Oktoberfest Hotel and Day Trips

As BarleyMan said, our hotel of choice is the Hotel Alfa.  It is convenient to the train station, The Wiesn, and other local establishments, and the staff is extremely friendly.  Best way to contact them is via email, and we usually reserve sometime in January empfang@hotel-alfa.de.

BarleyMan mentioned some great day trips for first-timers. Another favorite of ours that BarleyMan did not mention is Kloster Andechs; a wonderful old monestary with great views, great food, and some good bier as well.

 If you are planning four days in Munchen, I would suggest only two day trips though. Depending on your arrival date/time, Friday is usually a "get situated" day, which usually ends up with us at the Hofbrauhaus for most of the afternoon and evening.  You probably would want to spend one of the days just wandering around Munchen and seeing some of the local sites; Marienplatz, Glockenspiel, and some of the local bier gardens like Augustiner Keller  and Viktualienmarkt.  Of course there is also Englischer Garden with its 3 huge bier gardens.  You just need to have a general plan and be prepared to do something different at the last minute.

Tickets for the tents ARE NOT REQUIRED.  While there are reserved seats that can be purchased, these reservations technically go on sale in January, and they are almost exclusively bought up by corporations, locals and travel groups.  In the past we have been able to get reserved seats once or twice through other contacts, but it is not something you can count on.  The fun part of Oktoberfest, especially for first timers like you, would be to just go to a tent, and wander around until you can squeeze into a table.  These are the tables with the most party oriented people, and gives you the opportunity to meet people from around the world with the same common interests as you;  good bier and fun!  There are 14 tents, some seating 10k - 12k people, so you can only imagine the fun one can have.

Two good resoureces for you:

• Semi-offical Oktoberfest site. Lots of good information, trivia and history.
• Beer Drinkers Guide to Munich.  While not especially about Oktoberfest, this book guides you through many of the city's great bier establishments.  We have used this "bible" since our first trip in 1993, and I suggest this be your very next purchase. Myself, BarleyMan and Einfahrt are promently pictured as Field Researchers here --->  Linky

Beginner's Guide to Oktoberfest - Part I

Well der Kubaner, there are two big decisions you must make rather quickly; 1) when are you going and 2) how long will you go for.

In 2011, Oktoberfest runs from 17 September through 3 Oktober.  We have been on every weekend, but seem to have settled on the 2nd weekend.  This means the weekend of 23 September.  The first weekend is interesting if you want to watch the big parade that kicks off the festivities.  That weekend tends to draw alot more people at the Weisn (short for Thereisienwiese, which is the name of the area where Oktoberfest is held).  Of course you don't need to go on a weekend, it just works out best for us that way due to vacation schedules. 

We tend to arrive early Friday and leave on Tuesday, about 4 full days.  This has always been our modus operandi, and seems to work well for us.  We take trips during the day and drink in the evening.  Not to say we don't drink during the day as well.

Anyway, these two decisions are important because you then need to worry about plane tickets and hotels.  We usually have our tickets booked by the end of January/beginning of February.  We try to use frequent flyer miles, but might need to actually pay this year.  This then leads to a hotel.  As you can imagine, rooms fill up quickly, so like flight reservations, we tend to get our hotel set up at the same time.  We have been staying at a small hotel right by the train station everytime we have gone, and can provide info if you desire.

Welcome to the Blog, and keep the conversation going.  Remember, no question is a bad question.  We had to learn this the hard way, with lots of alcohol in our system.

I will let the others introduce themselves, but I am Chugger, in Dayton, OH, and have been on every trip this group has made since 1993 !  Only two of us can say that.

Welcome Our New Members...

The following are the first Oktoberfest enthusiasts to be allowed to participate in this blog without being part of the actual "Oktoberfest Contingent":

• Aram Guluzian
• Dario Diaz

These future Oktoberfestians found our blog, and BarleyMan's web site, and still thought it was important enough to contact us.  They believe we are the experts (smart guys), and wanted to join the blog to ask questions and get our insight.  Please welcome them and answer their questions as appropriate.  I do not know their plans for Oktoberfest 2011, but maybe we can guide them in the right direction.

Welcome to Aram and Dario from Chugger !

Please welcome....

... the newest member of our blog, and our official newbie for 2011, my neighbor Bob.  Bob will be joining us on this sojourn, and he promises not to meet the fate of all other newbies, the dreaded "keep up with the professionals" curse.  Only time will tell.

Say hello to Bob, treat him like family, and more importantly, suggest a screen name.

Why we go to Oktoberfest - Part II

We go for Blackmail pictures...

Why we go to Oktoberfest

To get people to experience things they never would have without our help!

We are Good Samaritans... ;-)

Possible DAY --> AMS --> MUC --> DAY Itinerary

Tue 20 Sep 2011

Depart 3:25pm     Dayton
Arrive  7:55am     Amsterdam  (Wed 21 Sept)


Fri 23 Sep 2011
Depart 7:04am     Amsterdam Centraal
Arrive  2:33pm     München Hbf


Tue 27 Sep 2011
Depart 9:50am     München
Arrive  5:56pm     Dayton

I Reiterate...

Never too early to start our planning. I tried this before, but maybe this time the conversation will move along further.

By late January or early February we usually have our plans pretty well set.  This allows us to get hotel and plane reservations.  So, with that said, let's start the discussion again, leading to some conclusions on what the 2011 sojourn looks like.

We've agreed on the weekend (2nd weekend, 24 Sept - 27 Sept), but the next decision is a pre-trip.  It's not a requirement, but always nice.  If there is a pre-trip, I recommend one of the following:

1. Amsterdam (can't go wrong here)
2. Paris (always a good choice even without spousal units)
3. Venice (previously discounted by Barleyman)

There are other options of course, including many we have not visited, but we need to consider ease of getting there, as well as ease of getting to Munchen.   The three options above have easy ingress via plane and egress via train. 

