As you are reading this, it is likely that I am in the midst of my fifth Oktoberfest, or Wiesn to the Bavarians. Die Wiesn is adult Disney World - the happiest place on earth! The energy in the tents is unmatchable as that Oktoberfest edition beer flows and flows. Just like Disney World though, Oktoberfest can have it's downsides if you are not properly prepared.
Things to Bring with You to Oktoberfest
Tract: Men in Lederhosen, Women in Dirndls While you will see some women in feminized lederhosen, I like to go the traditional route. You don't have to spend a fortune on a dirndl, decent ones start at €70 in Munich, but you certainly do not want to show up in the shiny Halloween version. Trust me on this one. Men, this goes the same, lederhosen translates to leather pants, so the fake cloth number will merely produce embarrassment. If you cannot splurge on Tracht, stick with your "civilian" clothes (although I've said it before: it's like showing up to Halloween without a costume).
Pocket Tissues Hopefully you won't be crying , but there is no doubt that nature will call and you will have to answer to the Wiesn toilets. Males might get away with urinating in one of the toilet troughs, but we women need our toilet paper and it's likely you won't find any. A packet of tissues will be your best friend and make you best friends with anyone else in the restroom.
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So the beers aren't actually allowed to leave the tent premises, but I'm sneaky.[/caption]Inexpensive Camera Attention bloggers and other photo whores: leave the DSLR at home. Yes, I brought mine and it survived, but I don't think it ever got over the trauma. We all want to document this special experience, but trust a crummier point & shoot to get the job done. They'll do you just fine.
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You'll need a camera to capture moments with your new best friend. Seriously though, we met at Oktoberfest two years ago and are still best friends. This is from October 2011. [/caption]Cash, particularly €10 notes You will be paying with cash at Oktoberfest (side note: just go ahead and pay cash at all drinking establishments in Germany if possible). The beer price increases every year. This year it ranges between €9.10-9.50. You can go ahead and count on leaving the change as tip, so it's best just to hand over a tenner and make the beer-maid-lugging-10-beers through-insane-crowd's lives way easier.
Party Pants Drinking, dancing, and singing are on all the table (literally) at Wiesn. Enjoy the local and international company around you; it's a once (ok, 0r 5x) in a lifetime experience.
Things to Leave at Home
Large purse or bag You will be so sick of carrying it by the end of the day you may just leave it on a table and not even care (but seriously).
Coat Sweater, check. Coat? Leave it at home. Yes, the weather in Munich this time of year can be chilly, but the tents will be warm in toasty among the thousands of drunkies. Your liquid blanket will help you make the not-so-bad walk from Theresienwiese to the Hauptbahnhof.
Passport Do not be dumb and bring valuables along to Oktoberfest. True story: there is no Australian consulate in Munich, but they temporarily set one up on the British consulate in Munich during Oktoberfest due to all the lost and found Australian passport occurrences. Other valuables to leave behind: excesses of cash, credit cards, nice jewelry, and nice shoes.
What are your must-haves for a festival?
29 comments
Agh! So jealous you're going this year. I'm missing it by about a month. :( I was at Oktoberfest in 2011 too, and I know it won't be my last! Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteCool! I am going to my first "real" Oktoberfest this year in Kitchener. It's the biggest one in North America, or from what I understand, outside of Germany. It will be interesting I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteI just got back from (an awesome) three days at Oktoberfest! I didn't know you were going, I would've tried to meet up with you! Oh, and I totally brought my DSLR on day two :)
ReplyDeleteI bought my dirndl for 30 euros on Ebay - it's certainly not the best made one but it was just as pretty as all the others I saw, and many people came up to tell me how nice I looked :)
ReplyDeleteI had such an amazing time at Oktoberfest this year!! My cousin got a dirndl from C&A in Kaiserlautern, and I borrowed one, though we definitely needed a cardigan each because it was so damn cold and rainy! I also had a few snacks in my purse, left my fancy camera at home (it broke my heart) and turned off my phone until I got separated from my cousin. Gah, I want to go back and drink more bier!
