Three Days of Oktoberfest Fun in Munich

You know you’ve had a fantastic time at Oktoberfest in Munich when you are literally running from the beer tent to the train station out to the airport while still wearing your traditional dirndl and lederhosen outfits.

During the first week in October, hubby and I met up with some fellow American and German friends in Munich to attend our first real Oktoberfest in Germany. (I say real because the Oktoberfest events that we’ve attended in the US and elsewhere in Europe don’t really count.) Planning for said event had been in the works for nearly a year, and we have already talked about meeting up for the 2019 Oktoberfest.

This year marked the 185^th Oktoberfest in Munich. 

Since there are so many blog posts out there providing tips on Oktoberfest, I’m only going to provide a few lessons we learned:

Get into the Bavarian spirit and buy a traditional outfit!

Our German friends highly recommended that we buy an outfit in advance. In fact, you’ll feel out of place in Munich if you aren’t wearing a Bavarian outfit during Oktoberfest. EVERYONE wears one! After a bit of online research, I found that the German website, dirndl.com, had some of the best offerings and shipped to London for a reasonable 20 euros. Expect to pay at least 100 euros each for a decent outfit, and be sure to take actual body measurements as European sizes differ slightly from American ones.

The typical Oktoberfest Dirndl consists of a tight-fitting bodice over a puffy, white, low-cut blouse and a full skirt as well as a coordinated apron. Picture a sexy milk-maid outfit complete with cute braids, but buy the midi dress (knee-length) and not the mini. As far as footwear, anything goes. I saw women wearing everything from ballet flats and heels to hiking boots and popular trainers such as Converse and Vans. I opted for warm, black leather boots and black tights because it was cold during the days we attended Oktoberfest.

Also, instead of bringing a purse, I wore a jacket with multiple pockets and just stuffed everything in there. The tents are crowded and you don’t want to worry about losing anything.

For men, the classic Bavarian outfit is Lederhosen – short or knee-length breeches made of leather that include suspenders worn over a checkered, collared shirt. You can complete your outfit with a feathered hat, which we bought upon arrival in the village of Füssen for 25 euros.

Even if you don’t buy your Bavarian outfit in advance, there are plenty of pop-up stores in Munich selling dirndls and lederhosen. You can buy cheap dirndls, often made from synthetic materials, for about 50 euros. But, as always, you get what you pay for.

Visit Oktoberfest on a Weekday

At Oktoberfest, you can choose from 14 main beer tents plus more than a dozen smaller tents. All beer served at the Oktoberfest tents must be from one of Munich's six breweries —Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbräu and Löwenbräu. The beer must also follow the Reinheitsgebot, the purity law of 1516, issued by the Duke of Bavaria, Clement IV.

Even if you don’t have a table reservation, you’ll have a better chance of getting into one of the main beer tents, especially during the daytime on a weekday. We planned our Oktoberfest trip on a Monday to Wednesday and had reservations for only two of those days. On the Monday, we had a table reserved from noon-5 p.m. at the Marstall tent with a group of American, German, a lone Irish man and British friends. We only knew one of those Texan friends that day, but we all quickly became friends at the end of three days together.

Here’s a great Guide to Oktoberfest Beer Tents                      

After our reservation ended, we wandered through a few beer tents just to see what the atmosphere was like. Inside the most famous beer hall internationally, the Hofbräuhaus, we found a very crowded tent filled with locals and foreigners alike. The tent can seat nearly 7,000 people. We found a few inside seats available for a couple, but not enough for our group of six or seven at the time. Luckily, we found a free table underneath an outdoor heater in the surrounding beer garden. But trust me, you won’t always be that lucky unless you are prepared to go early. On the next night, the Hofbräu tent was secured off by police and no more people were being admitted.

On the second day, hubby and I didn’t have any group reservations and we found long queues or ticketed only entrances at nearly every single beer tent. We finally snuck into the side entrance at one of the smaller Heimer beer gardens and found a beer-barrel table for two near an outdoor heater. Twas a wee chilly that night.

