Metafiltrl trefferl August 29, 2008 1:26 PM   Subscribe

Metafiltrl trefferl! Want to grab a Maß in München on saturday september 20th?

It will be the nec plus ultra of germanness. Weißwürste! Dirndl! Schuhplatteln! Cheesy pictures of Ludwig von Bayern!
posted by jouke to MetaFilter Gatherings at 1:26 PM (22 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

An old mefi post on the Oktoberfeste.
posted by jouke at 1:34 PM on August 29, 2008


Yes, I do.

But I can't. Have Mas Maß for Moi!
posted by eriko at 2:00 PM on August 29, 2008


GUTEN TAAAAG!

Sorry, I'm not really sure what's going on here, but all this German just got me thinking of that commercial.

Plus, that kid's face is priceless. I could watch a loop of it all day and not stop laughing.

Wie Sie wurden.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 2:18 PM on August 29, 2008


Ach, ich werde in Salzburg am 22ten September sein! Wie Schade.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:51 PM on August 29, 2008


Me and C would fly out to Munchen to join you but...we'll be in San Francisco then!
posted by vacapinta at 3:11 PM on August 29, 2008


Oh, you tease!
posted by jouke at 3:19 PM on August 29, 2008


I will be in Munich on the 19th (starting in Istanbul on the 2nd), staying just north of the tents. Would love to filter some fest with the finest.
posted by moonbird at 7:09 PM on August 29, 2008


Great moonbird.
Snownoid will be there too btw.
posted by jouke at 10:50 PM on August 29, 2008


Zefix, agradt da bin in ned z'Minga weil ma nach Italien nunter fahrn. Trinkts fei scho a Mass fia mi mit, gell! "Guten Tag"? Geh weider, "Servus" hoaßt des!!!

(Sorry, I'll be out of town... have fun!)
posted by The Toad at 4:13 AM on August 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Snownoid will be there too btw.

Ah, but Amsterdam isn't good enough for her, eh? Hmph.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:15 AM on August 30, 2008


Munich isn't that far from Bulgaria mb.
posted by jouke at 10:05 AM on August 30, 2008


Ach, Scheiße, zu früh! Ich werde natürlich anderswo... Trink aber ein Maß für mich, ja?
posted by ubersturm at 6:43 PM on August 31, 2008


Scheiße! Wie gewöhnlich werde ich außer dem Land bis Oktober sein :-(

Trink noch einmal Maß für mich auch, bitte.
posted by cmonkey at 9:10 PM on September 2, 2008


The meetup date is decided upon so I put the meetup on the meetup list.

The location is unsure yet.
Cmonkey suggested through email that we need to see through scalpers what reservations we still can get since everything was sold out even before the tents were constructed.
Moonbird was of the opinion, again through email, that we need to be with 6 people to be able to make a reservation. Together with his friends we are 5 at the moment.
Snownoid recalled that when she was young they just showed up and it was fine. Somehow(?).
Frankly I don't know what to be believe. I'm a bit worried that we won't be able to find a spot in a tent. But what do I know?
For me at least it's not an option to show up early in the morning since I'll be only arriving around 14:00 at the Haubtbahnhof.

So; what do we do about the tents? Make a reservation or not?
posted by jouke at 4:09 AM on September 3, 2008 [1 favorite]


From The Toad:

There's, as far as I know, absolutely NO chance of getting reserved places in tents or anywhere in the Oktoberfest at this point. You'd have to do that one year in advance and even then it's really expensive... One option might be if one of the Mefites works for a big company/institution which has a table (or a "box") and can smuggle you in (something like Siemens, Microsoft, whatever). This is somewhat unlikely, especially for the first saturday, which is always extremely crowded. But you should definitely ask around if anyone has connections for securing a "box", or knows people who know people, and so on. This would be the best solution for first-time Oktoberfest visitors.

Here's what you do when this doesn't work:

I would suggest that you meet at some kind of meeting point (in front of one of the tents or the Bavaria statue, e.g.). One problem to keep in mind here is that mobiles sometimes don't work on the Oktoberfest because there's just too many people there (overcrowded network). So don't rely on mobile phones too much.

Then you try to get into a tent, any tent. This will be hard, esp. if all of you are males. Saturday, if the wheather is nice, the tents often close already at 11 or 12 because they are full. The earlier you go the better. Be patient and nice and you might get lucky! Now, if you succeed in entering a tent, you still won't be able to get beer, because to get beer, you need a table. Probably all tables will already be reserved/or taken. Ask at ALL tables whether they have room for you, be nice, be charming. Send the nicest-looking or most gregarious of the lot. Preferably a girl (or a boy when asking at womens' tables). Most of the people will say no, go on trying like some kind of crazy pickup artist. After asking around for about half an hour, you will maybe successful in getting at least one or two places at a table. You will probably not get seats for everyone - this is normal. Now you can order beer. Do not leave once you have a table, you probably won't get anything better. Note that if Mefites arrive later, they might not be able to enter the tent anymore, even if they beg and plea - tough luck.
This is my tried and true personal Oktoberfest-method, which was developed over several years and has always served me well.

If you do not succeed in entering a tent, you can try the tables outside of the tents. Not so much atmosphere/music, but ok. You won't be able to stay there till 10:30pm (closing time), but if people come later they'll be able to join you, and you'll also get beer.

If you don't get a table outside, you can just walk around on the Oktoberfest, eat Fischsemmel, Ochsensemmel, Hotdogs, buy touristy stuff, and check out the rides. If the wheather is nice, this is fun. You'll also see the pretty dray-horses on saturday and lots of people in traditional dress. It's not a family event, though. Do not take little children or dogs as it will be extremely crowded. Strollers are forbidden on Weekends. Later in the evening, it might get a bit rough outside of the tents as you'll be surrounded by very drunk guys who didn't get into tents either. Watch out and stay together.

Have fun!

You can put this in the Meetup thread if you think it helps. Please ask if you have any further questions.

posted by jouke at 3:40 AM on September 5, 2008


I would've been down if you guys weren't going to Oktoberfest. :(
posted by Betty Tyranny at 4:09 AM on September 7, 2008


My colleagues are very jealous that I'll be downing Mäße this weekend. See you people soon!
posted by jouke at 10:21 AM on September 18, 2008


Und? Wie war es?
posted by chillmost at 5:11 AM on September 23, 2008


CUTE!
posted by Wilder at 12:25 PM on September 23, 2008


chillmost, I think wilder is hitting on you

I posted a small yt movie to give an impression of what it was like. We didn't have reservations for any Zelt but found a nice location at the Löwenbräu Bierkeller.

In view of the atmosphere you can see in the movie it's crucial that you drink enough and be in the right frame of mind for standing on top of the table waving your arms in the air and singing Marmor Stein und Eisen bricht and 99 Luftballons and generally forgoing conversation.

Snownoid fought that trend though and kept breaking out her iPhone.
posted by jouke at 3:08 PM on September 23, 2008


Looks like a great time. I am sorry I missed it.

I was hoping to see some of you in these pics (warning! Décolleté!), but I see you were busy drinking.
posted by chillmost at 4:37 AM on September 24, 2008


In the train on my way to Munich I was astounded that my German fellow Oktoberfest travelers seriously insisted that I should get my own Lederhosen in Munich before taking part.
Halfway during the evening my assimilation by the Bavarian farmer culture had progressed so far that I regretted not having done just that.

*raise your Stein*
Ein Prooo-sit,
ein Prooo-sit,
der Gemüt-lich-keit!

Ein Prooo-sit,
ein Prooo-ho-sit,
der Gemüt-lich-keit!

posted by jouke at 6:18 AM on September 24, 2008


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