Oktoberfest 2014

Here is the greatly anticipated (or not, but I like to think I have a good fan base out there) entry about Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest was a trip worth a thousand words. It was probably the best weekend of my life. We just had so much fun. Here is some details about my weekend in Munich! 

Now, per usual, we had to take a long train to get there. Thankfully this was no Croatia (forever scarred from that experience). After a painless eight hours we made it to Munich. Before we even left the train station we were sure to provide ourselves with the proper attire. Below you will see Michelle and I rocking the dirndls: 

After we deemed ourselves worthy of Oktoberfest, we headed straight there (we were not in Munich to mess around, people). For those of you who have never been to Oktoberfest, it is a giant fair on crack. With Beer. What's not to love?? There are fair rides as far as you can see, plus the typical fair games and fair food. What makes Oktoberfest unique is the mass amount of beer tents. Unless you go to a beer tent first thing in the morning, it is almost impossible to get in. Did that stop me? No. I guilted a beermaid into letting us in with my puppydog eyes and may or may not have had to push some people out of my way (like I said, we were not messing around). Finally we were let into a beer garden! The beer gardens are right outside the beer tents. Although Friday night we could not get into an actual tent, we were in a garden and that was more than okay with us. Here are some pics! 

Now forgive me for the quality of these photos. I did not dare to bring my camera into Oktoberfest (and thank god I did not; I prefer my camera not smelling like beer). At last we were able to enjoy our first German beer! (For those of you who think German beer is served warm, it wasn't). 10 Euros for 1 pint of beer. Expensive, but hey while at Oktoberfest...

Saturday morning we made sure we were in line when the beer tents opened. Thankfully, we were able to get a table in Hofbrauhaus. And to top it all off, we were the first table served beer! Hoorah! Unfortunately you can only stay at a table for a short amount of time as to keep the crowd moving. But no worries, we moved downstairs and after an hour wait we got in. We spent the rest of the day in this beer tent, and it was the most fun I've had...well...ever! 

This was us getting the first beer, much to the dismay of the tables to our right and left. Kudos to that lady for carrying ten of these bad boys at a time. I could barely hold my one.

Now these pretzels...oh man. They are delicious and as you can tell by the picture, ginormous! This was essentially my diet for the weekend.  I regret nothing.

By now you must be asking yourself, did this kid do anything besides drink? Why yes I did thank you very much. Give me more credit than that; I like to think of myself as a well rounded person. Michelle, Alanna, Cody and I took a bike tour around Munich. Much to our surprise, no one else showed up to the tour and we got a personal tour around the city! Now it had been a while since I rode a bike, but thankfully there were no casualties. Here are some pictures I took on the tour, and thankfully I had the chance to take my camera on this one:

These were the bikes we cruised around on:

This is the Hofbrauhaus brewery, where the delicious beer we enjoyed all weekend is made. Fun fact about this place: right out side are grooves in the pavement that lead to a drainage spot. Why? Well when people were done getting drunk at the brewery, they could pee in the road and it would be well disposed of. You might think it's gross, but you have to admit that is some good engineering.

This is the new town hall, and was built in the early 20th century. Take a close look at it. Notice anything unusual? Well the left half of the building is gray and the right is built with red brick. Now why would the Germans do such a thing? Well like this building, almost 60% of Munich was destroyed by WWII. Because the Nazi's kept records of everything, even floor plans, the Germans were able to rebuilt it after the war. The red brick is what was built post WW2. 

This was taken at one of our stops. There is an interesting story about this picture. Can you notice anything peculiar? Well this building isn't actually made of bricks; the bricks are painted on! This is a style that was popular in Munich, and you can see a plethora of buildings that are painted rather than built of actual bricks. 

Now what's the deal with this ordinary street? It was only the road taken to the Beer Hall Putsch! (Give me a moment while I geek out over the amazingness of this historical place). In November of 1923, Hitler and the early Nazi party attempted to seize power in Munich but failed (we all know he later succeeded in being democratically elected--wait, you knew that, right?). 16 Nazis and four policemen were killed in this confrontation, and Hitler was arrested and sent to prison where he would write Mein Kampf, the legendary work of Nazi propaganda. That was your history lesson for the day, hope you enjoyed it!

Now this peace of beauty is the Theatine Church of St. Cajetan, which is entirely white on the inside (and yellow on the outside interestingly enough). This church was built in honor of Max Emanuel, the longly awaited heir of Ferdinand Maria and his wife. Unfortunately I was unable to take a picture of the outside as they were doing construction. If you're that interested, google it!

Now Bavarians (Munich is located in Bavaria, which is a state in Germany) love their lions. The one directly below is supposedly a measure of good luck if you touch it. Obviously I had to test this out. Stay tuned. If I suddenly become a millionaire, you will know it worked.

Ps. That's not what I actually wished for. If I told you, it wouldn't come true now would it?

This building, like many buildings in Munich, was also destroyed by WW2. It's clear to see which part is pre-WW2 and which was added after the war.

This is a picture taken of the English gardens in Munich.  During the warmer months of the year, it's not uncommon for people to hang out there in the nude. So if you visit Munich in the warmer months, you've been warned.

Now this, friends, is crazy. This is a man made surfing spot, and there is only one other place like it in the world (I believe it's Singapore but I could be wrong). Tourists from all over come to try it out, but don't be fooled these people know what they are doing. Because it's so dangerous, Germany actually sought to shut it down, but Munich bought the property from Germany to keep it as it remains a large tourist attraction and part of the Bavarian culture. Crazy stuff!

Thus concludes the pictures from my bike tour, and ultimately concludes the weekend! Later Sunday evening we returned to Oktoberfest one last time, and we had to head back to Budapest early Monday morning. It was difficult leaving I have to be honest, but thankfully we have a beautiful place to return home to. 

In sum, go to Oktoberfest. Add it to your bucket list and put it toward's the top because it is an amazing cultural experience and an unforgettable trip. 

As an added bonus, here's a final pic of some kids in my group rocking our outfits: 

Ps. Sorry it took so long to put this up, I have midterms this week and I have been studying like crazy. Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Prost!--Taylor.