Putting the DU in Dutch: Oktnotsosoberfest

Hey ya'll sorry for the late update on my trip over to Munich for Oktoberfest last weekend. It was one hell of a time. Granger and I stopped in Munich 4 times during our Europe trip a few years back. It is one of my all time favorite cities. Great food, great people and even better beer.

There is a student organization here called Way to Go, I think I have mentioned them before. Anyways they organize trips throughout the year and provide a cheap alternative for transportation and housing. It is really awesome, the "guides" are all in their mid-twenties and want to enjoy the trip just as much as we do.

We boarded the bus a 9pm and began our 10 hour drive to Munich. It not the most comfortable thing in the world but you do what you can to catch some Zs. At about 5 in the morning we pulled into a rest stop and changed into the appropriate clothing, got a red bull and signed a waiver that basically said if we died it wasn't Way to Go's fault.

Getting Pumped!

After a short stop it was off to Oktoberfest. We arrived at 8am and were dropped off right at the gate. It was a sight for sore eyes. Oktoberfest is a fair so in addition to the 11 beer tents there are rides, games, food and more! The tents are huge, some fitting up to 10,000 people. Each tent is for a spcific brewery and serves that beer.

The tents open at 9, but you have to get in line early to make sure you get a table. When 9 o'clock comes around it is a mad rush for table. Because we were in line early finding a table was not an issue. As soon as you sit down the waitresses slam down 10 1L beers on the table. Each one costs 10 Euros! Yeah, it was an expensive trip but how many times are you gonna make it to Oktoberfest! Once the beers came it was uninterrupted drinking for hours. The only interruption occurred when someone in the tent stands on their table. Doing so commits you to chugging your entire beer while rest of the tent cheers loudly. Success is met by fame, praise, cheers and bragging rights but failure is met by a chorus of boos and flying food. It was quite entertaining.

Beer

Obviously there is a lot of drinking going on here so here is a quick overview of my first day:

Beer 1

Beer 2

Beer 3

Beer 4

Beer 5

The first day we spent about 5 hours in the tent and then decided to stumble around outside and go on some rides. That turned out to be a bad idea for a few people with bellies full of beer. Not for me though! I had a great time.

Oktoberfest shuts down a 11pm, which may seem early, but remember the drinking starts at 9am. We had to take the train 45 minutes to our camp ground. They Way to Go trip had about 100 people on it. We all stayed in the same tent and were given a little cot and an sleeping bag. After a few more drinks by the fire it was straight to bed.

We awoke at 5am the next morning to a nice breakfast and rode the bus back to Oktoberfest. We arrived at 7:45 and again waited in line. On this day, in addition to more drinking, I got food which was also served in the tents. I got a white sausage in the morning and a half chicken in the afternoon. They were both phenomonal.

The bus was leaving at 8pm, so we had 11 hours to spend in the tent. Drinking games were played, music was listened to, songs were sung and fun was had. During the 11 hours of drinking a few people "fell asleep" at the table.

After an entire day of drinking we had to get back on the bus and head back to Maastricht. A 10 hour bus ride is not the best things after 11 hours of drinking, but hey, had to deal with it. We arrived back at school at 6am-ish and the unlucky majority had to go to class while I went straight to bed because I don't have monday classes!