scariest for me

I woke up in the morning to Jon's Facebook call on my Kindle (I didn't even know it had the capability to do that) and he called me with enough time to snooze a bit before he actually got there. Similar to a lot of the friends that I've been meeting up with on this trip, I haven't seen Jon in about a year and it was really a random plan to meet him in Munich. Jon had been teaching English in Prague for the last year and I actually missed him by a few days when I got to Prague because by the time I got there, he was already settling himself into Oldenburg, Germany. We had casually talked about meeting up when I got to Europe but we hadn't really set a time or place to meet. I'm not exactly sure when the Munich plan actually got solidified but it did and Jon had traveled from one end of the country to the other (talk about a true friend) and here we were in Munich to experience Oktoberfest at the actual Oktoberfest!
Once Jon got to Jessie's, I got all dressed up in her dirndl and we were ready for a day of celebrations. Jessie had told me where to tie the bow of the apron (on the right if you're in a relationship, left if you're single, and in the middle if you just want someone to 'take you right now') so I made sure to tie my bow on the appropriate side. Jessie had a birthday party to go to that day so I got to spend the day catching up with Jon.
Our first stop was to go have a big brunch so we found a place close by and we ordered something with the name of Neuschwanstein (I had to get Jon to spell it out for me). It was pretty much a ginourmous plate of meats, cheeses, fruits, and various other things that can be picked at and combined together. We spent a fair amount of time munching and catching up and I learned that the reason Jon moved to Oldenburg was to get his second Bachelor's in engineering physics! This was a huge surprise because for those who know Jon, and I know Jon, would have never, in a million years, expected this. And to study it in Germany, with his first two years in English and the last two in German, is quite impressive as Jon doesn't know any German at all but will be taking classes as a part of his studies. I was actually pretty interested in what he was doing so he told me about how there are various universities in different cities in Europe that offer this type of degree with the first two years in English and the last two in whatever the primary language is of the country the studies are in - definitely considering this as an option in the next few years.

Neuschwanstein

Photo courtesy of Jon

Jon: "Haha. Fartzone."

Without trying to get to Oktoberfest too late, we quickly made our way over to Thereseweise. What I thought was packed the previous night was nothing compared to the crowd getting out of the train that day as it was the last weekend of the festival. The crowd was so large but it seemed like there was only one set of stairs and the security guards weren't doing anything about it until a little while later when they started to redirect traffic to another set of stairs. Why they didn't do it earlier or why there wasn't a plan for this when I'm sure this happens every year really beats me. After a much longer time than necessary, we finally got out of the train platform and made our way to Oktoberfest.

Crazy crowded

 The first tent we attempted to go to had an average-sized crowd so we decided to try it out but I'm not sure how the selection process went because every so often, a bouncer would come out and people would start sticking up their fingers to indicate how many people they had in their group and some groups would get let in and others wouldn't. We tried to stick up two fingers for awhile before we decided on a time when we would cut our losses and try to just enjoy the rest of our day elsewhere.

Waiting for the bouncer to come out again

Waiting...

After what I believed to be about 45 minutes to an hour, we left that crowd to just walk around the festival a bit before making our way out. We made another attempt at a smaller tent but again grew impatient so left. We went to a shop nearby and bought a few beers and went on our way to Marienplatz, the city centre, where we walked around for a bit then sat down to people watch.We saw what I think was a bachelorette party and a street performance and the typical families and couples doing whatever families and couples do.

Oktoberfest beers

Hi!

In Marienplatz

Cool statue I passed

When we had finished our beers, it was about time for some noms again and I was craving some Indian food. We found a good place nearby called Ganga and we ordered all kinds of flavorful dishes and I was barely able to waddle out of there. After our heavy dinner, it was about time for a nap so we got back to the hotel that we had booked (this was before I got Jessie's message) in Isartor and caught a quick power nap before going to Ned Kelly's, an Australian bar that someone from Couchsurfing had recommended to me to watch rugby. When we got there, there was a pretty long line but luckily, we had passed it on our way to the hotel so decided to get stamped in case of a situation like the one we saw before us occurred and boy was I glad to skip the line with a flash of the stamp on my wrist.

Look at all the food!!

He's ready to eat

Luckily I have the apron to cover my food baby

Such a random window display...

This one's even crazier

Passing by Marienplatz again

When we got there, the England vs. Australia game was already on so the bar was quite packed with fans of both countries. I spent the entire first half peeking in between heads and catching glimpses of the screen. Where my height is a curse in one area, I was able to count it as a blessing when slithering through the crowd to get to the bar. By the second half, Jon and I were able to stake a claim over some bar stools which allowed me a better view than the first half. The only thing that blocked my view was the fluffy blonde hair of a rather drunk Australian but it didn't take him long to get kicked out of the bar which left me with a rather unobstructed view of England's slow defeat.
Some time during the second half, we had made friends with a couple of guys from France and this was the first time that someone pinned me as the body type for a flanker (yes!). After the game, we joined them in their journey to this club named Pacha. I found this as my perfect opportunity to practice some drunk French as well. In Pacha, I met this group of girls from Switzerland who had come into Munich for the day for Oktoberfest and they had gotten into some lucky situations; they managed to get into a beer tent that day where they met the owner of Pacha so got into the club for free. I spent the rest of the night trying to set up the French men with the Swiss girls in between bouts of breaking it down on the dance floor. The music at Pacha wasn't that memorable as it was very, very, very repetitive techno and trance but it was a rather fun time.

Frenchmen - Flo and... I can't remember...

Fake lederhosen

Long line at Ned Kelly's

Real lederhosen

On our way to Pacha

Along the way, I obtained a hat!

The Frenchmen up ahead

Cool things along our travels

And here we are

Lots of darkness and random bouts of fog

Swiss girls

i_mon_top of a platform

The next morning, I had planned on meeting up with Jessie and her friends for brunch so Jon and I hopped a train over to Hirschgarten where Jessie took us through to a restaurant in the middle of the park. She said it's great for picnics in the summer and I can imagine people sprawled out all over the grass and spending the day there but since it was quite a chilly day, we opted for some indoor seating. Per usual when I'm out with a local, I asked Jessie to choose for me so she ordered some soup and the traditional Bavarian weißwurst which is pretty much a white sausage but you're not supposed to eat the outer skin. I'm glad I was told that because I probably would have just eaten the whole thing. It has the consistency of a hot dog more than a sausage and was pretty tasty with some mustard, which I typically am not a fan of but have been since Munich. Along with the weißwurst, which is traditionally eaten before noon, we ordered this drink which I don't know the name of which is a mix of a light blonde beer and lemonade which was pretty refreshing.

Hirschgarten

Cute restaurant at Hirschgarten

We ordered the first option

Soup with some tortilla-like strips

Weißwurst

After brunch, we headed back to Jessie's, and along the way, she pointed out different places of interest that I will have to go back to when I visit again. It was nearing the time Jon would have to catch his bus back to Oldenburg and I had planned to catch a train to Frankfurt around the same time so I packed up all my things, thanked Jessie, said our goodbyes, and Jon and I headed to the Hauptbahnhof. After a fun and eventful weekend, it was time to continue on my travels.