Oktoberfest Opening Day

It's that time of year again, Oktoberfest! Today was opening day and a beautiful day it was too. Stefanie and Rachel were away at sports tournaments so Steve and I decided to go see the parade.

The parade was of course fun to see.  Lots and lots and lots of bier wagons with people dressed in traditional trachten - lederhosen and dirndls and of course several traditional german bands! The wagons are beautiful decorated with flowers and it is a huge production with people lining the streets to watch.

We had lunch at a favorite biergarten in the city and then walked over to the Oktoberfest grounds to see what the first day looks like. WOW. There were crazy, insane numbers of people. At 3pm all of the tents were completely cordoned off, no one else was getting in until the next entry time that evening.

Next to the grounds is St Paul's Church, a beautiful old church that creates a fun juxtaposition with the flying swing ride that sits in front of it during Oktoberfest. We had never been inside but I had heard if you climbed the tower there was a terrific view of Oktoberfest so we decided to make the climb.

Missy

Steve - the photographer at work

We were not disappointed. The view is amazing and definitely worth the climb. They only let 20 people up at a time so you have to wait to go up until there is space and we are glad we did. What a great way to see the "Wiesn". Next year we will have to try to climb up at night.