The truth about Oktoberfest

{ My German Man in his Lederhosen & his beer wench - me! }

The truth, is it was possibly one of the most fun experiences of our lives. Believe the hype. Jot it on your to do list. Get there. 

The truth about Oktoberfest... is that it is as fun, crazy, loud & beer involved as you have heard or suspected.

I drank until I spewed (sorry mum it's true) and sang traditional German songs (ok so just yelled similar sounding australian words) until I lost my voice. I went on scary rides I never would have dared in Australia, and laughed until my belly hurt. I ate some of the most amazing food ever consumed (ok I was drunk but it still would have been amazing sober) and dressed up in traditional dress with a twist (I hemmed the skirt up a lil shorter than usual, naturally). We learnt German words off new friends we made from sitting at the long tables, and started screaming matches in the 6,000 people deep tent. 

Like I said. Time.of.our.lives.

If you haven't been before but have always wondered what it is actually like this is how we summed it up...

The Royal show (minus animals, unless you count the ridiculously drunk Australian men), on really hard steroids, with huge beer drinking tents & random drinking areas spotted amongst the rides outside. 

So amazing yes? We know. 

We were incredibly lucky with the accommodation package we scored when I was looking in to the whole Oktoberfest experience as well. Instead of paying $1,800+ euro for 3 nights in less than desirable accommodation in Munich, we found an amazzzing hostel in Kurkburg (close to Salzburg in Austria) for $500 aussie for 5 nights accommodation in huge rooms with showers, buffet breakfasts & awesome hosts (Shevy & Bianca). They bus'd us there, and bus'd us home & Bianca made sure we were well fed once home & sufficiently boozed, with curry or spaghetti bolgonse. Like I said. It was perfect. (psst to find the website to book if you are ever interested, it's called Alpenrider & you can find it here... but I'll explain more in the Salzburg post).

After hitting Oktoberfest 2012 over the opening weekend, which is by every German persons account - the craziest time, and having survived, here are some tips & guides & info that should get you through your own Oktoberfest experience. 

TIPS & BITS

• If you want a table, in any of the tents...get there early. We were insanely lucky as Shevy, the owner of Alpenrider knows some of the beer wenches so every year has tables reserved. We got to the tents at 10:30am and our tables were reserved but almost all other of the 6,000 people in the tents had been lining up since 6am for a spot at the table. To make things easier for yourself though - avoid the hassle & just book with Alperider ... it actually made our Oktoberfest experience what it was. 
• You don't get served beer unless you're sitting down at a table...thus the importance of getting there early to get your spot!
• Tipping the beer ladies will ensure they constantly look after you. Each beer lady is assigned a table so is the same person who will serve you, but don't tip or be rude & good luck getting her to bring beer. Morgs & I tipped the change from every stein (steins are $9.20 & we gave her around $12 every time we ordered & she was our best friend). 
• Go during the week if you want a better chance of getting in to all the tents & not competing with such mammoth crowds. We went opening weekend so almost every tent got shut (i.e. They close the doors once it's full) & pretty much stayed that way the whole day. We were lucky as we got in early but others lined up for hours.
• Take NOTHING. Or as little as possible. This was the same advice from everyone. Morgs & I took our crappy camera we were willing to loose (which we actually managed to get home every day - success!) & we split the money and I put it in my bra. Lot's of pick pocketing & general drunken booziness to have lot's of valuables on you.
• Don't be shy to dress up! It was never an option for us to not but a lot of people um & uhhh.. Don't. More people are dressed up than not dressed up and it just adds to your day's fun & atmosphere!
• If you're a female, & don't drink beer often (like me!) don't get carried away on the steins. They're 1 litre, and stronger, a lot stronger than Australian beer. Pace yourself & enjoy yourself rather than skulling it & passing out by 3pm (this may be speaking from experience).
• If you aren't a huge beer drinker, order a "Radler" .. That's a Shandy for us back in Aus, but say Shandy and they'll have no idea what you're on about. Radlers are just as strong but a little less potent & taste amazing. 
• Eat..eat...& make sure to eat. Did I mention you should eat? It is easy to forget to down food when you are so full of beer but if you want to last 12 hours, eating is NOT cheating in this case. And while we're on the subject of food, inside the tents you will get some of THE best chicken, pork knuckle & roast beef meat you'll ever eat in your life. Seriously (turns out Germans know how to do their food well too, not just their beer!) Our hot tip is order the Pork knuckle. There are no words for it's deliciousness. None.

But most importantly....go in with no expectations..& have the time of your lives! Here are some of our pictures that speak a thousand words. 

{ Sneak peak inside the main & the biggest tent of Oktoberfest that we were in. Traditional German music + 6,000 fellow drinkers makes for one HELL of a fun day }

{ The first steins to arrive at our table once the first keg had been tapped at 12pm on opening day...what a mad scramble it was to be the first with your beer }

{ The beer ladies lining up to be given their steins...They carry up to 14 litres at a time. Ca-ra-zy }

{ Trying to drink our steins backwards .. we all got it but were trying to help Morgs after he struggled a little - I love this shot as it captures how happy we were }

{ Where things started to go a little blurry - first stein down...after downing it within 15 minutes (from excitement I think) .. & on to my 2nd stein }

{ Capturing some boozy man love between Morgs & his best friend Ryan...this was about their 3rd stein down in less than 2 hours }

{ Outside another 'tent' and bumped in to a marching band - there is so much to see & do every step of the way inside Oktoberfest it's amazing }

{ Day 2 & Morgs opted against his Lederhosen - that was trashed from day 1...walking the allys where all the rides & delicious food was on our way to more drinking }

{ Our gorgeous beer waitresses that kept our beers & pork knuckle coming all day over the weekend}

{ Prooosttttt...aka cheers....you will scream this approximatley every 20 seconds, and then consequently have to drink your beer. You can't Proost, so, cheers, without drinking your beer in Germany. So we happily obliged, our livers weren't so happy about this }