Technical question

The most popular beer in Munich is a yellow Lager called Helles. We all agree on that.

However, most Oktoberfest beers you get have more malt and are a little darker.

At the 'fest, do we get Helles or a different Oktoberfest brew?

In the Beer Gardens, during the f'est, I usually see Helles ont he menus, but don't remember if we could also order the Oktoberfest beer.

Maybe they just give us whatever they have handy. Not sure.

What say you?

Oktoberfest - Bringing People Together

No matter what your position or views on topics, Oktoberfest has a way of bringing people together.  Whether you are conservative or liberal, capitalist or socialist, god-fearing or atheist, there is always common ground when at the Wiesn.  Here are just a few examples of conversations we tend to hear, please add additional ones that you may remember hearing:

"What do you think of ObamaCare?"
Liberal: "It has been proven that drinking high quality bier as produced here in München leads to a higher quality of life, and will actually reduce the need for healthcare."
Conservative: "I agree, can I buy you another Maß?"

"Should abortion be legalized?"
Conservative:  "I believe everyone is entitled to choice, do you prefer a Helles or a Dunkel?"
Liberal: "I'll have what your having, as long as it is fresh."

"With today's fiscal crisis, do you believe there should be drastic spending cuts?"
Liberal: "Excessive spending does lead to catastrophic consequences.  I am so glad the breweries have held the line on prices.  We are entitled to good bier at affordable prices."
Conservative: "I don't know about the 'entitled' part, but I'm sure glad we are here together to enjoy it.  Should we have another Maß?"

"Food and other commodity prices have beeen skyrocketing lately, what do you think?"
Conservative: "Maybe we should only have one Doner tonight."
Liberal: "Well, if we have our first at 23:30, by the time we are finished it will be tomorrow, and we can have another one."
Conservative: "I agree, and let's also have a Maß with the one tomorrow."

"What is your favorite tent song, Let It Be or Take Me Home Country Roads?"
Liberal / Conservative: Who The Fuck is Alice !  !???? ! ! ! !

The Aftermath of a Day Trip...

Train Orgy !  ! !

Left to right: Flying Dan, BarleyMan, Paulaner Girl, Chugger

Elementary German

My nephew, who is considering the trip, asked me what German he would need to know. I provided the following advice. Anything I missed?

Here's the German you need to know:

Bier: Bier (Drink this)
Wein: Don't drink this
Ratler: Beer and lemonade: Don't drink this unless you are a girl
Wasser: water Drink a lot of this
Dunkel: Dark Bier
Weissbier: Wheatbeer
Helles: Munich lager Bier (pretty much you'll always get)
Eis: Ice, don't worry they don't have it
Ein: One (as in Beer)
Zwei: Two (as in one for you, and one for me)
Drei: Three (another one for chugger)
Damen; Women (as in Bathroom) (Don't go in this one)
Pissort: Place to pee, usually free, usually a big trough, sometimes occupied by Australians
Herren: Place to go, sometimes have to pay
Hendl: Chicken, roasted...think rotisserrie
Rindfliesch: Usually beef
Kalbfleisch: Veal
Haxen: Pork Knuckle, roasted for few hours... very tasty
Wienerschnitzel: NOT a Hot Dog chain, but shmished pork, deep fried, like a texas tenderloin
Kartoffelsalat: Potato Salad
Sauerbraten: See web site, beef covered with a sour sauce..
Donner: Amazing Gyro like food found throughout Europe, best eaten after drinking
Gleis: Track, as in Train track, usually followed by a number
Zug: Train
Einfahrt: Fellow oktoberfester, also entrance
Ausfahrt: Exit, or what Einfahrt does after he had too much beer, worse the next day.
Flughaven: Airport
Hauptbahnhof: Main Central Train station (Bahnhof is secondary station)
Zimmer: Room
Police: Polizei
Jawohl: Yes, Used to be only heard on Hogan's Heroes, but more prevalent since German Unification
Nein: No
Verbotten: Forbidden

Thats about all you need to know. Everything else is self-explanatory. A few of use speak more than others, but we get by, and most Bavarians speak English. We are much better behaved than the Eastern Europeans, and the Australians, that they don't mind we are American.

2001 - The Aftermath of Rauch Bier in Bamberg

Ein Prosit to the all Oktoberfestians 2011

10 years ago !

Einfahrt in times he felt as a Bavarian


The happy Few

Food in Bavarian

It is all about the food. In this archive footage from 2001, at the Famed Kloster Andechs, the Oktoberfesters enjoy some good pork products and beer. (Excuse the quality, but that WAS all the way back in 2001).

For SchlumbergerLady

.......
Keith...
Sent from my BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)
Language is about communication, not spelling.

Ein Mas for BarleyMan

.......
Keith...
Sent from my BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)
Language is about communication, not spelling.

Hendl for BarleyMan

.......
Keith...
Sent from my BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)
Language is about communication, not spelling.

Guten Tag von Hofbrauhaus

.......
Keith...
Sent from my BlackBerry (excuzz any spelling missteaks)
Language is about communication, not spelling.

Off to............

For the four day week,  Heading to the airport in about 30 minutes.  I'll be sure to post of a picture from the Hofbrauhaus.

Prost!

The Alfa

We are staying from Sep 22nd to the 26th. The price is not that bad and most of the reviews I have read so far seem to be mostly positive. The only complaints I have read concern the size of the stairs, elevator, and bathroom. I like the idea of being able to walk to the fest. I can’t wait!

The Affect of the 1st Bier

Here you see Einfahrt with his first bier at Oktoberfest....

And now you see the aftermath of Einfahrt's experimentation with the golden nectar...

That's Einfahrt on the right, and working left is yours truly, Chugger, Jim Von Hollie, and Mike "Psycho" Iwicki.

