Ein Prosit

Well, Oktoberfest came and went and I'm still living. I had an unbelievable time with some of my best friends from DU. Where to start....

I started Thursday waking up at 6am, ready to get the beer flowing as soon as possible. While walking to the bus station, I saw a papelera (recycle bin for paper) on fire, with a few cops standing around. However, the firemen hadn't arrived at the scene of the crime so the papelera basically burned to the ground. I took this as a sign from the man upstairs and knew this week would be amazing! After long layovers and trouble with the Munich train ticket machine, I arrived at my first destination: the floor of a hotel.

Finally..........Downtown Munich! It was 11am and I had never been more excited to drink copious amounts of beer, so as soon as we gathered the troops we were on the way to the d'Weisn, the german name for Oktoberfest because it is located at the Theresienweise grounds. Friday was an enigma, as there were thousands of people on the grounds, but all the tents were open and we walked right in and began to walk around.

Finally, after a day and a half of traveling...BEER! We found a table next to some Danish bros and the Maß's were brought to us within five minutes of sitting down. No need to stand in a long line at the bar because everyone knows what you are there to do. We stayed in the Paulaner tent, specifically Armbrustschützenzelt, for about three hours. We then moseyed over to Hofbraü-Festzelt, where the party was just as crazy. The only difference was the quality of beer, much better in my opinion, and the placement of the band, which was right justified instead of front and center. This is the mecca of beer drinking and I can't even put into words what 7,000 people holding up their steins singing Ein Prosit or Hey Baby by Bruce Channel. However, the most important song is a song of my generation. Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, but only the bass line is sung. The reason this is so popular is, according to our Bavarian buddies from the second day, it can be sung whether one is intoxicated or sober. I took this as it was and continued to sing along.

Saturday was so much more crowed then Friday, but luckily we arrived at HB by 7:30am to snag a spot at the front of the mob. When the tape broke to let in said mob, I was almost crushed and separated from my group in a matter of seconds. I got yelled at my an unfriendly German rent-a-cop and he threatened (I think) to basically nightstick my face off if I didn't back up immediately, although there were thousands of people behind me pushing me forward. Upon entering, the much needed beer arrived at our table by 9:15am and the day officially had begun. We took this day a bit slower, seeing how fast the beer can go along with the money (Maß were running at about 10 euro a piece).

We decided to step outside and get some food, but we were in for much more that a schnitzel and bratwurst. We decided on riding a roller coaster, since Oktoberfest is much more than beer tents. It's also a giant amusement park so there are tons of children at d'Weisn as well. Our most exciting adventure, however, did not happen in the amusement park, but outside of one of the tents. By this time in the day, which was about 2pm, people were lined up outside the tents trying to just get through the main doors. It was like the morning, but it lasts all day instead of just the first rush. We went around to the side to try to get into the patio, where the atmosphere was worse but the beer was all the same. However, no dice. The security guard wasn't letting anybody in to try and clear the already overcrowded patio. We decided we would take destiny into our own hands and, when he wasn't looking, sneak under the tape into beer land. By the end, I was the last to go (since I had been caught on my first attempt) and finally made it across! What a rush it was!

Overall, Oktoberfest is an amazing experience that is meant to be shared with friends and loved one's. I was luckily enough to experience it this way and I would like to say thanks to everyone who made the trip so epic! And for all of you who didn't make it this year, there's always next year! See you in Munich!

-Adam