ReplyDeleteArgh I'm so frustrated that I'm missing Oktoberfest, but I will try to make it next year and will definitely leave my DSLR at home.
ReplyDeletehttp://lasaloperie.blogspot.com
I lost my Dad's phone last time I went to the Oktoberfest so you better leave anything expensive at home. :) I agree.
ReplyDeleteif i ever get my butt to a real Oktoberfest I will keep all of this in mind!! i have to go one day! (preferably with you!)
ReplyDeleteTwo years in Germany and I have still never been to an Oktoberfest!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to attend Oktoberfest, but...ahhhhh...I hate beer! :(
ReplyDeleteI've gone 5 times so far as well!! I always say the Disney World analogy also!!! It is so true!
ReplyDeleteI can only dream that I will be able to attend a real Oktoberfest - I'll stick with the imitations for now!
ReplyDeleteI still think back on the time we went to the one in Stuttgart- I had my giant purse AND my giant camera. I am still so amazed that I made it back with BOTH and the only thing that broke were my hideous sunglasses. Holy smokes, that night was INTENSE! I haven't come close to drinking that much since, LOL. Such a crazy Germany experience I will never forget. Oh, and the toilet paper tip- brilliant!
ReplyDeleteone thing I learned, is that guys often pee directly in their lederhosen. EWWWW!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, guess that explains the famous stench at Wiesn!
ReplyDeleteThe imitations are pretty damn fun, too. I went to Wurstfest in New Braunfels before moving to Germany and it was a blast!
ReplyDeleteIt took me FOREVER to learn to like drinking beer, but good news: they serve wine in the tents as well!
ReplyDeleteIt's GOTTA happen, one-of-a-kind experience for sure!
ReplyDeleteIf you planned to come, I don't even know, I'd go ALL out in making it perfection (although it is hard for it not to be)!
ReplyDeleteAh I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Edna! I planned this so last minute. I was not sure if I would be able to go since I was in the US for a majority of the fest. I ended up going the day after I arrived back in Germany - exhausting to say the least. I'm glad your DSLR survived. I brought mine the first time but now that I know the antics I can get into, I realize it's best left behind :) Post about it soon, I'm excited to read about your experience!
ReplyDeleteC&A is a great place for affordable dirndls. The one in Munich has a MILLION. So happy you loved it! Post about it soon? I love reading people's experiences :D
ReplyDelete2 out of 3 of my dirndls are from eBay. It's a great place to find low cost dirndls! I was definitely more referring to those plastic-y halloween type ones :) I'd love to see yours!
ReplyDeleteYou'll catch it next year!
ReplyDeleteWould love to go thereee!! But I don't drink beer, so maybe I'll miss the most important part :/ Anyway, I live up in the North West (Bremen) So I guess it'll be quite some time until I can go there.
ReplyDeleteZia of Bits Of Germany
[…] “Die Wiesn is adult Disney World – the happiest place on earth! The energy in the tents is unmatchable as that Oktoberfest edition beer flows and flows.” Blogger Ifs Ands and Butts gives advice on what to bring to Oktoberfest celebrations here. […]
ReplyDeleteA country pub in my town did a one-day Oktoberfest this year, which I missed because I didn't read the notice until after the event. Real Oktoberfest is on my Germany to-do list, but I'm not sure that I'd want to wear traditional costume. Maybe once the beer starts flowing I'd feel more comfortable doing so!
ReplyDeleteOh they are so much fun to wear, you wouldn't be shy once you tried one on - they are so flattering!
ReplyDeleteHello There!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great article. This year my husband and set to go to Oktoberfest and I was curious on outfits. We are going Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- for a weekend trip, do people pack multiple traditional outfits? Or do they just bring additional shirts?
Thank you!
Hi -
ReplyDeleteIt really depends how sloppy it gets ;) I would say most people will be ok wearing the same outfit and changing shirts. It might be a little grungy by the end but that's ok.
Hope you have a great time!!