We had an early start so we could compete with the masses that would be attending the Oktoberfest. Although some charm exists in the lederhosen and dirndls worn by the natives, overall, the Wiesn was a mess. All of the tents were fully packed with patrons. The expectation is that people sit at their table all day drinking four to seven liters of beer and eating chicken and sausage. We were huddled together with hundreds of other people. It was sort of like being in line for an outdoor concert to an awful band, like Gwar... or ICP. The rain drenched us, and we considered abandoning our spot in line multiple times. Finally we did abandon our place in line so we could get something to eat. We walked around to the side of the tent where we happened to sneak inside through a side door that was left ajar.
Once we got inside, we were astonished by the amount of people, food, and noise. We wandered around inside the tent with our host and our fellow travelers before Adam and I could not handle it anymore. We ventured out of the tent and into the city for some exploration.
We found Munich to be an exciting city. It gets better as you distance yourself from the Oktoberfest people. We enjoyed the town hall area and the shops in the area. Later we met up with our host and he gave us a tour of Munich. We saw the Ludwig Maximilian University, where Sophie Scholl famously tossed anti-Nazi pamphlets into the main hall. Later, we saw the Olympic Village and athletic facilities where Munich hosted the 1972 Olympic Games. I was pleased to happen upon the fancy BMW building designed by Zaha Hadid. We explored the building and the cars inside. Very cool.
From a distance, we also caught a glimpse of the new football arena that is shaped like a big blowup raft and which is brilliantly illuminated at night.
