Just in time for Dan and my third Oktoberfest, here is my take on the greatest beerfest in all of the world! We will be there the second week and are also attending the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart! Prost!
Happy Oktoberfest!
The second stop on Eurotrip2014 was Munich, Germany (or München, in German) for Oktoberfest, and just because we love Munich! Munich is the capital and largest city in the State of Bavaria in the South of Germany. Munich (and the whole of Bavaria) has a very specific culture, and is very proud of that culture. Think beer, leiderhosen, pretzels – that’s Bavarian! This was my third trip to Munich, and I was very excited to hit a few places that have long been on my wish list, but that I had not previously had time to visit.
Visiting Munich during Oktoberfest is a beast in itself. Munich is extremely crowded and much of the city is focused on Oktoberfest – meaning some attractions will be closed all together, such as tours of the major Munich breweries, or on certain, unspecified days (to allow its employees to enjoy Oktoberfest with family & friends). Weekends are the most crowded. When we visited, we got stuck walking to our hotel for about an hour while the Costume and Rifleman’s Parade passed. It was cool to see, but very unexpected. Most attractions, aside from the brewery tours, will be open for most of Oktoberfest, so if you keep a flexible attitude you will be fine. Also, hotels book up extremely early (AT LEAST 6 months in advance). We booked our hotel in February. Be guided accordingly. You DO NOT want to be stuck at Oktoberfest without a place to stay! I also recommend confirming the opening hours of all must see attractions, tours, etc. before leaving home and buying transportation before arriving in Munich. Trains, planes and buses book up, too!
Enough warning, Munich is a great city anytime, and especially during Oktoberfest! Per usual, our first stop was the Hofbräuhaus for lunch and beer! Hofbräu is one of the large six breweries in Munich (along with Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Paschor and Spaten), and certainly the most famous in the US. Dan is a big fan of the Hofbräuhaus because they have a lot of pork dishes that are not very expensive. Actually, none of the food at Hofbräu is very expensive – its a solid budget option.
We had planned to go shopping after lunch, but all of the shops were closed on Sunday (take note – all shops in Munich are closed on Sunday). Instead, we checked out another famous beer hall, Augusinerbräu, which is also one of the big six Munich breweries. This was my first visit to Augustiner and I really enjoyed it. Augustiner had an atmosphere similar to Hofbräu, but was decidely less touristy. We drank beers, listened to the band and made some new friends. After Augustiner, we went to bed to prepare for Oktoberfest!
Our other non-Oktoberfest day in Munich was dedicated to the city and its history. First up was one of my favorite places in Munich, the Viktualienmarkt. The Viktualienmarkt is a huge, open-air market in the center of Munich. Its open everyday and contains stalls selling crafts, food, wine, beer, candy, you name it. We shopped around for a bit and lunched on traditional Bavarian food & fancy focaccia sandwiches. The Viktualienmarkt is free to visit and it makes for great souvenir shopping and eating!
After lunch, we had a busy afternoon, two tours and the Residenz…ready, set, go! First up was Sandemans Free Walking Tour, which is a free, three hour tour of Munich that hits all the highlights, including Frauenkirche (inside & outside below, including the Devil’s footprint!), and gives a very decent historical overview. I did this tour on one other occasion and it was good both times. You can make reservations online. Also, you should tip your guides!! We tipped €10/person, but thats up to your discretion.
We left the tour after about an hour and a half to tour the Residenz Museum. The Residenz museum is the former palace of the wealthy Wittelsbach family, who ruled Munich for many, many years (huge influence!). There are many rooms and gardens to visit, and you could really spend hours here! We walked through the palace rooms, but regrettably did not see the Cuvilliés Theater or the Treasury. I guess that will have to wait to 2016! My favorite rooms were the Ancestral Gallery and the Antiquarium (below). I also enjoyed the outdoor gardens, which are free!
After rushing through the Residenz, we had a second tour at 5:00 with Mike’s Bike Tours (adjourned from Sunday due to rain…). The tour started at 5:00, lasted about 2.5 hours and visited a few places that I had been wanting to see, namely the Munich surfers and the English Garden. I had heard a lot about this tour, and was really excited to take it, but it was not that great and I do not think I would recommend it or take it again. The surfers were really cool, though!
