How to Enjoy Oktoberfest Munich

Oktoberfest Munich is one of those events that is a "must experience". I lived in the Munich area from 2002 to 2004 which means that I did manage to go to the festival a few times. Now, I'm actually not a beer drinker. I don't like it and I probably never will. But I quickly learned that you don't need to drink a beer in order to have fun. There are other beverages there after all and someone has to stay sober to make sure everyone gets home safely. But Oktoberfest is a lot of fun and definitely worth a visit - in other words, it's about more than just beer.

Would you like to visit Oktoberfest Munich? Despite popular belief, it isn't entirely in October. In fact, it's barely in October. It runs in the last two weeks of September and the first few days of October. This year, Oktoberfest Munich 2009 goes from September 19 to October 4. The current date is September 18 which means that even though it's at the last minute, there's still plenty of time for you to book a flight to Munich and make your accommodations.

Getting to Munich

Munich has a very nice airport. It's tucked away from the city center but there are two S-Bahn lines that will take you right into the city. Just follow the giant green "S" sign after you deplane (green letter on a white background) and it will take you right to the area with the trains - it's right in the airport. You can buy a ticket at one of the machines or at the counter. You can also rent a car from the airport. If you live in Europe you can also take a train and drive.

Booking Your Hotel

You can book your hotel in advance. In fact, I'd advise it because the city gets pretty busy during this popular festival. But I need to tell you a little secret... you can get away with not booking a hotel if you don't mind staying outside of the city. The Munich area has a great subway system. Look at the S-Bahn and U-Bahn map and choose a village that has a train station. This is what we did one year when we were visiting Munich during Oktoberfest.

Getting to Oktoberfest

When we first moved to Germany, we were surprised that Munich didn't appear livelier. Well it was pretty lively and busy, but where was the festival? We walked around all day during the first day of Oktoberfest Munich and kept asking people in broken German where it was. Finally we understood - it's at Theresienwiese which is slightly out of the way from the city center.

Getting to Theresienwiese

There are a few ways you can get to Theresienwiese. You can drive, but really that's not very smart. Even if you don't think you're going to get drunk the typical portion size for Ein Bier, Bitte is one liter. Now that's a lot of beer! You can also bike there, but that isn't smart either. Have you ever tried to navigate a bicycle while tipsy? I never have but I've seen the bruises on other unfortunate cyclers.

The best way is to either take the S-Bahn, the U-Bahn or you can walk. You can also take a taxi but the U-Bahn and S-Bahn are the cheapest options. If you click on the link at the end of the article it will take you to the official Oktoberfest website. Click on "To the Wiesn with Public Transport" (you'll need to scroll down a bit) to figure out the best route for you to take to get to the festival.

Additional Oktoberfest Information

Entry to the festival is free. You'll need to pay for the beer though. When we were there in '02 a one liter beer cost 6 Euro. I don't know how much they will be this year. There's also food and non alcoholic beverages. I stuck with mineral water and Apfelschorle - a mix of mineral water and apple juice. I believe it is also possible to get wine in certain tents.

The food is pretty good. Actually, it's excellent. If you have the chance order one of those chickens with a side of radish (curly-cut radish garnished with lots of salt). This is the perfect Oktoberfest meal. If you have a sweetheart, buy them one of those "Ich Liebe Dich" heart cookies to wear around their neck. You'll see plenty of those, too!

You will also notice that there are rides at Oktoberfest Munich. In fact, they may even have a roller coaster. If you do want to go on them, please try to do so before you start drinking! It may sound like common sense but it's pretty common for people to go on them after they visit the beer tents.

If you have a chance to experience Oktoberfest, go for it! Give yourself plenty of time to not only enjoy the festival but also visit Munich and the surrounding area. It was a great place to live and is now one of my favorite places to visit.