Germany and Oktoberfest
One of the most pleasant things I found about my Contiki tour was its structuring – frenzied visits to large bustling cities were almost always broken by a stop-over at a quieter country destination. So after an evening of debauchery and half a day of culture-vulturing in Amsterdam we jumped on the coach and headed off into Germany, stopping first at the tranquil tiny village of St. Goar in the picturesque Rhine Valley. I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world that has such a high concentration of castles and fortifications (put in place to protect the vitally important trade route that is the Rhine river).
I really love these little literally 2-street villages. I love the novelty of roaming around after dark, having the entire place to myself. It just feels really special, and peaceful.
The next day, Thursday, the traffic gods, if not the weather deities, were with us and we made the journey to Munich (Munchen in German), the heart of the Bavarian district, in good time. We did have a brief tour of the city centre, and even had some free time to explore, but most of us only had one thing on our minds… Oktoberfest!
Communication
Communication in Germany isn’t quite as easy as it is in the Netherlands. You’ll find the simple phrase “Spreken zie Engels?” quite useful. However, as in most European nations, the younger people speak English while the older generations are less fluent. Generally though you should be able to get by.
Activities & Attractions
In St Goar, not much… this is a place for complete relaxation after all, and the area is apparently a very popular Summer holiday destination for Germans (as the nearby caravan park proves). However, if you aren’t content just chilling on the banks of the Rhine, you can check out the world’s biggest cuckoo clock, the world’s biggest beer stein and the 2 specialist novelty shops that house them. There’s also the nearby Lorelei rock, which is connected to the legend of the Rhine temptress who would lure sailors to their deaths with her haunting song.
Apparently you could easily be kept busy for a full week in Munich. I didn’t delve too deeply into the options knowing we had so little time in the city, but these are some of the main sights we saw while exploring the old city centre on foot:
Marienplatz – The main town square, with the Altes Rathaus (old town hall), which was restored after being flattened in WWII. As a result it looks newer than the Neues Rathaus (new town hall). This latter building is in the Gothic style and contains the musical Glockenspiel, which activates at 11:00 and 17:00. For 15 minutes wooden figures come out and re-enact famous scenes from Munich’s past, with lots of dancing. The new town hall apparently has some excellent views from its tower if you climb it.
St. Peter’s Church – Just off the Marienplatz, this old church has a stunning altar, as well as the creepy, gold and gem-decorated skeleton of a saint on display (our tour manager loved to point out lesser known macabre sights in every place we visited). Like most churches in mainland Europe, St Peter’s is free to enter, but you’ll pay to climb towers or enter crypts.
Hofbrauhaus – Munich’s famous, favourite beerhall, founded in the 16th Century. If your Contiki tour passes through Munich when Oktoberfest isn’t on, this is where you’ll go for a taste of authentic German beer and food. Hitler famously gave speeches and outlined Nazi party policy here.
We didn’t see these, but other Munich attractions include the BMW Museum, the 1972 Olympic Park and the impressive royal palace, the Residenz.
Contiki Optionals
Wine tasting – This could probably fall under Activities & Attractions as well, but the Rhine Valley is Germany’s major wine producing region, with very steep vineyards lining the hills of the valley. Here we got to sample the famous white wines of Germany, made from Riesling grapes. It was an enjoyable experience, going down into an underground wine cellar where we were allowed to graffiti on any surface (if we wanted), and keep our taster glasses. The fruity, sweet wines were nothing exceptional though – in fact nothing I had in Europe surpassed any South African wine. An exception though was the delicious syrup-sweet Ice Wine, which can only be harvested in very specific very-end-of-season conditions. At €26 a bottle it was way beyond my budget though, and besides, South Africa isn’t really a nation of dessert wine drinkers.
Bicycle tour – If you’re in Munich during the Summer months you can go for a guided bicycle tour around the city. In good weather I imagine that would be quite pleasant, and a novel experience to boot. We were given the option if we really wanted to do it, but it was raining and cold, and the activity would have gobbled up a good few hours of our Oktoberfest experience.
