A Year in Sweden: October 2007

Well, I have officially survived Oktoberfest 2007 in Munich, Germany. It was a lot of fun, and the city of Munich is absolutely beautiful. I left on a train from Lund to Copenhagen, Denmark. I then took a train which crossed the water between Denmark and Germany on a fairy and ended up in Hamburg, Germany. I had two hours there to explore the city before I caught my connecting train to Munich. I arrived in Munich on Friday morning, and took a train to my campground, a place called Thalkirchen. I set up my tent in the rain, which was a little miserable, but once I finished I had a satisfying sense of relief because I knew that at least I now had a place to stay in Munich. I then ventured out into the unknown city of Munich. I arrived back in the central train station and walked towards Oktoberfest, which is held in a huge square in Munich. There are two parallel streets in the square; one with all the beer tents and one with all of the carnival rides. When I arrived at the square, the place looked pretty desolate because of the rainy weather. I decided to go into a beer tent that one of my German friends recommended; Hacker tent.

I got into Hacker pretty easily because I was traveling alone at this point. I was able to get a table quickly because I was alone, and I was fortunate to sit next to some Californians as well as some Germans. Hacker tent is very beautiful, with a painted blue sky and painted mural of an old styled Bavaria. It was pretty crazy how many people were crammed into each beer tent. I have never seen so many people drinking in one place before. And the beer is served by the liter in large German beer steins. One has to pace himself at Oktoberfest because beer is served in such large volumes, and it is important to stay in the tent all day, because that is where all of the action is. There were also very large pretzels served in the tents, about the size of your head. People were eating sausages, chicken, and other types of Bavarian food. The food was really good but the beer was amazing. There were many people dressed in lederhosen and traditional Bavarian clothing. I spent the entire day in Hacker, along with all of my new friends. It is amazing how fast time goes when you are having fun. I made my way back to the campground to prepare for another fun day of Oktoberfest.

When I woke up the next day and emerged form my tent, I looked just across the street and saw some of my California friends who are in my Swedish class. I was very fortunate to have found them, and it was a random occasion to find them even though I knew that the would be at the same camping place as me. The camping ground looked more like a refugee camp than a camping ground because there were so many people there for Oktoberfest. I left for Oktoberfest with my friends and we tried to get into the Hofbräu tent but we were to late and it was already full. There were many more people outside this time because it was Saturday and the weather was beautiful. The beer tents fill up quick and one should really get to the tent by 8 am if one is trying to get a table with a group of friends. My friends and I decided to explore the city of Munich instead and see the actual Hofbräuhaus, which is a very famous building in Munich. We had some good Bavarian food and beer at a nearby restaurant, and soaked in the nostalgic atmosphere of this historic city. By the time we finished our meal, the streets were buzzing with people, and it seemed that people from all over the world were in Munich. I do not see how Munich could function with so many people the whole year, but they someone manage to handle it for Oktoberfest. We went to some other beer houses and then went to the top of a church tower where we had a wonderful panoramic view of Munich. The city was enormous, and much flatter than I had expected. The mountains were much farther away than I thought they would be. After the church, we tried to get into Hofbräuhaus, but it was full. We went back to the Oktoberfest festival and managed to get a table on the outside of the Paulaner tent. We had more good Bavarian food and beer there, and spent the rest of the day there. I met many more Germans as well as other international people. It was Italian weekend at Oktoberfest, and it was not hard to tell, because the Italians are a very rowdy crowd. Security guards had to frequently attempt to calm down the crowd. It was a fun night to say the least. After the Paulaner tent, I decided to go to the nightclub area in Munich called Kunstpark Ost. It is where everyone my age seems to go once the beer tents close down. It is a very exciting area with many clubs to chose from. They were packed because of the occasion, so I still had to wait in line to get into many of the places. I had a good time there, then took a taxi back to my campground.

On the third day of Oktoberfest, I packed up my gear, left the campground, and I decided to explore the city of Munich before I went to the festival. I saw most of the important buildings, and Munich is really pretty. I could definitely live there. There is a nice blend of historic architecture, and the city is so big that I do not think I would ever get bored. It was easy to spend most of the day walking around and discovering this great city. There is nothing that even comes close to comparison in America to Munich. One interesting thing I noted is that all of the taxis are Mercedes, and all of the police cars are BMWs. That is just one example that illustrates the luxury of this city, which is one of the wealthiest in Germany. Words do not really do the beauty of the city justice and pictures hardly capture the real experience of witnessing it for yourself. After my eyes were satisfied by all of the sites, I decided to go to a restaurant and have a square Bavarian meal with some good Bavarian beer. I went to Donisl, which is affiliated with Hacker, the beer tent I where I spent my first day of Oktoberfest. I had some Bavarian sausages there along with a wonderful Bavarian Hefeweizen, which is a German wheat beer. I am truly a fan of Bavarian Hefeweizen now, and I feel spoiled. I do not think that any beer even compares in the United States. It has a fruity aroma and a sweet taste. After thoroughly enjoying my meal, I headed back to the festival.

On my way back to Oktoberfest, I ran into a German and a couple of Swedes. The were heading in the same way I was going, so we traveled together. We walk around the festival and attempted to ride one of the carnival rides, but the lines were too long because it was another beautiful day at Oktoberfest. We scoured the tents for some open space and finally found a place to sit outside of the Löwenbräu tent. There were many people here, naturally, and it was a great time. I talked to the two Swedish girl about my stay in Lund, and they were happy to hear about Califorina. The German guy was fun to talk to as well, and his family met up with us at the tent for even more company. As the day went on, I was forced to finally leave Oktoberfest to catch my train back home. I said goodbye to my new friends and ventured out to the train station, satisfied with my Oktoberfest experience.

I took the same route to get back home, with my train stopping in Hamburg, then heading to Copenhagen by crossing the water on a ferry, and finally back home to Lund. It was nice to be back and finally get a good nights rest on my bed. It was a lot of fun to go to Oktoberfest. I have survived it once, and I am sure that I could survive it again if I am ever fortunate enough to return. Munich is a great city, and I hope that I can visit it again. Even if I do not, I now have memories of Oktoberfest that I will cherish forever.