Lori and Troy do Europe 2025

Today is going to be a hot one. 84 degrees. It seems like everyone is dressed up for this event and we are not sure what to expect today. We do know that the mayor will be tapping the first keg at noon at which time they fire off 12 shots in the air to signal the opening of the event.

We bought tickets for a 3 stop subway ride to Oktoberfest. The train was packed with party goers at 10am. About 75% were dressed in lederhosen outfits which were leather shorts with suspenders and low cut dresses for the women. 🙂 I suspect there may be some people passing out today.

Today we just followed the masses and easily found our way to the event. We rounded the corner to find a large carnival. I immediately went on high alert for clowns! Fortunately it was not that kind of carnival. There were Ferris wheels and roller coasters and lots of games with large stuffed animals but nobody walking around with them. I think I saw some winners looking at some rather nice looking erasers that they were holding. As we walked down the causeway police started directing people to the sides and roping it off. This of course packed up everyone. Don’t forget it is 84 degrees. They were setting up for a parade to come by. The tradition is that the beer is delivered to the individual tents by horse drawn wagons and bands. I enjoyed the parade while Lori watched for disease ridden patrons coughing their way through the crowd. She had no where to hide! The parade started in Munich somewhere and ended at the carnival around 11:45am. The mayor tapped the keg at the Schottenhamel Tent which we were standing across from but could not get into. We watched them launch 12 exploding balls and the drinking started. You can’t drink beer in the tents until the shots are heard.

Only German made beer can be sold at the event and there are 14 large tents (more like building that easily hold 7k seats and 3 standing room). Additionally there are 21 small ones and 3 Oide Wiesenhüttenplatz. Names like Lowenbrau and Paulson are the big names, to name a few.

Most people have tables reserved in the bigger tents but we found out that the Oide Wiesen tent was a little less of a party so we opted for that one. 4 Euros each and we bought our wrist bands from a guy that over bought. It worked out perfect for both of us.

We watched the painfully slow moving line to the Oide Wiesen tent while drinking Moscow Mules. There is no beer outside the tents. This was next to the game where you swing a large hammer and try to ring the bell. It was pretty entertaining to watch. I tried of course and rang the bell once out of 3 tries. I am feeling that in my back as I am typing this. What is happening to me!

The line was not getting shorter so we decided to wait. Fortunately Lori realized that this was actually the line to buy wrist bands and not the line to get into the tent. That line was wide open! Fortunately Lori’s impatience saved us from standing in the blazing sun for nothing.

We found some seats almost immediately and sat next to a man named Frank and 2 of his friends from Switzerland. He was pretty funny and helped us order beer and food. Lori and Frank hit it off right away. They played Bavarian style music and raised their mugs while chanting things in German. We participated by making a similar sound without knowing the exact words.

The beer came in a large 1 liter ceramic mug which stayed cold the whole time. You don’t get to keep the mug unfortunately. Frank thought that was funny that I asked that question. Frank asked where we had been so far and when we mentioned Dachau Concentration camp he said that Germans compare that to Florida. He said that there were a lot of similarities that Germans are watching right now. I am not sure what to think about that.

We ate a half chicken each which was delicious! Then some dumplings in gravy showed up and between a liter of beer and the chicken we were stuffed. It was about 2:30pm now and we were pretty much done with the crowds and had a buzz on. We wondered back to the hotel and crashed out from people overload.

Tomorrow is a travel day. We are headed to Salzburg, Austria to visit Hitlers Eagles nest. 1.5hr train ride. Here we go again!