Food & Drink
Germany is a nation of meat and potatoes eaters, but that hardly means their food is dull. Quite the contrary! This is just a tiny sample of what you could be guzzling during a trip to Germany:
Pork knuckle
Bratwurst (sausage)
White veal sausage
Schnitzel, crumbed veal or chicken
Leberkas – a juicy meat loaf consisting of ground beef and bacon
Sauerkraut
German mustard
Giant pretzels – proper salty bread as opposed to those horrible tiny dry sticks we buy in packets
Apple strudel
Giant ginger biscuits
Beer, beer and more German beer – I don’t even drink the stuff and I enjoyed my litre at Oktoberfest. Apparently German beer is preservative-free so it’s not supposed to give you a hangover. I can’t comment on this, but German beer certainly doesn’t have that watery vile aftertaste that so many other beers have.
White wine – see Contiki Optionals for more detail.
Impressions & Interesting Facts
The German roads are full of Audis and Volkswagens. And we’re sure we saw a competition which revealed the new Mini costs just €16 000.
While at Oktoberfest, look out for people in traditional Bavarian dress – that’s lederhosen for guys and dirndl for girls.
Bad behaviour will not be tolerated at Oktoberfest, and that includes standing on tables. We witnessed a drunk, abusive American being escorted away from a tent, as well as a mournful looking girl walking around with a freshly broken nose. Oh, and flash a middle finger, especially at a police officer, and you’re facing a €2 000 fine. It was amusing to discover the Australian government had even issued behaviour warnings to citizens attending Oktoberfest. The Aussie warcry is forbidden because it translates into something very offensive for Germans sensitive about the whole West-East Germany split (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi = Eastie, Eastie, Eastie, ha ha ha!).
Oktoberfest is not a debauched all-night thing. No drinks are served after 11:30, with the grounds closing around 12:30. It’s probably a good idea to have called ahead for a taxi to get back to your accommodation (unless you’re comfortable with taking the nearby Underground – U-bahn) because everyone will have the same idea and you’ll all be fighting for a ride. We only really had success finding a taxi when we walked quite a far distance up the road away from the Oktoberfest grounds.
Anyway, the most important thing to realise about Oktoberfest is that it’s not easy to get a table in a beer tent, particularly when the weather is bad and everyone heads indoors. So what you say? Well, the thing is, although you can buy food from stalls all over the carnival grounds, the only place to get beer is when you are seated inside a beer tent or its next-door open-air beer garden (closed when the weather is very crap).
In theory security should be controlling entry into the tents, only allowing new people in when people inside leave, and there are gaps at tables. However, that system was non-existent when we were there – you could simply use a side entrance to get into a tent. Out of interest, in case you were thinking this, Oktoberfest beer tents are NOT canvas marquees; they’re huge erected structures put in place by the big breweries. Inside they are impressively decorated, and they even sometimes include animatronics on the tent’s front. It’s worthwhile getting inside a tent to have a look at the festivities, but this comes with drawbacks. Once inside, you’re not allowed to stop moving until you have a seat. And it becomes clear very quickly that until you’re seated, you’re dirt to be yelled at, or pushed aside.
For over 2 hours we attempted to get seating the “official” way – waiting in a queue outside a tent until spaces opened up and the main doors opened. This never happened. Mostly it seemed the security guards/bouncers were playing with us – showing their faces, making it appear they were going to let us in, and then turning their backs on us. So yes, the first few hours of my Oktoberfest experience were not pleasant. We were the uncool kids out in the cold and rain, looking in at an awesome party where there was drinking, feasting, dancing and a live traditional band.
Other people on the Contiki Tour had the same experience as us, and if you’re ever at Oktoberfest and are in a similar situation (next time I’m booking seats in advance!), you may just have to do what we did and make your own party. By now the weather had dried up somewhat and the beer gardens were open. Within a few minutes of sitting down by the heaters we had our 1 litre steins of beer (priced at €8). And in case you need some perspective in terms of the size of these beers, this picture may help – one normal 330ml bottle emptied into an Oktoberfest stein fills it to around a third. The guys had 2 of these each.
Remember to tip your waitress decently. This will keep her attentive to your needs. Oh, and yes, they can really carry 6 steins in their hands.
Oktoberfest is about more than drinking. It’s a family event too; a huge celebration. As a result, a big portion of the grounds is actually a funfair with shooting ranges, throw-the-coconut challenges, a cheesy house of horrors, hall of mirrors and a ferris wheel. There was even an awesome Olympics themed rollercoaster with 5 loops. It was €7 a pop to ride, but well worth it.