A Classic Traveler's Moment

One of the most memorable moments of our first trip sometimes is not believed by others.  Let me set the stage....

As we are all aware, the stereotype of Japanese tourists is the large groups with their cameras, always taking pictures.  On this trip, we were enjoying our golden nectar at the Augustiner Brau bier hall, when a large group of Japanese tourists arrived.  It was early afternoon, and they were seated not to far from our group, taking pictures.  So, being the obnoxious bier drinkers that some of us were at the time (probably alcohol induced), we decided it was appropriate to take pictures of the Japanese tourists taking pictures of us.  So here ya go...

Pics from the Original Trip

BarleyMan mentioned some interesting side trips, both of which we did on our very first trip in 1993.  So, in full cooperation with my fellow Oktoberfestians, I present to you some pictures of those sites.

Here's the Eagle's Nest....

The train ride into the Salt Mine......

Some of us in our jump suits for the Salt Mine trip.  In order, right to left... Einfahrt, Jim Von Hollie dad, Jim Von Hollie.

And finally (for now at least), the aftermath on the train ride home.  Chugger and The Designated Walker.

Fun Day Trips Part 1

Over the years we have taken many trips out into Bavaria to see the sights, and try new things. One of my favorites was the trip to Berchtesgaden. There are 2 main things to do in the town.

1. Hitler's Eagles nest. This involves a trip up to the infamous Mountain lair of Adolf Hitler. You take a bus up most of the way, then get in an elevator up to the very top. There' you will find a fantastic view of the Bavarian Alps, and a restaurant. Not much of the complex is still left, having been blown up by either the French or the US 3rd Army. A restaurant at the top does a nice business.

2. The second adventure is the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine tour. This is touristy, but different than anything you'll ever get to do in the US. First, you don some bizarre looking leather jumpers. These protect you from the wooden slides the miners used to use. Then you hop on a small train, which takes you deep within the mine. I mean, really deep. There you'll learn about salt mining, and see all sorts of stuff bored miners make out of salt. Then you get to slide down multi story wooden slides to travel between the different levels of the mine. You'll also get aboard a boat and sail across an underwater lake. How cool is that. Eventually, you get back to the train, and you go screaming out of the mine.

In Oktober, I don't remember a reservation being needed. Just take the train from Munich to Berchtesgaden, then ask for directions. Salt Mine Tour

Reservation or not to Reservation

After conferring with the Alfa hotel they can book reservations for Saturday and Sunday for 10 people, regardless how many we actually have which I believe will be 7 in our party. I don’t mind spending a bit extra but would this be the preferred way to go you think? I e-mailed them back asking as to which beer tents were available. Also, given a choice if we were to purchase reservations which tent would be the most ideal?

So, what do you do on the off year?

I see that you guys and gals hit Germany every other year. The fact that you go that many times for that many years means that the Oktoberfest in Munich is a part of life for you, a felling which I share. But what do you guys do on the off year? It must be sometimes almost unbearable around the hot days of August not to book that flight and room in Munich. So how do you get by? Do you all plan something here in the states? Or just hit something local?

Newbie to the Blog

Thank you Chugger for allowing me into the blog. I look forward to meeting some of you this year at Oktoberfest and throwing back some beer.
Prost,
Mark McLean

Advice on Lederhosen

Should one buy their Lederhosen at arrival at Munich or E-bay a pair for the trip? I would like to be dressed for the occasion as soon as my boots hit the ground but I can see the nostalgia of having one from Munich. Plus the cost is also a concern, any suggestions?

Hello All!

After replying to a couple of post Chugger had kindly extended an invitation to allow me to create a post of my own. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has made this blog one of the best resources I have found in the planning of my groups 2011 Oktoberfest trip. More over, this blog has been like a support group for me. It is nice to know that I am not alone in my love Oktoberfest and the wonderful company, beer, food, and memories which come with this my most cherished of holydays. Hope to see you all in beautiful Munich and lift a Mass of delicious beer with you all.

Sincerely,

Betrunken

Is it best to book flights early?

Checking ticket prices and they seem a bit high. I'm pretty sure they will drop at some point, but what is the preferred method of booking? The only real concern I have is that Oktoberfest is a huge event and prices may remain high regardless of when tickets are booked.

New Oktoberfest Theme

If you remember, in January of 2010 I proposed that this year's theme be:

The idea was to turn our tradition over to our offspring.  Well, for various reasons, this hasn't worked out.  While the next generation may assume our awesome duties, it will not be this year.

As result, I propose a new theme to guide us:

Since this will be the "final" scheduled trip for some of us, we should treat the trip as a frontier to be explored while we reflect on our history.  We should have two days available for day trips, and I suggest one trip be a return to one of of favorite venues.  While I am not advocating anything at this time (a Grand Puhba Emeritus would never do that), we could revisit memories of young babies drinking bier at Kloster Andechs, or enjoy the beauty of Englischer Garden at the Chinesischer Turm .  I also propose that this year we make a point to visit a sight we have always discussed, but never visited.  Could it be time to finally go to Augsburg, or maybe even Nurnberg?

Or should we just go with the flow, drink our bier, and have a great time?

Let's hear from you, Oktoberfestions...

change of hotel

The reason to cancel the "Deutsche Kaiser" was obvious (at least if you believe the comments on one of these booking sites), but more important this one is "knee-walking" from Hofbrau Hause and Viktualien Markt.

Dentist uses Oktoberfest Dirndle dresses to distract patients

Advanced drugs can cure many ills, new technology can revolutionise surgery but sometimes a low-cut, sorry lo-tech, solution is all you need - one dentist has bought herself and her ten nurses tight-fitting, cleavage-maximising dresses to distract worried patients while they work.