Friday September 21, 2012
“Hi, welcome to Stoke Travel” he said, as he handed me a half litre cup of ice-cold local beer. It’s 8:17 in the morning, I have a 25kg bag on my back, It’s 1°, and I’ve slept less than 1 hour the night before. This is Stoke travel at Ubermenzing campsite, Munich, set up especially for Oktoberfest 2012.
After an 8hr overnight train from Venice, sitting down & not lying down, I arrived into Munich at 6:30am. At the train station I met 3 travellers from Darwin, who were also staying at Stoke travel, so we decide to make our way there together. The rest of that day is a bit of a blur. I remember unpacking in my tent, with power (thanks to my sleep apnea/sleep machine), paying the €1 deposit for a 500ml Stoke travel cup and paying the €5 for unlimited (YES UNLIMITED) Beer or Sangria for each day I stayed with Stoke.
Day 1 Oktoberfest 2012: Saturday September 22
I woke at 6am and went for breaky; I had showered the afternoon before, which turned out to be the best time as no one else used the showers then. Daily breaky was an egg in bread and a spoonful of a beans/tomato/onion mix. It was better than nothing, but sometimes I had to go to the shop for something a little more substantial. The 6:30 bus left on time and we were on our way. The weather was atrocious. It rained on and off all day. By 7:30am we were lining up for the Schottenhamel Tent. The tents don’t open until 9 and beer isn’t served before midday. There were a good 300 people in the line already, but the tents hold around 5000 so it didn’t matter. We were in the line about 10 minutes when security split the line into 2. As I can’t speak German (and the majority of the fellow beer enthusiasts didn’t either) we just followed the crowd. We were sent to line up at the back of the tent, where for the next hour we sat under any umbrella we could, to try to stay dry. About half past 8, people started saying we are lining up at an exit and they won’t let us in. At first I didn’t believe this as there is always people saying stupid shit, but even the local Germans were looking confused. Security was standing next to us and watched as we stood at the exit for an hour. Half an hour before the tent was due to open, everyone was heading back to the original line. Within 15 minutes of the tent opening, it was full and the doors closed. We had just sat in the rain for 2 hours for no reason. FUCK.
In all the confusion I lost my friends from Stoke. This didn’t worry me, as there were plenty of young people looking for a good time. I met Lisa in line and after we didn’t get into the tent, we decided I was going to drink with her and her 2 German friends. We ended up outside on the balcony of the Schützen-Festzelt tent. They aren’t really tents, but massive beer halls, they’re permanent buildings. I’m not sure why people call them tents. Lisa also had 2 other friends from Darwinwho partied with us. In the end there were three 20 something girls from Darwin, 2 German girls, a Pommy bloke, a kiwi called Patrick and me. We had a great day, rain and all. The beers are served in one litre beer glasses, called steins, for a bargain basement price of €10 each & they don’t even let you keep the Stein!!
For lunch I asked Ilorna to order for me, as the menu was only in German. She picked a traditional Sausage and potato salad, which was delicious. Some other traditional meals were half a chicken, a sausage covered in spices with a bread roll and some soups. I’m sure there are more, but I can’t read German.
By around sunset Patrick and I were left drinking by ourselves as everyone left for one reason or another, so we decided to explore another tent. We walked straight out with our steins and we didn’t realize until we went to the toilet, I’m like “Dude, we still have our steins”! We both cracked up cause we didn’t realize. The line to the HB tent was long and not moving. We stood in it for around 10 minutes until I told him to follow me. I led us straight through the front door, past security and into the beer hall. We got in about 4 tables deep before we stopped and cracked up laughing again. I don’t remember much after this point, but we ended up at a bar in town where I left my jacket. I got a taxi back to the campsite while the sun was rising and remember wondering why I was cold. In the morning I realized. SHIT.
My memories at the campsite blur into one another. As I stayed for a week & most people left after 2 or 3 days, I had to keep making friends. This wasn’t hard but I was sick of starting from scratch with everyone. It was good just to relax with people and chat. It’s just one of life’s problems of a traveller. I really enjoyed the week of partying, but after it I was ready for a holiday. I just felt a bit partied out and in need of the beach and nature.
In return for working at stoke travel, the staff get free food, booze and accommodation. They would be doing beer bongs and drinking beers all day… if I was 20 and full of energy, I’d do it for sure, it’d be a blast!! Later in Barcelona I met up with some of the crew and they told me the first complaint at their reception was that the staff were “too sexual” toward each other! It was a German girl and she was serious. It’s funny she’d complain about staff working for a company who’s slogan is “your tent or mine?” HA.
All in all I’d do Oktoberfest again, although I’d want to go with friends next time. I’d highly recommend it to everyone of all ages!!
Oktoberfest Tips:
Research which tent you want to party in, there are ones like retirement homes. Get there before 9 if you want to sit inside.
It really is Disneyland for adults. There are no rules.
Dress up. It’s fun & costs under €100. You can buy the costume at the front gate and it’s probably the cheapest you’ll get at that time of year.
Have a decent breakfast, the meals are small, but mostly under €10 each.
Book accommodation early, it fills up quick. Even Austria was booked out or really expensive.
- I had some positive comments about my photos. That was cool.
- On the last day when I was having a shower, I heard a guy snoring loudly while sitting on the toilet.
- Munich’s public transport system is fantastic. At least it was from the train station to the campground, to the Oktoberfest, & to the airport.
- The traditional dress of the Oktoberfest is Lederhosen for men and a dirndl for women.
- Everyone had a sore back, as the mattresses in the tents weren’t very thick.
- At the campsite we would start drinking around 10am… or when you go for breakfast.
- People were doing beer bongs for breakfast.
- Don’t go to bar unless you expect to drink. They will talk you into it!
- Don’t spin the wheel unless you want your undies on the line… see pics
- I met a lot of great American & as always, Aussie travellers. Everyone loves Aussies.