Since its founding in 1810, the Oktoberfest – also known as Wiesn – has changed a lot. What began with simple beer stalls as a culinary accompaniment to horse races is now the largest folk festival in the world. Six breweries: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten, vie for the guests’ favor.
This is where the celebrities meet at the Oktoberfest
Most beer is probably drunk in the famous festival tents – often with a snack, chicken, fish or ox specialties. The different tents offer a very similar program: beer, conviviality, hearty food and often live music. And yet the various festival venues differ significantly.
For example, in Kuffler’s wine tent, after a certain time there is no more beer – instead there is wine, sparkling wine and champagne. In the Hacker festival tent, all guests are sitting in the open air – because the ceiling consists of a huge cloud painting. In addition, the guest room is framed by a 2000 square meter painting with scenes from Munich city life.
The crowd also varies slightly from tent to tent. Sometimes there are more families, especially at the Oidn Wiesn, a smaller festival that is meant to remind people of earlier times, and sometimes the country’s celebrities gather together. The Käferzelt is particularly well-known for the latter – anyone who is anyone will be seen there at least once during the Oktoberfest.
Reserve Oktoberfest tables or just go?
Many tents offer online reservations, some only accept appointments on site. Interested parties can find the respective rules and table offers on the innkeepers’ websites. However, most tents always reserve a contingent of places for guests without a reservation, with the exception of the aforementioned beetle tent. Anyone who is not registered here must stay outside.
But spending a day in a tent without a reservation is also possible: especially if you look during the week and preferably in the morning, the chances are very good. If you then stroll across the Theresienwiese, the bouncers will sometimes even invite you to secure one of the many free tables. The situation then changes towards the afternoon – and the invitations quickly become a friendly rejection.
Another special feature: While in some places you can simply spend the whole day there, some tents work with multiple slots. Then it can happen that even though you have been given a table, you have to make room for new guests at a certain time. Visitors should therefore definitely find out in advance which system is used in the tent of their choice before they are sent away disappointed.
Numerous blogs, such as this one, offer more information on how to get the most out of your Oktoberfest experience with as little stress as possible.
You can find out what the individual tents look like and what you can expect inside in the gallery.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
