European Odyssey: Munich

Our Oktoberfest day began with a waking tour of Munich. One cannot walk around a corner in this city without being slapped in the face by history. Not just the WWII time period that we tend to associate with this region, but with kings and royalty dating back to the 800's. Munich was once a place where the Jesuit Catholics preached and created a stronghold for Catholicism in Central Europe. Munich's architecture ranges from old and gothic (that which survived the war) to very modern and 21st century. One area that hit us like a ton of bricks was when we passed the cornerstone which remains of a former Jewish synagogue. Early in his tyranny Hitler often stayed at a hotel/club adjacent to the holly place. He convinced the decision makers of the time that the synagogue was in the center of a high traffic area and that it should be torn down. Dismantled it was, by the Jews who prayed there, brick by brick. This part of Munich is haunting.

We were so glad that this won't be our memory though. Our experience at Oktoberfest was incredible and multi-cultural with people from all parts of the world and religious faiths and cultures coming for a HUGE party.

Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. To the locals, it is not called Oktoberfest, but "die Wiesn", after the colloquial name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) themselves. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the original Munich event. Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields were named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess, and have kept that name ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n".

Only beer conforming to the Reinheitsgebot, at a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (approximately 6% alcohol by volume) may be served at Oktoberfest. The beer must also be brewed within the city limits of Munich. Beers meeting these criteria may be designated Oktoberfest Beer.

Oktoberfest is PARTY atmosphere. Everyone seems happy and festive(it could be because beer is poured only in liter mugs). We started our afternoon at the Augustiner tent where we had the Augustiner fest-bier, giant pretzel and roasted chicken. In the center of the tent (hardly a tent in that it holds 8,000 people) is a bandstand where a 16 piece orchestra played traditional music. After our lunch we made our way to the midway and jumped on the Ferris wheel for an incredible view of the city and the Oktoberfest fairgrounds. We then wandered around the fairgrounds and developed a terrible thirst so we made our way into the Hofbrau Haus tent. This was clearly where the young people go. Tables in a standing area provided easy access to beer and people watching and singing and dancing. We enjoyed watching young men attempting to show their bravado by standing on the tables and drinking their liters of beer in one drink. If they pulled the mug away from their mouth before it was empty they were booed horrendously and people threw parts of pretzels at them in disgust. At our table we were surrounded by Australians who make and annual pilgrimage to Munich for the party. We mingled with locals from the Munich area including Patrick and Hannah and Tina who announced us as best friends before jumping on the table to chug beer. The French people we spoke to on the other side of the table were not impressed by this show although they admitted to being on their 4th liter of the afternoon. They drank with more "dignity" it seems. We loved being here in a diverse sea of humanity and we enjoyed meeting people from around the world, all with a happiness and joy in celebrating being here together.

We ended our Oktoberfest day with a walk through the city ending up at the Hofbrau-Haus beer hall in the city. It felt a bit odd to end our day of celebration in a place that was once a rallying point for the nazi party. Drinking a beer where Hitler often gave speeches and looking at the ceiling once adorned in swastikas now painted over in blue and white was a reminder of what this city ONCE was but is no longer. When we look around at the tables here we see people of Asian, Jewish, Middle Eastern and African descent. People spoke english with accents ranging from Australian to British to American and we of course could pick out conversations in German and French and Russian. Oktoberfest is the best of the world. Differing backgrounds being happy together.

We will return to Munich and Oktoberfest again. What a great party!

Tomorrow we head to Bamberg by way of Dachau. We may or may not post depending on the heaviness of the day.

Glockenspiel - amazing mechanical moving parts when the clock strikes noon