Dan hates bike tours…
Pryor loves bike tour guides…
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We ended the evening at the Residenz Weinstube, as recommended by our Mike’s Bike Tour Guide. A good choice for inexpensive Bavarian fare!
Here are some final, favorite pictures of Munich. See you in 2016!
Note – this post only pertains to Munich during Oktoberfest – not the actual Oktoberfest. Stay tuned for my Oktoberfest post!
Have you been to Munich? What were your favorite things to do and eat? Any great day trips?
Upon recommendation from our Heidelberg Castle tour guide, we went directly to the Philosopher’s Walk after visiting the Castle and town to try to catch the Castle at sunset from the Walk.
The Philosopher’s Walk is a well-mainained path that runs from the newer part of town and ends with steep stairs down to the Alte Brücke (or you can turnaround if you are mobility inclined, or just want to avoid the steps!). Our castle tour guide recommended starting the tour in the newer part of town so that we would be looking at the castle the entire walk (and not back at the castle), but we started at the Alte Brücke, because it was closer to the Castle, and ended in the new town, very close to our dinner spot – Dorfschänke!
The stairs near the Alte Brücke are not scary (I hate heights!) or that tough, but it was steep – bring water. At the top of the hill, there are great views of the Castle and the old town. The path is pretty level after the hill and ends in the new part of down after walking by some gorgeous homes.
The Philosopher’s Walk is entirely free. However, it is not worth it at all if it is raining. I would allow at least an hour for the entire Philosopher’s Walk.
Dan and I love beer. And, wherever we go, I always research local breweries for us to visit. There are two in Heidelberg (that I could find): Brauhaus Vetter and Kulturbrauerei. We tried both on a Saturday afternoon.
Our first stop was Brahaus Vetter – home to the world’s once strongest beer, the Vetter 33. Vetter is on the right side (walking toward the bridge) of the main street connecting the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Alt Brücke. It was pretty easy to find. Vetter has an inside bar and seating area and outdoor tables along the street. There is no beer garden per se. We sat inside as all of the outdoor seats were full. Bummer! Vetter served about 4-5 beers on tap and our waitress explained each to us in detail in English. I ordered a half-liter of the Oktoberfest. It was very good, and tasted like an oktoberfest beer should. Dan ordered the Vetter 33, which is not nearly as strong as its made out to be. The Vetter 33 is served in a snifter type glass and is very dark. Dan liked it, but I did not!
We also ordered a round of snacks at Vetter. Dan ordered the “game” sausage and I ordered the fried cheese with cranberry sauce (so predictable). Both dishes were ok. However, the potato salad served with the sausages was execellent! Our waitress was really nice, and even let us take our water glass to go (they charged for all water) as long as we promised to return it, which we did. If you really want to purchase a glass, Vetter sells a variety of glasswear with their logo. I purchased a half-liter stein to take home. Great souvenir.
After Vetter, we walked about seven minutes toward the castle to Kulturbrauerei. Kulturbrauerei is a little more tucked away; it is located down a side street past the castle and the Red Ox Inn. We found it pretty easily, but were using the GPS on my phone…
Kulterbrauerei is attached to a hotel and has a large outdoor beer garden and a large indoor space. Kultur appeared to be having a wedding reception while we were there, so only a few of the outdoor tables were open to the public. I guess we got lucky that any were open! Like Vetter, Kultur had about 4 beers to choose from, but the waitress was not good at explaining them to us. I ended up trying their “seasonal,” which was simply descirbed as “seasonal” and nothing more. We asked. Several times. It ended up being a marzan. The beer was ok, but I really don’t like marzan style beers. I was hoping for another Oktoberfest!
In the end, we spent a fun afternoon at these two breweries. The beer at Vetter was more my style, but I preferred to drink in the beer garden at Kulturbrauerei. I guess you have to try them both!
In addition to these two breweries, the town if full of pubs and beer gardens serving generic beer, localish beer, cokctails and local wine.
Have you been to Heidelberg? What were your favorite beer spots??
LOGISTICS
Steingasse 9 – Im Schöneck
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69117 Heidelberg
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