Germans can give the impression of being quite gruff and abrupt. However, we had a really amusing taxi driver in Munich who took us from Oktoberfest back to our hotel. When it comes to swearing, no one makes it sound as good as the Germans.
I really love these little literally 2-street villages. I love the novelty of roaming around after dark, having the entire place to myself. It just feels really special, and peaceful.
The next day, Thursday, the traffic gods, if not the weather deities, were with us and we made the journey to Munich (Munchen in German), the heart of the Bavarian district, in good time. We did have a brief tour of the city centre, and even had some free time to explore, but most of us only had one thing on our minds… Oktoberfest!
Communication
Communication in Germany isn’t quite as easy as it is in the Netherlands. You’ll find the simple phrase “Spreken zie Engels?” quite useful. However, as in most European nations, the younger people speak English while the older generations are less fluent. Generally though you should be able to get by.
Activities & Attractions
In St Goar, not much… this is a place for complete relaxation after all, and the area is apparently a very popular Summer holiday destination for Germans (as the nearby caravan park proves). However, if you aren’t content just chilling on the banks of the Rhine, you can check out the world’s biggest cuckoo clock, the world’s biggest beer stein and the 2 specialist novelty shops that house them. There’s also the nearby Lorelei rock, which is connected to the legend of the Rhine temptress who would lure sailors to their deaths with her haunting song.
Apparently you could easily be kept busy for a full week in Munich. I didn’t delve too deeply into the options knowing we had so little time in the city, but these are some of the main sights we saw while exploring the old city centre on foot:
Marienplatz – The main town square, with the Altes Rathaus (old town hall), which was restored after being flattened in WWII. As a result it looks newer than the Neues Rathaus (new town hall). This latter building is in the Gothic style and contains the musical Glockenspiel, which activates at 11:00 and 17:00. For 15 minutes wooden figures come out and re-enact famous scenes from Munich’s past, with lots of dancing. The new town hall apparently has some excellent views from its tower if you climb it.
St. Peter’s Church – Just off the Marienplatz, this old church has a stunning altar, as well as the creepy, gold and gem-decorated skeleton of a saint on display (our tour manager loved to point out lesser known macabre sights in every place we visited). Like most churches in mainland Europe, St Peter’s is free to enter, but you’ll pay to climb towers or enter crypts.
Hofbrauhaus – Munich’s famous, favourite beerhall, founded in the 16th Century. If your Contiki tour passes through Munich when Oktoberfest isn’t on, this is where you’ll go for a taste of authentic German beer and food. Hitler famously gave speeches and outlined Nazi party policy here.
We didn’t see these, but other Munich attractions include the BMW Museum, the 1972 Olympic Park and the impressive royal palace, the Residenz.
Contiki Optionals
Wine tasting – This could probably fall under Activities & Attractions as well, but the Rhine Valley is Germany’s major wine producing region, with very steep vineyards lining the hills of the valley. Here we got to sample the famous white wines of Germany, made from Riesling grapes. It was an enjoyable experience, going down into an underground wine cellar where we were allowed to graffiti on any surface (if we wanted), and keep our taster glasses. The fruity, sweet wines were nothing exceptional though – in fact nothing I had in Europe surpassed any South African wine. An exception though was the delicious syrup-sweet Ice Wine, which can only be harvested in very specific very-end-of-season conditions. At €26 a bottle it was way beyond my budget though, and besides, South Africa isn’t really a nation of dessert wine drinkers.
Bicycle tour – If you’re in Munich during the Summer months you can go for a guided bicycle tour around the city. In good weather I imagine that would be quite pleasant, and a novel experience to boot. We were given the option if we really wanted to do it, but it was raining and cold, and the activity would have gobbled up a good few hours of our Oktoberfest experience.
Food & Drink
Germany is a nation of meat and potatoes eaters, but that hardly means their food is dull. Quite the contrary! This is just a tiny sample of what you could be guzzling during a trip to Germany:
Pork knuckle
Bratwurst (sausage)
White veal sausage
Schnitzel, crumbed veal or chicken
Leberkas – a juicy meat loaf consisting of ground beef and bacon
Sauerkraut
German mustard
Giant pretzels – proper salty bread as opposed to those horrible tiny dry sticks we buy in packets
Apple strudel
Giant ginger biscuits
Beer, beer and more German beer – I don’t even drink the stuff and I enjoyed my litre at Oktoberfest. Apparently German beer is preservative-free so it’s not supposed to give you a hangover. I can’t comment on this, but German beer certainly doesn’t have that watery vile aftertaste that so many other beers have.
