Munich Trip - September - Oktoberfest

Well, that flap does tend to get in the way.

 

Lederhosen: I bought my pants on Amazon a couple years ago. I think I spent $150, and they're nice. Socks are also key IMO. Then I bought a green checked shirt on sale at a Van Husen outlet, and wore some old Sketchers shoes.

I've gone to Oktoberfest twice (2x each time), I've worn them for Halloween once, and for an Oktoberfest at Sierra Nevada in Chico. You'll find reasons to wear it over the next couple of years IMO.

 

A local guy who was German told me this while drinking beer together. He had very nice German Trachtemode on.

"Jeff, what does a German wear under his Lederhosen? On a good day, lipstick!"

I almost spilled my beer laughing so hard. My wife almost spilled her beer. Peter was a character, he died last August in his sleep from a massive heart attack.

Oh, I know the same joke is told about kilts.

 

Yes, indeed... @Fly_Moe - if you want to try some fantastic Knoblauchwürst, let me know... I will direct you to the stand at The Fest to get it...

And, I've been 30+ times and have always found a way to get seats...

Prosit!!

 

Also heading for first time on the second weekend of the fest. I know tables are hard/impossible to get on weekends. Any suggestions for tents to hit or places to go Saturday and Sunday without reservations?

 

One big suggestion: https://www.beerdrinkersguide.com/index.html

 

If you get to the tents early enough, there's seating available, but that also means lots of day drinking. Most servers will tell you if the table is reserved later in the day. There's generally always room outside the tents, for 1-2 people there's almost always room somewhere inside or outside.

 

I can't stress how great that book is. I've been visiting for coming up on 15 years and I still use it to plan my Munich-area outings. It covers the major stops along with some pretty obscure ones. It's also a nice tool for some quick cultural FYIs and as a mapping tool. It's easily worth the $15. Depending on where you go the free coupons in the back can potentially pay for the cost of the book.

 

Hi...

Check out this map... https://www.muenchen.de/int/en/events/oktoberfest/map.html

Find the Augustiner tent (Festhalle - #64) in the middle of the map... just below it is Strasse 3 (street 3)... in the middle of Strasse 3, on the left (the Augustiner side) is a stand called "Feinkost Drexler"... Run by Herbert Drexler... This is where you'll find this amazing Knoblauchwürst... if you need any more info, or pics, let me know... you won't be disappointed if you try it!... Prosit!

 

Hopefully they’re either detergent, liquid soap, and/or bleach.

 

Three chemicals that should always stay the heck away from leather. Just sayin'.

 

Another reason not to own Lederhosen.

 

How about shoes? Maybe a nice leather jacket? Or 10.

 

Ha, I hate leather jackets. Yeah I'll make sure not to bleach my shoes.

 

Oh man, we may have to re-evaluate our friendship. Some sort of PETA thing?

But if you "hate" leather jackets, Lederhosen are definitely not for you.

 

Oh God no, I hate PETA stuff too, I could care less about that. I wear work boots daily.

I just don't like the style that's all.

 

Bumping this one as my work has asked me to fly to the UK through the 12th, after which I have 4 weeks off, so I'm almost definitely just going to stick around in Europe for a bit instead of flying back on the 13th. Oktoberfest is on the menu for sure. If I plan to stay through about the 25th, which day would make sense to go to Oktoberfest to get the vibe but avoid the worstest most touristy days? Weekday evening? And what should I do in the intermediate week as I've planned next to nothing so far.

 

@chrisjws I see it starts the 21st this year and goes all the way to Oct 6. The 1st day is an absolute zoo, the Sunday following most likely also. If you want to avoid that the following Monday and or Tuesday is probably your best bet.

Just my opinion, but I would probably go Sunday morning to check it out, grab a beer somewhere outside and people watch. During the week there are plenty of suggestions on other threads.

Just be aware that hotels are super busy and super expensive on that opening weekend. I would recommend staying outside of MUC and take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn into the city.

 

My experience has shown the 1st Saturday to be nuts, with the early part of Sunday as well... things seem to quiet down a bit on Sunday eve.. fatigue perhaps? Monday is a good bet all around... I believe Tuesdays are their Family Days, so it will be more crowded during the day, especially if nice weather... may not be bad at night in the tents, as under a certain age aren't allowed, if I recall... I am planning on trying for the 22nd and 23rd myself....

Prosit!