- Ryan Pigeau
- Apr 3, 2019
- 2 min read
Although famously known for its beer, Munich has a historic reputation for beautiful architecture and unique publicly-displayed art pieces. It’s a city of Kodak moments.
I plan to visit Germany between September and October and I don’t think it’s too difficult to figure out why that is. Oktoberfest takes place annually in Munich, Germany over three consecutive weekends from mid-September to the beginning of October. Seven million people from around the world attend and it is actually a tradition born out of a historical marriage ceremony between Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810. It takes up about 420,000 square feet in the city of Munich and it’s always more than just beer; rides, attractions and games are also part of the fun. The festival opens early too, tents usually start serving alcohol at 10 am and serve right on through to 10:30pm.
Beers for the event are actually brewed just for the occasion by Munich’s “Big Six” breweries, and the alcohol content is greater in these brews than in any other batch produced throughout the year. Oktoberfest 2019 runs from Saturday, September 22nd to Sunday, October 7th and you can even download an Oktoberfest App while you are there to give yourself the best experience. You don’t need to purchase any tickets to Oktoberfest to get into the festival. Although some tourists prefer to wear their normal street clothes, it is always recommended that you use the money you save on event tickets to join in the fun and purchase some authentic German lederhosen or a dirndl if you are a woman. I think the best part about this experience would be getting to drink a real traditional German beer out of a 1L stein while looking dapper in a pair of authentic lederhosen.
If you’re there at any other time of the year, or if a festival about beer is not your thing, there are still plenty of wonderful experiences to be had in Munich. While I’m in the city, I also plan to take in an FC Bayern Munich football match at Allianz Arena. European’s love their football, and a sporting event in Europe is like a North American event on steroids. I have to witness the drunken chants and spilled beer that is guaranteed from opening kickoff to the final whistle. There is also “Krampuslauf,” or “Krampus Run” in the city. People parade around through the streets dressed as Krampus, scaring everyone that they can and actually snatching some people up out of the crowd to further the thrilling storyline. Finally, as a big fan of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, there is a certain experience that I have highlighted on my itinerary. The Museum Lichtspiele – one of the oldest cinemas in the country – has been showing this cult-classic movie every week for 30 or so years and even own a Guinness World Record to show for it.
If you're heading to Germany, especially Munich, I recommend going for Oktoberfest. Just imagine the largest, most friendly bar you can think of and now turn that into a 3-week festival with local brews and amazing food. Sounds like paradise.
Happy drinking!