23_oktoberfest

ALPINE REPRISE
14 - 27 September 2014

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest's 1st beer pub - 1818

Tuesday, 23 September. About 9:15 we left by chartered bus for the Octoberfest in Munich, a little over an hour from Garmisch. Our bus parked in a lot several blocks away from the Theresienwiese where the festivities are held. The site is named in honor of Princess Therese, who was married there in 1810 to Crown Prince Ludwig I (grandfather of Ludwig II who built Linderhof). Since then, the Oktoberfest is celebrated every year to commemorate that event. These days locals refer to the site simply as the "Weisn." In the beginning, the main event was a horse race. The first beer tent was added in 1818. Now the only horses are the ones pulling the beer wagons.

The 2014 Oktoberfest grounds

As we came down the slope leading to the huge bronze statue of Bavaria (c. 1848), we could see the Oktoberfest grounds stretching below us. With fourteen large tents (mostly serving beer and food) and twenty small tents (mostly serving food and beer), it was a far cry from the Oktoberfest we had attended in 1972. There now are probably more than three times as many tents, and several rides have been added.

The term "tents" is probably misleading. Back in the old days they really had small canvas tents. Over the years they grew in number and size, then in structural materials used. The modern "tents" are really huge wooden buildings, but temporary ones built and taken down each year. The interior superstructure is hidden by myriad fabric banners to give the impression of a tent. Most of the large tents seat several thousand people; a couple seat 10,000 if you count their outdoor seating areas.

Statue of Bavaria

We spent more than six hours at the Wiesen, from about 10:30 to 4:45. Our group split up so we could each see what we wanted to. Starting at the huge bronze statue of Bavaria (c. 1848), we walked the length of the midway and visited every one of the 14 large tents and a couple of the smaller ones. Although every tent was different, we must admit that it got repetitious before we were even half way through. (For that reason, I am only including a few pictures here even though I photographed every large tent outside and in.)

Lowenbrau tent

Inside the Lowenbrau tent

Jane & more Lowenbrau

Hacker tent (with ax emblem)

Inside the Hacker tent

Inside the Marstall tent

At several points along the way we passed wagons stacked with beer kegs and drawn by either four or six large horses.

Spatenbrau beer wagon

Spatenbrau horses & knitted hats

Hofbrau beer wagon

Jane with snack along midway

Hofbrau tent - our meeting place

By the time we got to the other end of the midway, we were hungry so we bought a few wurst (with bread) from one of the many food stands. It was after 1:00 and we decided to join most of the rest of our group in the Hofbrau tent. The amazing thing is that, in a tent filled with several thousand people, and having no idea where our friends might be, we found them in less than five minutes. We stayed about three hours, listening to the music and watching the chugalugers, male and female. We each ordered a half liter of beer, and Jane had no trouble finishing hers. About 3 p.m. we had a big meal (wurst with sauerkraut for Jane; schweinehaxen for me). Eventually we left the Hofbrau tent with the others and headed back to our bus.

Jane searches for our friends

Us eating in the Hofbrau teeent

It was a good thing we ate so late because we had an unexpected delay. Our bus struck another bus in the parking lot while backing out of its space. We waited about two hours before the police came so the driver could make a report. It was almost 9:00 p.m. when we got back to the Edelweiss. All the others had eaten earlier than we did, so they were starved. The only open restaurant was already mobbed before we got there. Jane and I decided not to fight the crowd. We just had an ice cream at the snack bar.

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