Germany Oktoberfest Podcast...Sept 22 - Sept 30

[Kristie]

We're back!! learned a lot of new things this time around....Seems like everytime we go to Germany, we learn something new....for instance... you can use credit cards in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich for items like food or what not from the SuperMarkt (Grocery Store) but in Stuttgart, it seems like no one took Visa or Mastercard (anywhere), only EC (which you CAN actually obtain from a US bank, we just forgot to do that). American Express works absolutely NOWHERE in Europe!!! we tried that years ago and gave up not long after we figured out Amex is a joke!

There's lots more that we learned, so much so that we put up a podcast for it....but I'll try to write up a trip report too with the pictures we have! I have to say our best night was Sunday night when we found out that Die Höhner was playing at Volksfest...They're a very popular oktoberfest band and created the Viva Colonia & Hölle song which is sung over and over and over again everyday at both volkfest and oktoberfest. It was so great to see them in concert (even better, it was free)... even tho the concert was in a tent, the accoustics were just tremendously good and we're talking a packed crowd, standing on the benches swinging beers around type good!!

We actually liked Volksfest in Stuttgart a lot better than Oktoberfest in Munich and the main reason is because Munich is just outrageously crazy... so crazy that at our age (mid-30's), it was just tooo much to handle...we had a fight at the table next door which knocked all of us down, once the tent gets full, they close the doors and doug forgot, got locked out and was lost for 2 hrs...too many people peeing, puking and making out behind the tent...it just got to be too much for me simply because i don't like heights as it is. standing on a bench is difficult and the possibility of falling off even scarier for me - so when we all did fall (because of the fight), it freaked me out and altho security was right there immediately (they ARE really good at maintaining the crowd), i just wasn't the same.. then i got my toe stepped on... i mean, we're talking 10,000 in the spatenbrau tent alone...12 other tents there along with some really WILD amusement park rides (nothing we would ever do here because of liability lawsuits - which is just sad really)...but it really is for the experienced older and younger crowd.. there were tons there from all ages, just most of the older crowds (30's to 80's+) had reserved tables so they didn't have to worry about the younger crews drunken escapades - so that's what we're gonna do next time! reserve a table....

However, the outfits were amazing in Munich...pretty much everyone dresses up in folkwear and no outfit is the same...I got a ton of pictures and we should have them up sometime soon...

if your in your teens and 20's, Oktoberfest in Munich is where you should be because it IS party central and no holds barred - you do see & hear more emergency vehicles there (we even saw a woman get beat up by another woman and an old man vs old man fight)...Volksfest is a bit tamer altho you'll still see people peeing, puking and making out at the back of the tents...but it's not nearly as outrageous as Munich.

Overall, we had an absolutely great time (ate enough chicken and had enough beer to last a while) and will probably do Volksfest again next year... I think the only time we'll go back to Oktoberfest in Munich is if we have a reserved table and don't have to sit there for hours on end (we had to be at a table by 12 noon in order to get a seat because everything on the outside of the center tent was reserved).

if anyone is interested in going next year, let me know...it is a really REALLY fun time and yes, there are Alkoholfrei getranke (alchohol free drinks) found everywhere there!! But it is not a place for american kids.. they just wouldn't understand