Oktoberfest in Germany
 

I am planning on being in Germany during Oktoberfest. A friend says that Oktoberfest celebrations are held all over Germany and we don't have to go to Munich. When I go to google and put in Oktoberfest it only comes up with info in Munich. Can anyone help? He is not real interested in going to Munich but I want to especally during O'fest! Anyone have some real great opinions so I could convince him in going to Munich; or am I in the wrong? <BR>Thanks!!

Oktoberfest is only in Munich, but there are many smaller beer or wine festivals in Germany from spring to fall.

If you want to experience the real Oktoberfest, you have to be in Munich. I lived there for a couple of years and you love it or hate it. There is nothing like it in the US, as far as I know. Maybe Mardi Gras, but this is one huge party!

Tell him not to bother going if he does not want to go to Munich. This is the real deal and not to be missed. If there were other festivals, why do all Germans go to Munich?<BR><BR>Book early, Munich gets booked quickly for Oktoberfest.<BR><BR>

Dana is spot on, with one qualification - if you go to Oktoberfest not really in the mood to get pretty drunk, then you may well hate it (even if you may like it the next day). Also depends on the tent - one tent I went to had every third song DJ Otzis' Hey Baby song from Dirty Dancing - it was the song of the year there &quot;eins, zwei, drei, vier ... hey..&quot; , and you had to put up with it all the way back on the Ubahn. Another third were regular choruses of another DJ Otzi song variation of a dirty little song called Anton the Tyroler - funny if you get told the words. I am not exaggerating the frequency - within an hour, I was screaming to get out. Also did not help that I had a hangover from the previous day. DJ Otzi by the way is this incredibly ugly Austrian DJ.<BR>So if you want to get hammered with an audience of primarily guys, go - it is one huge party. If you do not like dancing on long stools or seeing people behave fairly obnoxiously when they get drunk (I did not envy the girls at my firm - corporate entertainment with 80% drunk guys is not that fun), then do not bother.

Half an hour after my posting, I got sent a great 3 photos of an embarassing situation for one particular girl dancing on the stools. Wonderful friends of hers making her famous. Send me your email direct and I shall forward it - it sums up the experience!

I have been to the Octoberfest several times, usually for several days each time. Most of the visits were many years ago, but the latest was last year. I have never gotten drunk (although I did drink quite a few biers) and have always had a great time. It helps a great deal if you speak German, but you don’t have to. People really loosen up and have a great time. I also found it a target rich environment. The music played varies depending on the tent you are in. People in general go to have a good time and I have only seen one fight of all of the times I’ve been there. When living in Germany I used to go for five days at a time.

El,<BR>If you goto Oktoberfest in Munich, go for the parades on the opening day, all the participants wear their ethnic costumes for their area. I used several rolls of film taking photos of the parades and beer wagons. We followed the crowds to the tents after the parades for a fun and very crowded time. At night we went to a music festival where I think we were the rare Americans there, folk dancing in ethnic costumes. The hotel we stayed in had one group there and it was interesting talking with them. Have fun. Linda

A word of warning...you have to make a decision.<BR><BR>If you want to see the opening day parade and you do not have reserved seats at the fairgrounds...you probably will not be drinking beer and eating...because while you are at the parade tons of folks are at the fairgrounds takng all the seats that are not reserved.<BR><BR>So watch the parade...or get to the grounds early and be certain to drink beer.<BR><BR>Or do as we did...watch the parade, check out the fairgrounds and then take a cab to the Seehaus at the Englisher gartens to drink beer and eat some German food!<BR><BR>US

Thank you all so very much for all your replies! <BR> I am so sorry I did not get back to you sooner but I was out of town.<BR> Steve, You said to book early, well that is exactly what I am trying to do now, Any ideas? Want to be close to major attractions and still get to Oktoberfest. I am planning on getting to Munich on the Thursday or Friday before the start of O'fest. <BR> Thanks in advance!

El,<BR><BR>I wouldn't necessarily take any advice from Steve. Based on what he has written so far, he doesn't appear to know very much about the Octoberfest.<BR><BR>First of all. Most Germans run as fast as they can from the Munich O'Fest. You will find a much higher percentage, like nearly 90% of Germans at the Cannstatter Fest in Stuttgart which is somewhat smaller than the O'Fest and it runs the exact same time as the tourist trap in Munich. Plenty of tourists at the Munich O'Fest. Plenty of Germans in Stuttgart<BR><BR>There are any number of good fests throughout Germany during the later part of September. Wine and Beer fests are everywhere<BR><BR>Second, I have no idea what Steve is saying about booking the Fest early. It can't be done. Virtually all of the tents are bought up by large corporations that invite their clients, employees, and friends. It is impossible to 'book' the fest.<BR><BR>I've been to 5 of the O'Fests in the last 15 years and would suggest that you go really early in the morning. get there as soon as the beer tents open. You'll probably be thrown out by 4:00 in the afternoon becasue so many of the seats have been reserved by the big businesses. <BR><BR>As far as booking hotels early, that definitely makes sense. We went in 1999 and decided to stay outside of Munich and take the S-Bahn into Munich early in the morning. The S-Bahn will drop you off and you'll need to walk across a bridge, down a street or 2 and you'll be there. It takes 5 minutes by foot to get to the Fest. Post a question about small towns outside of Munich locatedalong the S-Bahn. I've seen similar questions before<BR><BR>It is awfully crowded and pretty expensive at the Fest (Beer is reasonable, it's the other stuff that gets you). I have friends that just got back and they paid 6 Euro 80 for a Liter. That's not all that bad when compared to American Beer prices. A liter works out to be about 3-12 ozs beers for $7.00. Pretty good price.<BR><BR>Food is excellent, the tents are really something to see. But, keep in mind that once you have seats in one tent, you might not want to leave to go to another tent. Chances are the seats will be taken by the time you get back.<BR><BR>Enjoy the Fest. I have had a blast each time I went. But, I also know plenty of people that have been a bit discouraged. They really thought the Fest would be more than they got.<BR><BR>Have fun!

I spent 3 days at the Oktoberfest in Munich. Had a fantastic time and met lots of other travelers. I hope I can go again sometime.