White wine – see Contiki Optionals for more detail.
Impressions & Interesting Facts
The German roads are full of Audis and Volkswagens. And we’re sure we saw a competition which revealed the new Mini costs just €16 000.
While at Oktoberfest, look out for people in traditional Bavarian dress – that’s lederhosen for guys and dirndl for girls.
Bad behaviour will not be tolerated at Oktoberfest, and that includes standing on tables. We witnessed a drunk, abusive American being escorted away from a tent, as well as a mournful looking girl walking around with a freshly broken nose. Oh, and flash a middle finger, especially at a police officer, and you’re facing a €2 000 fine. It was amusing to discover the Australian government had even issued behaviour warnings to citizens attending Oktoberfest. The Aussie warcry is forbidden because it translates into something very offensive for Germans sensitive about the whole West-East Germany split (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi = Eastie, Eastie, Eastie, ha ha ha!).
Oktoberfest is not a debauched all-night thing. No drinks are served after 11:30, with the grounds closing around 12:30. It’s probably a good idea to have called ahead for a taxi to get back to your accommodation (unless you’re comfortable with taking the nearby Underground – U-bahn) because everyone will have the same idea and you’ll all be fighting for a ride. We only really had success finding a taxi when we walked quite a far distance up the road away from the Oktoberfest grounds.
Anyway, the most important thing to realise about Oktoberfest is that it’s not easy to get a table in a beer tent, particularly when the weather is bad and everyone heads indoors. So what you say? Well, the thing is, although you can buy food from stalls all over the carnival grounds, the only place to get beer is when you are seated inside a beer tent or its next-door open-air beer garden (closed when the weather is very crap).
In theory security should be controlling entry into the tents, only allowing new people in when people inside leave, and there are gaps at tables. However, that system was non-existent when we were there – you could simply use a side entrance to get into a tent. Out of interest, in case you were thinking this, Oktoberfest beer tents are NOT canvas marquees; they’re huge erected structures put in place by the big breweries. Inside they are impressively decorated, and they even sometimes include animatronics on the tent’s front. It’s worthwhile getting inside a tent to have a look at the festivities, but this comes with drawbacks. Once inside, you’re not allowed to stop moving until you have a seat. And it becomes clear very quickly that until you’re seated, you’re dirt to be yelled at, or pushed aside.
For over 2 hours we attempted to get seating the “official” way – waiting in a queue outside a tent until spaces opened up and the main doors opened. This never happened. Mostly it seemed the security guards/bouncers were playing with us – showing their faces, making it appear they were going to let us in, and then turning their backs on us. So yes, the first few hours of my Oktoberfest experience were not pleasant. We were the uncool kids out in the cold and rain, looking in at an awesome party where there was drinking, feasting, dancing and a live traditional band.
Other people on the Contiki Tour had the same experience as us, and if you’re ever at Oktoberfest and are in a similar situation (next time I’m booking seats in advance!), you may just have to do what we did and make your own party. By now the weather had dried up somewhat and the beer gardens were open. Within a few minutes of sitting down by the heaters we had our 1 litre steins of beer (priced at €8). And in case you need some perspective in terms of the size of these beers, this picture may help – one normal 330ml bottle emptied into an Oktoberfest stein fills it to around a third. The guys had 2 of these each.
Remember to tip your waitress decently. This will keep her attentive to your needs. Oh, and yes, they can really carry 6 steins in their hands.
Oktoberfest is about more than drinking. It’s a family event too; a huge celebration. As a result, a big portion of the grounds is actually a funfair with shooting ranges, throw-the-coconut challenges, a cheesy house of horrors, hall of mirrors and a ferris wheel. There was even an awesome Olympics themed rollercoaster with 5 loops. It was €7 a pop to ride, but well worth it.
Germans can give the impression of being quite gruff and abrupt. However, we had a really amusing taxi driver in Munich who took us from Oktoberfest back to our hotel. When it comes to swearing, no one makes it sound as good as the Germans.
Comments
was searching for feedback on peoples' experience with oktoberfest through contiki and came across your blog.
would love to ask you a few questions about your experience, if possible. (email: carmen.cheung@hotmail.com)
looking fwd to hearing from you!
carmen