We made it to Munich for Oktoberfest! On Friday morning, Kurt and I piled into a car with some of the nurses and doctors I work with and we made the supposed 4 hour drive (which took 6 hours due to construction). When we arrived in Munich, our hotel didn't have our reservation and they wouldn't accept our confirmation number. After 2 hours of trying to convince the manager we had rooms there and we had already paid for them, calling the US (having the manager tell us in his best english "this phone number is closed for the year"), having a bank in the US fax a copy of the transaction deposit to show that we had already paid them, etc etc... we were a little nervous. How difficult would it have been to try and find a hotel room in Munich in the middle of Oktoberfest for 6 people? Hmmm... camping in the gas station parking lot anyone? They upgraded us to a suite in attempt to apologize but only to have further complications arise from that. To make a long story short, call to confirm your reservations you make through an online site, before leaving. Thank goodness it all worked out!
Steps to a good Oktoberfest: Wake up at 5am, grab a brotchen (German bread) for breakfast at the train station, get on the subway into downtown Munich and follow all the liederhosen and drindels to the fairgrounds.
Find the tent you wish to spend the day in and note the mass of people at 7am in line! Find a back door entrance that no one else seemed to notice.
When the beer tents open at 9am and the mass of people shove you so hard against the crowd in front of you that it's a wonder anyone survives to make it into the tent, stagger your bruised and battered body inside and locate a table and sprawl across it, claiming your territory. Beer thirsty Oktoberfesters rush past you in search of an empty table. Talk about madness!
When your waitress comes to your table and asks "how many of you are there?" what she really means is "how many beers am I bringing to you?... not "what kind would you like?" or "do you want an espresso since it's 9am?" She'll fool you with her appearance too because even though she's in a drindle and probably has 5 grandkids at home, she'll come back carrying all 6 LITERS of beer... I felt very feable and weak at that moment... I notice Kurt shrank back a little too ;)
After a few hours, make the wise decision to get a gigantic pretzel to get something else into your stomach...
Around 2 pm, people around you are standing on benches, singing along to the German music and clinking glasses across tables and isles. You have Australians beside you, Italians across from you and Germans singing above you (my jacket made a good rain coat for the beer raining down on me). Decide with a couple of your friends, that it's time for a change of scenery. Bid the rest of your group (and husband) farewell as you go in search of the other sites and sounds of Munich.
German homes and buildings are beautiful when they deck the windows out in overflowing beds of geraniums like this... BEAUTIFUL!
After admiring the women in drindels walking past you all day, make the decision along with your friends that you should all buy one too. Don't have any logical rationale for doing so. Look in 5 different stores and return to the first one you saw (kind of like shopping for a wedding dress!) 
Go out to dinner for some authentic ITALIAN food, enjoying a nice espresso afterwards while listening to the musicians outside the restaurant. Meanwhile, the other half of your commrades (including your hubby) are still having a jolly good time enjoying the Oktoberfest beer. Hop on the subway and meet back up with them at the hotel where everyone is wore out and ready for a good night's rest :) And there you have it... a grand Oktoberfest!
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