Friday 16th September
We get into Munich for 6pm and arrive 5 minutes before the heavens open. We stand outside Munich station waiting for it to subside whilst watching the antics of some drunks variously hassling people for money or fags or about to have a fight amongst themselves. We pop into the tourist office on the off chance they have some info on the Munich to Venice cycle route. The man says “yes of course “ and pops into the back office. He comes back with a super booklet containing all the info and detailed maps… in English! How fab!! Finally we think the torrential rain is subsiding and head out to our campsite. Unfortunately the rain hasn’t stopped and we get soaked.
At the campsite there’s queues to get in and even security on the gate. Everyone is issued with a wristband. We find a spot we hope will be relatively quiet and a good distance from the groups that have been bussed in. Each of these large groups have admin teams that have set up rows of tents and also cooking and party tents. Party organisation to the max!! Having put our tent up in the rain, it stops. We walk over to the festivities near the camp entrance in our wet clothes and squeaky crocs. The music is loud, the beers huge, the sausages smell yummy and everyone is having a great time. We order ‘currywurst und pommes mit mayo’, Daz’s favourite German food although he is disappointed there’s no sauerkraut! Crowd watching as we eat. We take in the experience. Tomorrow the festival will start for real in central Munich when the Mayor taps the first keg and the Oktoberfest opens, better not be late!!
Saturday 17th September
Today we go into Munich. The weather is still foul but as we leave the campsite we realise there’s a group with surfboards. They’re surfing a weir on the river – how cool!!!
We head into town and do a bit of sightseeing and a little shopping but generally we try and find shelter from the rain. One popular destination for us is McDonald’s. Not for the food but for guaranteed WiFi and often charging potential. We sit there for almost 3 hours!
At around 6pm we decide we should check out the Oktoberfest on our way home. There’s a huge funfair, food and souvenir stalls. There’s areas that are ticket only but finally we manage to get into Paulaner beer hall. Everyone is standing on their benches singing and drinking steins of beer. The atmosphere is fabulous. Most people are dressed up too! A great evening.
Sunday 18th September
More rain. We sleep and read and just laze about.