OKTOBERFEST

This past Saturday was the very first day of Oktoberfest which means it was the craziest & most fun day of the entire three week event. So, although we were there for one of the best days of Oktoberfest, there was one drawback. The crowds. Even though we got to the tents around 7:30am, we still did not make it into a tent at first. Don't worry though. After a sausage or two and some delicious Irish Coffee, we snuck ourselves in!

The front entrance

Our first attempted tent

Schottenhamel is one of the most popular tents at Oktoberfest-especially the first day. Here the Mayor taps the first keg of Oktoberfest. It really would have been fun to see. 

 Waiting in line!

At Oktoberfest beer & other alcoholic drinks are not served until noon. Thankfully we snuck in a few cans of prosecco to hold us over! 

When it started to rain we all stood under a little booth for shelter & a few hot Irish Coffees to keep us warm! 

After talking to and befriending the owner of the booth where we were drinking, he was nice enough to steal us a few seats inside. Especially with it being so rainy it was very hard to find a seat ANYWHERE that was indoors.  

Heaven in a little cup

Finally in a tent! 

Our tent of choice:  Schutzen-Festhalle

AKA: The Aussie & New Zealand Tent

So, of course, we all made a few new Aussie friends

Beer Mustache Attempt?

PROST!

Despite the rain & failure to make it into the first tent, my Oktoberfest was a huge success! I wish I could come every year. I do love a good glass of wine or a fruity cocktail, but after Oktoberfest I think I have been converted to a true beer lover. Bring me back...

Mike's Bike Tour

After wandering freely around Munich our first day in town, we  decided to hop on a bike for Mike's Bike Tours. Mike's Bike Tours came highly recommended from a bunch of the Innsbruck study abroad group, so I knew we were in good hands. 

We were loving our Barbie Pink bikes

Maximilian 

Pegasus 

Hey there!

Brittany acting like the lion. Rawr.

So. Yellow.

And its hard to believe that the inside looks like this...

So. white. 

Touching the lion's shield for good luck!

Everyone is loving the beautiful scenery 

After an hour or two of biking around, we headed off to the beer garden!

And it was a gorgeous ride over! 

Actually, our guide, Kyle told us that the gardens we were passing on the way to the beer garden were "nude gardens." Now I have heard of nude beaches, but never nude gardens. But we must have just missed the nudists because everyone we saw had on clothes. 

The Second Largest Beer Garden in the World: Chinese Tower

I wish we had one of these back home.

Sausage, Potatoes, & Beer: A Classic German Meal

Half a liter of Oktoberfest Beer. Only served around Oktoberfest. By the way, my half a liter is considered a "small" & the full liter is the "regular." I'm kinda scared to find out what the "large" is.

Prost! Aka: Cheers!

And when you cheers glasses with someone you HAVE to make eye contact. Everyone who has been to Oktoberfest knows why...

After lunch we sat and watched the locals surf on a river nearby. They were pretty good. 

Don't judge us. But somehow after our huge meal at the beer garden we still had enough room to have a little bit of gelato.  

It really is a weakness. 

After a long day we walked back to our hotel, showered, rested & made it out for a short dinner at El Gordo Loco. (If you have been in Europe as long as I have & are missing Mexican food as much as I am-go here! They have chips! I know-a miracle.) We all ate as much as we could because we knew the next morning we were waking up for Oktoberfest!