Bending an Elbow at Munich’s Oktoberfest

by admin | October 17, 2025 8:56 am

MUNICH, GERMANY – For 215 years, folks have gathered to celebrate Oktoberfest at a 100-acre public space called Theresienwiese, named in honor of Princess Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxe-Hildburghausen, now part of the central German state of Thuringen. That is to the north of Bavaria, the country’s southernmost state. She married King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria in this meadow on Oct. 12, 1810. (This Ludwig is not the whacky one mentioned in a previous piece[1]. He was the grandfather of Ludwig II, the mad king.)

That meadow became the venue for Oktoberfest, now celebrated in Bavarian cities and in Texas towns with German heritage, such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. The Munich cel[2]ebration is the granddaddy of them all, the Super Bowl of beer drinking and frivolity. Interestingly, Munich’s Oktoberfest began on Sept. 20 and ended Oct. 5, barely into its namesake month. That is to take advantage of better weather, I learned.

The Teutonic Trio (daughter Mere, son-in-law Matt and I) attended on Sunday, Sept. 28, taking a train there filled with folks headed to Theresienwiese. People come from all over to this Oktoberfest. I flew to Munich from Houston three days earlier, seated next to a young couple who were flying over solely to attend. That is a long way to travel for beer. It is darn good beer.

As we walked from the station to the site, one of the brewers passed in a horse-drawn wagon. The Hacker-Pschorr Bräu dates to 1417 and is one of six breweries permitted to serve beer at Oktoberfest. Six stately draft horses were pulling a wagon decorated with green fir boughs and yellow and blue flowers – and a load of wooden beer barrels. I was already getting thirsty. It was barely 10:00 a.m.

We stood in a mass of people waiting patiently for the gate to open. Matt wore his Lederhosen. Mere had on her Dirndl dress. I wore the woolen Alpine hat with a feather that they gave me a few years ago. I have never had the nerve to wear it in East Texas. That could change now.

The gates opened and we quickly grabbed a picnic table outside the Augustiner Brau building. A server swiftly brought us three liter-sized glass mugs of delicious beer with healthy foam heads. A couple plates [3]of food soon followed. I went inside once to find the bathroom (Most public restrooms require a “donation” of one euro, sometimes a 50-euro cent coin. Others have turnstiles like a subway station.) and check out the scene. It was cacophonous. I was glad to be outside, though it was worth a quick look.

As we wandered around, vainly attempting to work off the beer, sausage, and roasted chicken, the scene reminded me of the Texas State Fair. Carnival rides, vendors selling all manner of fair food, souvenirs, maybe even fried ice cream – not that I was looking. We left well before dark when things might start getting a bit crazy. I try to avoid drunks vomiting on my shoes.

The Wiesn, as the locals call it, is considered the largest folk festival in the world. This year’s festival drew 6.5 million visitors over 17 days. For comparison, that equals the entire population of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich (München), gathered on 100 acres to drink beer and wolf down food. The total number of visitors was down 200,000 from the previous year because a bomb threat shut Wiesn down on Oct. 1 for several hours. Thankfully, the threat turned out to be a hoax.

The Oktoberfest landlords (the breweries) estimate 6.5 million liters of beer were consumed. When you factor out children at this family-friendly e[4]vent, it looks like every adult consumed at least one liter of beer. I managed to down three in about four hours, doing my part for the cause. (A liter is just a tad more than a quart.)

While beer mugs and steins are for sale at souvenir stands, it is not kosher to swipe one from one of the breweries. That did not stop at least 116,000 folks from trying and having it confiscated and returned to the landlords. (Bavarians apparently keep track of everything.)

Unsurprisingly, we all dozed off during the two-hour train ride back to Garching. That tends to happen when one starts drinking beer and eating heavy food in late morning.

If I am fortunate enough to return to Oktoberfest next fall, I might even spring for a pair of Lederhosen to go with my Alpine hat. As we say, “Prost!”

For more photos, go to my Facebook page.

Source URL: https://garyborders.com/pages/bending-an-elbow-at-munichs-oktoberfest/

---