Munich, Day One

As you know, I arrived in Munich by OBB Railjet at about 10:30 AM on Sunday, 9/23. I stopped at the tourist center, snagged a city map and an Oktoberfest guide, and hoofed it from the Hbf to my hotel. I couldn't check in, as you already know, so I left my bag and went out into the city.

I've been here before, last year, but it was only really for a day and a half. Some things looked familiar, and other places were fresh. This is especially true because I thought I remembered which U-Bahn stop was the right one, but I was wrong and I ended up at the way other end of my hotel's street, and it's a long Strasse. Here in the photo I passed Karlsplatz, which is a good 1200 meters (roughly 4/5 of a mile) from my hotel!

I stopped for lunch at a cafe, and then I meandered for a bit. Then I decided, "why not?" and I made my way by U-Bahn (I had bought a Tageskarte for the day - unlimited travel by public conveyance for €5,60) to the Oktoberfest grounds. 

The place was mobbed, and there were near-constant mini-parades going through the streets of the festival grounds, making getting around difficult. According to the Oktoberfest literature I had picked up, the parade of the proprietors of the tents had been yesterday; today's parades were traditional bands, riflemen, pikemen and musicians, each representing a different historical "faction."

The tents were pretty much impossible to get into without a reservation, so instead I cruised the avenues, back and forth, of the grounds - which are pretty darned extensive.  I did look inside a tent or two, but they were just too mobbed to even make an attempt, and I already had plans with the two couples I had met in Salzburg for Monday, anyway. 

I spent a few hours taking in the sights outside the tents. I felt a perverse joy at seeing one area, outside the back of a couple of the beer halls, on a grassy hill at the outskirts. You see, there were dozens of younger partygoers in various stages of advanced enebriation standing, lying, swaying or vomiting there. Ah, youth. No one in that area seemed to be over 24. I didn't take a picture (but how did I want to!) for fear that a belligerent drunk would take exception. 

Truth be told, according to news sources, there are actually very few arrests, little theft, and seldom many brawls on the Thereseweisen each Oktoberfest. The main culprits are usually foreigners, with Australians being the largest portion of the offenders. Aussies also tend to lose things. According to one of the locals I spoke to who read it in the newspaper, the Australian embassy set up a temporary consulate just outside of the festival grounds this year because a significant number of Aussies lose their passports during Oktoberfest! I'd rather think that it's a novel excuse for the embassy workers to get a free trip to Oktoberfest. 

Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany, September, 2012

I left the grounds in the late afternoon and decided to try Munich's famous Hofbräuhaus, a venerable biergarten and one of Hitler's old haunts. The place was enormous, and had indoor and outdoor seating for hundreds. 

There I had a couple of dunkle lagers (dark beer) and enjoyed the oompah band and people watching. It wasn't too crowded, as I think Oktoberfest drew many of the tourists away. 

Finished with my beer, I sauntered around Marienplatz, Odenplatz and the main shopping boulevard in between the two - Kaufingerstraße. I stopped at the tourist information center at the Rathaus in Marienplatz and picked up information for the Dachau Concentration Camp tour, which I plan to take on Tuesday. I headed back to the hotel, finally checked in, got sorted out, and went for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Nothing spectacular, but filling.  I went to bed soon after. 

 

Oktoberfest tomorrow!

Baaderstraße 1, Munchen, Germany.