Oktoberfest. The land of gingham dirndls, huge beers, and pretzels twice the size of your head. Whether you are familiar with the event in Munich, Germany or not, you most definitely recognize these common trademarks that overwhelm your Instagram feed during the late weeks of September. Before going away for a semester abroad, I figured I knew all I needed to know when it comes to Oktoberfest. The lines are long, dirndls/lederhosen are a must, and if you are not awake for the 5:30 a.m. wakeup call then good luck getting in. But despite thinking that I knew all there was to know I came across many things that surprised me throughout the weekend.
1. The Carnival:
Source: http://www.nightlife-cityguide.com/
I’m not sure if it was just me but I felt like everyone failed to mention that the Oktoberfest tents are in the middle of a carnival that stretches what seems like miles long. This obviously came as a pleasant surprise to know that Oktoberfest had more to offer than being in a crowded tent with hundreds of people. It allowed for a more spacious setting to catch up with friends studying in other places along with copious amounts of carnival rides and delicious food.
2. You don’t have to show up at 7 am?:
Source: https://previews.123rf.com
For most people Oktoberfest goes hand and hand with waking up the crack of dawn. What I wish I had known before wiggling into my dirndl and hitting the crisp streets of Munich at 6:45 am was that you really don’t have to show up that early. If you aren’t making a mad dash for one of the many tables inside of the tents you can really show up as late as 9 or even 10! This is key thing to know in order to get those very important hours of beauty sleep.
3. Don’t stress about the dress:
One of the major appeals to Oktoberfest is being able to at least look like a local at the event and wear the traditional dirndls and lederhosen. Things like late night flights or arriving just before the event make getting these fun outfits a little difficult. What I came to realize is you can always tell your friend a size and have them get it for you, borrow your outfit from someone older who went, or even Amazon Prime an equally cute dirndl before even getting to Munich. It’s also important to remember that if you don’t have time to get anything or are not willing to pay the steep price it okay to wear a normal outfit, it is perfectly normal to wear regular clothes!
4. History:
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Source: https://www.oktoberfest.net/history-oktoberfest/
Although some 6 million people attend yearly, many people still don’t know the histoy of Oktoberfest and how it became the event it is today. It all began in 1810 with the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. All the citizens of Munich were invited to the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy marriage. The fields which Oktoberfest is still held on to this day ended up being named Theresienwiese in honor of the Princess and is now referred to as “Wies’n” for short. So although knowing this history isn’t essential to having a good time during your Oktoberfest weekend, it is still cool knowing you are spending your weekend where a royal wedding was celebrated more than 200 years earlier.