On our last day, hubby and I hung out at the Löwenbräu tent – the one with a 15-foot lion sign that lets out a majestic roar of “Lööööwenbräu” every now and then. We had booked an extremely good deal via our Citibank Premier Mastercard for a table reservation that cost 35 euros per person, plus tax, for a reserved table plus two beers and a half-roasted chicken. We shared our table with a few different German families and other couples who were impressed with our Bavarian outfits during the three hours we stayed.

Drink and Be Merry

By the end of our three-day Oktoberfest visit, we happily sung along to the “Ein Prosit” – the popular German song the bands seemed to play every 10 minutes and required mandatory toasts with your table mates. Here are the lyrics:

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit

Eins, zwei, drei, g'suffa!

Follow with Prost, clink and drink! 
However, I don’t think our version sounded quite like that.

Bizarrely, the German bands also played several English-speaking songs like the “Sweet Caroline,” popular hits by Abba, “You’re the one that I want,” “Country Roads” by John Denver and the Lion King theme song – aptly played while we were in the Löwenbräu tent. I had a blast singing along to most of these with a giant stein of radler in one hand.

Book Early

It probably goes without saying that you must book your accommodation and flights early to Munich. In fact, we booked our hotel stay at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, located right by the Oktoberfest grounds, 11 months in advance and cashed in credit card points to do so. Upon arrival, we also got upgraded because of our SPG point status. So my advice is that if you have any credit card points, now would be a good time to use them.

Our view of the Oktoberfest grounds from our fifth-floor room.

Oktoberfest was a fun and crazy event with new and old friends, and I would happily do it all over again.

Have you been to Oktoberfest in Munich?

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Pigging Out in NYC

I’ll admit it I’ve been quite gluttonous since I landed in NYC four days ago.

Day 1 - My friends and I ordered NYC-style pepperoni pizza. I’ve been craving this for a year now!

Day 2 - Pork empanadas in Hell’s Kitchen for lunch at Empanada Mama.

For dinner, I met one of my good friends, Sandy, who also introduced my husband and I to each other over 5 years ago. I requested a dinner full of porky goodness so we met at Austrian-fare serving Cafe Katja in the Lower East Side. The menu here is dominated by meat, specifically pork. Needless to say, I stuffed myself silly and washed it all down with a hearty ale.

My meal featured a meaty emmentaler sausage, savory cabbage-sauerkraut-like mixture and quark (fresh cheese) dumplings. Sandy ordered the pork sampler so he could share with me. Even my male friends know the way to my heart! The food and the ales reminded me of our eating experience in Munich.

My Emmentaler sausage plate of goodness!

The pork sampler platter at Cafe Katja featuring a slab of pork belly and other goodies.

Day 3 - Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Ham and cheese wrap for lunch.

For dinner, my long-time friend, Angie and her husband, Gordon, and I paid a visit to Inoteca Liquori in the Gramercy Park neighborhood. One of my old friends from my Jean-Georges days, Steve, works there as the chef. The restaurant is a sister to one my favs down in the LES, ‘inoteca.

Once again, we were served a superb meal filled with several pork dishes such as the Italian salumi platter, tagliatelle with a pork ragu, the chef’s special of a 36-hour slow-cooked pork belly and oh so much more! Thanks Steve!

Truffled egg toast with asparagus - you can't go wrong with this!

Mmm...pork belly!

For dessert and despite our protests, we even had a cute shot glass filled with affogato - two baby scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with espresso. A perfect touch to a fun evening!

A bottle of bubbly Lambrusco, good friends and food - what more could a girl ask for? Just like Bologna!

Day 4 - I just made myself a ham and cheese omelet for brunch.

So sinful, huh?

At least, I’ll be spending the rest of the afternoon teaching a fun cupcake class for Angie and her friends here. A sweet way to end a Saturday!

Afiyet olsun!

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Munich - A Suitcase Filled with Pork, Cheese

Every time we travel, I always try to find a local market, preferably an outdoor farmer’s market.

To me, this is fantastic way to sample the local specialties and find the hidden gems. Prices (usually) are better than at some store where the shopkeepers also have to cover rent, labor costs, etc.

