 Poster: A snowHead
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I'll be hitting the big 40 on 5th October 2011 and was thinking of going to Munich for Oktoberfest with the lads for a few days. Can anyone give me guidance as to when best to go and where to stay. Apparently you do need to book rooms well in advance, hence the premature request.
Vielen Dank
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Went a couple of years back - you will need to book rooms well in advance. I stayed very close to the main station in the centre of Munich, in what turned out to be the, ahem, red light district. NOT a place for the faint hearted, and NOT a place to walk around at night.....so get somewhere well away from there!!!
Edited to add - don't try and book anything for October either - the festival is actually in September
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Also, if you're going as a big group, it might be an idea to book a table in one of the beer tents.
IIRC you have to fax the tent propriator, but the website was in German, and mein Deutsch ist nicht genug gut.
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boabski, you might want to check the dates - I'm pretty sure it will have finished by the 5th. And it is best to start planning a year ahead, hotels/flights are a nightmare to Munich that time of the year.
WIndy
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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boabski, The booking of tables is a good idea if there are 10 or more of you! Tables cost upwards from about 300 Euros to book and included in that booking fee is a voucher for your first Maß (litre of Octoberfest beer) and half a grilled chicken. We normally send off our bookings about now to the tents we want reservations in. I wouldn't touch the Augustiner Tent with a 10' barge-pole, Hoffbräu and Löwenbräu are full of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, and all the other boozy tourist types. Our favourites are Hacker-Festzelt, Armbrustschützen, Winzerer Fähndl, Ochsenbraterei, but we always try and book in Bräurösl, or failing that the Schottenhammel. The latter was definitely the best tent this year.
Next year it will end on 3rd October - it always ends on the first Sunday in October except, as in 2011, we have the National Holiday on the first Monday (Unification Day - 3rd October) The middle weekend is called the "Italian Weekend" when it seems that half of Italy is there getting totally rat-@rsed. If you can book time off during the week you may have more fun to be honest as all the weekends are really full for obvious reasons.
Guvnor, I'm presuming you were in Schillerstrasse or it's immediate area - it's called "Sex & Electronic-Strasse" here locally because of the preponderance of sex shops and, funnily enough, IT and electronic goods. But to call it a Red District is a more than a little bit over the top - there are no brothels there, just some hotels that may or may not rent rooms by the hour. It is perfectly safe to walk around on your own at night and I have no worries when I have to do it. As the hotels can get much more money in the way of takings during the Octoberfest by renting out to tourists, my police friends tell me that it is generally very quiet there during the Weisen, unless there are a bunch of drunken Brits looking for trouble after getting smashed at the Octoberfest! 
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I popped over there this year.
After many years going at weekends (1st, mid & last) I would have to say Im not doing weekends again. They have reduced public seating over the years & reserved alot for corporate & bookings only
1st weekend , the tents are FULL. Impossible to get in unless you have booked , even te beer gardens are full .
I think the tents are already booked for next year.
If you must go weekend then the last is probably the best .
Beer was Euros 8.60 Massbeer this year.
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Book a *very long way ahead* for accomodation. Or you'll be in a hotel a half hour metro ride from the festival, in the middle of an industrial estate, like we were.
Book a table in a tent, definitely. Last year we plonked ourselves in the Festhalle Schottenhamel which was awesome.
EAT. Remember to EAT.
Drop into Beate Uhse for some evening entertainment.
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Samerberg Sue, Sounds like it could be the place - my hotel was directly opposite a sports bar owned by Lother Matthaus (sp?), the Germany footy captain, which in turn was next to a huge shop of 'adult' interest.....it was certainly a dodgy area when I was there, but suspect it may have been cleaned up considerably since (a quick think suggests it was actually 7 years ago that I was there...  )
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If you want something similar but different, an alternative is Õllesummer in Tallinn, Estonia. It's a lot cheaper, and the weather is generally better.
I've been 3 times now (I'm in the first picture here), and TBH prefer it to Oktoberfest.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The ancient heart of Tallinn is about as beautiful a medieval city centre as I've ever seen anywhere.
Shame the entirety of the rest of Estonia is so bloody horrible really.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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paulio, yup. Beautiful, until you get outside the city walls.
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You know it makes sense.
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Guvnor, I been here over 12 years and it has remained the same - shops open and close, change their function. Just because it is "adult" themes doesn't make it dangerous - much worse areas in the UK - King's Cross area for London or the St Paul's/Stapleton Road area of Bristol. I must admit though when I first came here I assumed it was a dangerous area too because of the Red Light connotations
Loddar (as he is known here because of how he talks) is a real figure of fun - everyone takes the mickey out of him because of his penchant for very young blondes as well as his dumb sayings!
stanton, talking out your posterior again - businesses book tables for their workers and guests during the week - wander around a tent on an afternoon and you will see that all the reservations are corporate ones on the whole - starting usually at 16:00. If you have not claimed your table by 16:30 you lose it. At the weekend you have to pay an arm and a leg for tables or boxes. The Wiesenwirte (the people who run the tents) have to keep at least a third of the places in the middle part of the tents unreserved during the week and the whole of the inner (middle part) at the weekends. It is a rule imposed by the Munich City council who licensie the tents. We booked 4 tables in the Schottenhamel tent this year for staff and clients to enjoy together and have to say it was a really good night out and did customer relations no end of good!
You couldn't get a place because you were too late - when the weather is good as it was this year, everyone knows to get there early or miss the boat!
boabski, if you want to do it book a package early from the UK which includes table reservations. It is the only way you can guarantee anything to be honest!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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All sounding like good fun When would be the best weekend to go then? The last weekend in Sept is a local holiday in Glasgow so that would probably suit most of the guys.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The Festival goes on all over town if you cannot get into one of the tents. Even worth a a short train trip & bus out to Andechs http://www.andechs.de/
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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stanton, Good idea! But beware, the beer is even stronger than Oktoberfest beer, which in turn is stronger than normal (Helles) beer!
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Samerberg Sue, on at least one occasion I've been down the Oktoberfest and have been unable to get a beer  That sucks, believe me!
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FAQ
So it gets interesting as the day progresses for sure 