A pre-trip is not a requirement.  In fact, if we do not do one, I will probably head to Munchen a day earlier than normal (fly on Wednesday).  No real reason, maybe just yearning for some quality time with my fellow Bavarians.

Thoughts?

Maybe a Good Thing We Did Not Go This Year

Check it out.....

But we still have pictures left

more -->

My Wife's Quote

"I don't care if all the beer companies go out of business."

Who knows a good divorce lawyer?

.......
Keith...
Sent from my BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)

Ozapft is 2010

Don't know how, but we have to live with it that we are not there.
But for sure they will miss our company, so they have to live with it too.

The Calm Before the Storm !

17 - Sept at 19:51 Eastern Time.

How's This For a Pre-Trip?

Venezia !

Only a 7 hour train ride to Munchen on Friday morning.

Today My Mind Wanders

As of tomorrow, August 30th, I, along with approximately 2500 other Sterling Commerce employees, officially become an IBMer.  Certainly good in the long term for the company, and probably good from a personal perspective.  More opportunities for growth and hopefully travel.

Speaking of travel, as I peruse the web, I see that this year's Oktoberfest is only 19 days away.  That makes me wonder, which weekend will we go next year, and will there be a pre-trip?

I know, it's early, but you know us Oktoberfestians, never too early to talk about it.  I suggest we do the 2nd weekend, which seems to have become "the usual".  That would mean arrival on 23 September, with departure on 27 September.

As for a pre-trip, I say Yavohl !  Back to Amsterdam? Maybe finally do Berlin?  There's always Paris.

Just some weekend ramblings.

Why didn't this happen when we were there?

Latest from Venice Beach, CA:

Topless Day At The Beach

Another Reason we should have gone this year!

First the 200 Year Anniversary, now the Euro is below $1.20. That means a Mass of beer is about 10 bucks! Wow. Even though they raised prices this year.

Euro Falls to Below $1.20

This Year - Biggest Oktoberfest ever!

Almost wish we were going, especially with the horse races.  However, can you even imagine what this year's crowds will be like?  Yuck !

City officials announced, that this year's Oktoberfest will not go from September 18th to October 3rd, as originally planned, but will be extended on both ends!

On September 17th, a historic reconstruction of the festival in former centuries will be opened, featuring an old Oktoberfest-tent and an exhibition of domestic and working animals of those times. One of the many highlights will be the horse-races, which are planned to be held twice a day, to remember the origins of the Oktoberfest – a horse race to celebrate a royal wedding in Munich.
 

The official tapping of the first beer barrel will be celebrated on Saturday 18th at noon, as planned. To celebrate the 200th anniversary, the Oktoberfest does however not end on Sunday, October 3rd, as planned, but will be extended until Monday, October 4th. This extra day will be special in many ways, for example the beer tents don’t hand out reservations for most of their seats, so that it will be easier to get a place at a table for locals and guests, who didn’t announce their presence beforehand.

Illinois with an S!

Keith I noticed you were in Lincoln Illinois. Did you have a horseshoe for lunch? See you, lets play golf one of these days

Made it to ...

Lincoln, IL.

All in all, a wnderful day. About 9 hours to drive 150 miles. Now some time to relax, have dinner, the post some photos.

......
Keith..
Sent from My BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)

EU approves Sale Of ‘Fucking Hell’ Beer

Fucking a village in Austria

The main tourist attraction of the Austrian village of Fucking, some 35 kilometres northwest of Salzburg, is its sign. It is pronounced "Fooking" in German. Now the village, with a population of just around 90, gets a beer named after it, even though it doesn't have a brewery.

A place to visit in 2011?

A present for Chugger

Chugger,

The perfect gift for you....

Busty Mouse Pad

We may need to re-visit

Interesting happenings at Closter Ettal, site of the Barf Olympics (we all remember that one, correct?)

Click Here to see the article.

Happy Birthday Keith!!!

You may be getting too old for this Interwebs stuff, but surely you are tipping a few frosty cold adult beverages we have heard so much about?

Hope it it a good one...

I know it's early, but....

I'm sitting here with my mind wandering, thinking of the sweet nectar. Then I thought, oops, this is Wednesday, so the sweet nectar will be Bad Juans at Elsa's tonight; but I digress.

I was wondering about our theme for the 2011 trip. I know, don't I have anything better to do? But, no, not when it comes to Oktoberfest. Anyway, Einfahrt and I were discussing this topic recently, and think we came up with a good theme. It doesn't look back, implies looking forward, and most importantly builds on the tradition of this excursion and venue.

Our idea recognizes our history and expertise with these sojourns, and also emphasizes how we want to continue, even when we might not be able to partake ourselves. The theme for 2011 would encompass all that has been learned, while cementing our place in history.

The theme:

This trip would require each Oktoberfestian to bring along at least one offspring (son or daughter), for part or all of the trip.  While this has occurred haphazardly in the past with both Papa Lynch & Einfahrt,  Einfahrt & Little John, and who could forget Joe & Patric, we have not had an organized acknowledgment of the responsibilities of The Next Generation Oktoberfestians.

This allows us to show our offspring what they have been missing, further educate them on the fine things in life, and set a goal to which they should aspire to.  Now I know that for some of us it will be difficult to choose the next standard bearer, and might become expensive if multiple offspring come along.  But the overall "touchy feeliness" of the moment will be unique and savored for eternity.

New Year's Day Beer Call

Not being one given to superlatives, or to exaggeration, this may be the finest beer I've had this year! Actually, maybe the finest I've had in several years. If you find it, buy it, try it. This was a gift, so I've no idea where to find it, or how much it costs. Truly great beer!


Happy New Year!