Back in Western Europe! After my epic trip to get to Munich I finally arrived at the hotel and met my brother Sam who and flown all the way from Australia to spend the week with me in Munich. Why all that way? It was the first week of Oktoberfest of course!

Oktoberfest is on the wish list of almost every Australian (and beer drinker in the world) and so when I started planning my trip I made sure I was going to be in Germany to attend.

I arrived on Sunday evening and after dropping my bags at the hotel jumped back on a train to Theresienwiese. I wanted to catch up with my friend Kerrie who I met in Greece before she headed back to London – and of course I also wanted a beer or two to start the week!

This was not my first visit to Munich – I was here at the beginning of 2007 and loved it. The vibe in the city was different this time. The population of the city was swelling and everyone was in a joyous festive mood… and why not!

My first day there was one of catching up with my brother… and some chores to do too (a few weeks of dusty clothes from Jordan and Egypt needed to be washed). We did manage to explore a bit of the city too – I wanted Sam to see something of Germany other than the inside of a beer tent. We also checked into a hostel along with hundreds of other tourists there for a few days of drinking.

Prior to heading to Theresienwiese (the field where Oktoberfest is held – Wiesen for short) we headed into the city and on a spur of the moment decision splurged on some lederhosen and shirts! We headed down to the fields and joined a table for our first Oktoberfest experience. Beer, pretzels, making friends and learning German drinking songs. It was a good afternoon, but after a couple of maß we headed over to the Englischer Garten to meet my friend Wolfgang and his friends for a few more drinks in the park to celebrate Wolfgang’s birthday. As the sun disappeared we wandered back into town to the famed Hofbrauhaus for a few more drinks. In fact, I think we forgot about dinner and just kept drinking – beer is food after all!

Wolfgang and his friends had booked a table at the Schottenhamel tent on Wednesday, and after we managed to get up and have breakfast we walked down to the Wiesen to meet them. It was a solid day of drinking steins of golden Oktoberfest ale and eating roasted chickens and pretzels. We got booted off our table at 5pm, but that didn’t stop us moving to the main section of the tent and partying with the thousands of other Germans in the tent until it closed at ten.

It was a sore head the next morning, but we had to get up and head down to the Hauptbahnhof to catch a train. Sam works as an apprentice mechanic for Audi, and they had organised for a tour of the factory and museum at Ingolstadt. We made our way to the factory and joined the tour around one of the buildings – following the assembly of the Audi A3 from start until finish. Pretty interesting stuff watching the robots put everything together so perfectly. We had lunch at the onsite Mövenpick cafe/restaurant while watching car after car drive out with happy new owners.

(sorry – no photos allowed inside the factory)

The afternoon was spent in the Audi museum with out own personal tour guide who showed us the history of the motor industry in Germany and the personal history of Audi. Pretty interesting stuff and some very cool cars there as well. There is also a car elevator on the side of the building showcasing all the concept cars that Audi has made over the years.

Friday was Sam’s last day in Germany, so we went to a few of the touristy parts of the town in the morning. Climbed Peter’s tower which overlooks the main square, rathaus and Glockenspiel. This was followed by the nearby Viktualienmarkt and shopping for souvenirs to send home.

In the afternoon we headed down to Wiesen for one last drinking session at Oktoberfest. We tried a few tents but found it impossible to get a table, and each tent was filling fast as it was the start of the weekend. In the end we found a table outside and had a few drinks whilst chatting to those around us. The sky overhead however was getting darker and darker and soon enough the rain started. This was not a light shower either, this was heavy rain! We tried to shelter under the overhang (the tents were full and nobody was allowed inside) and wait out the storm, but after half an hour getting cold we called it a day, finished our drinks and headed back to the shelter of the hostel. Lucky there was a bar at the hostel so we spent the rest of the night there drinking with other washed out travellers.

The next morning I took Sam to the airport – where he was heading to Singapore (for the Formula 1 race there) before heading back to Australia. I myself had no firm plan – just to head back to the Hauptbahnhof and buy myself a rain pass. I got my pass, had coffee with a friend I met in Russia and then jumped on a train.

I’m really glad that I made the effort to get to Munich for Oktoberfest this year. The city has a really fun atmosphere around this time and the warmer weather helps too. Now that I have some lederhosen I have no excuse not to go back.

This post is tagged beer, Germany, Ingolstadt, Munich, Oktoberfest