In Munich, Jason and I discovered the joys of the Viktualienmarkt, located just south of the Marienplatz. (From my prior research on tripadvisor.com, it sounded like this area was going to be the best place to do some food shopping.) This is Munich’s oldest and, in my opinion, very picturesque market. 

As soon as we turned a nearby corner, we passed this butcher shop. The front window was filled with all kinds of meat, especially pork. I was in heaven!

When you’ve been deprived of pork, seeing all this meat was quite overwhelming! “Where do I start? What do I want to buy? How much will fit in our suitcase?” These questions quickly started running through my head. (I had planned ahead and had a handful of Ziploc bags to secure our purchases in later.)

Since the weather was cold, dreary and rainy, our first stop happened to be at a darling honey shop called Honighäusel. 

Inside, we were awed by all the different flavors of honey. Ones from different types of flowers such as clover, thyme, rose and fruit tree blossoms. Others were flavored with pieces of herbs, spices and even chocolate. In the end, I settled on just two jars of honey – ginger and thyme.

We ordered 2 glasses of hot Honigwein – a sweet alcoholic beverage made from honey and water. It wasn’t even noon yet, but it was chilly! We started talking to an older German gentleman whom entertained us with stories about Munich and how when he was a young man he had lived in New York City.

After the wine, we stopped at Lupper, which seemed to specialize in Italian cured pork products. I bought 150 grams of Pata Negra Jamon Iberico, 100 grams of thinly sliced, spicy hot chorizo, a package of chorizo links and a nice chunk of Valdeón – a Spanish blue cheese. 

At Anne’s Oberbpfalzer Brotzeitschmankerl, the helpful young gal suggested several different German wursts and sausages, including a blood sausage, for us. I’m not even sure what we all bought, but we did so happily 

and it’s all stored in our freezer right now.

At Greisinger’s stand, we purchased some German speck and more sausages. (Over this past weekend, we carefully sliced off a few pieces of the speck, cooked it and enjoyed it with pancakes for breakfast. Salty pork goodness!) 

Rows and rows of Speck which reminded us of a saltier type of bacon.

In addition to the meats, cheeses and other gourmet foods, there were several stands selling local produce. Since we were staying at a hotel, I just wandered among the stalls and took some photos of the colorful seasonal vegetables.

By the end of our shopping trip, I had spent nearly 100 Euros on European cheeses, honey, mustards, spices and pork. I’d happily return to this market any day!

We also sampled several kinds of German mustards.

Here are the German mustards and honey that I brought back to Istanbul.

Salivating over all this food made hubby and me hungry. We strolled over to a nearby restaurant to order some German Weißwurst and beer.

“Prost!”

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Beer + Pork = True Love

Nothing says “I love you” like a heaping full platter of German sausages, wursts, sauerkraut and half-liters of locally crafted beer.

Forget the red roses! My husband knows the true way to my heart.

This past weekend, Jason and I had a blast eating and drinking our way through Munich, Germany. Oh, we did see some important buildings and a great art museum in this fun city. (I’ll talk about that in another post soon.) But the main reason for our trip was to celebrate a “romantic” weekend together in the land of my ancestors.

Back in November, we were looking for inexpensive places to visit near Istanbul. One of the reasons we chose to live abroad was the opportunity to travel to places we haven’t been to with our passports yet. We stumbled upon cheap flights to Munich as well as a hotel. We immediately booked the trip for Valentine’s Day weekend.

Although the weather was gray and drizzly our two days there, we managed to to trod down many of the city’s cobble-stone streets in our search for good beer and plenty of pork products.

Our pub crawl included a stop at Augustiner-Bräu, which is one of the city’s oldest pubs near the Marienplatz. Secondly, we had to include Hofbräuhaus even though it’s jam-packed full of tourists night and day.

I would love to tell you more about our trip. However, I still have to make our steak dinner and then work on my Turkish homework.

For now, I must leave you with a photo collage of our eating experiences. Until next time!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Bavarian's famed roasted pork knuckle!

The sample platter!

Picture perfect!

German apple strudel for dessert, of course!

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