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I’m not sure about you, but attending Oktoberfest in Munich has been on my bucket list for a long time. I am not German, nor do I particularly love beer, but I do love getting dressed up and attending a massive party, so for my most recent birthday I planned a trip with my entire family to Munich to coincide with the last weekend of Oktoberfest. We traveled on Lufthansa where we were immediately put in a festive mood as the lounge was filled with seasonal treats. The seats and service were exceptionally comfortable and professional, and the food was actually well presented and tasty. Our flight left JFK at 5:30 pm and landed in Germany at 6:40 am so getting a good nights sleep was a challenge, but we did our best.

We touched down a little early and breezed through passport control but sometime between getting our bags off the carousel and getting to our car I realized I must have dropped my passport. One of my perpetual fears is that I lose my passport on a trip so I am constantly checking to make sure it is in my bag; imagine my panic when it actually was not where it was supposed to be, a first! My son calmly led me back into the airport to “retrace our steps”. We quickly encountered a lost and found and I skeptically asked whether anyone had turned in a passport (basing my skepticism on the odds that this would ever happen at JFK), and imagine my surprise when she said “yes! I just saw your passport, and we have brought it to the Airport Police”. We hurried over to collect it from a friendly police woman and were quickly on our way to the city; truly an auspicious start to the trip.

Since we were celebrating my 59th birthday I wanted to experience Oktoberfest in the most urbane way possible (not necessarily realistic) but I figured booking the Oktoberfest package at the Mandarin Oriental might be the best way to go. I had my travel agent book our accommodations almost a year ahead of time as we required four rooms, and the packages sell out quickly. Aside from receiving all sorts of welcome snacks the hotel handles all the details of booking a table at one of the “best” tents and even provides a special Mandarin bus with a dedicated minder (a life saver tbh), but more on that later.

One of the advantages of arriving in Munich so early was we could enjoy a full day of exploring. After a few shots of caffeine at the hotel (we dropped our bags as the rooms were not yet ready at 9am) we set off to explore. The location of the Mandarin can’t be beat, just steps away from the Aldstadt, Munich’s historic old town. The weather was glorious, a perfect backdrop to the gorgeous architecture. Not only was it the final weekend of Oktoberfest, but also a long holiday weekend so there were loads of tourists but everyone seemed genial and enthusiastic. We arrived in the square just as the Rathaus- Glockenspiel put on its endearing show (daily at 11 am and 5 pm) wowing the crowds as it has been doing for over 100 years.

Traveling with my family means making some concessions, and lunchtime brought about the first one. The consensus was that most everyone (not necessarily me) wanted Doner Kebabs, as someone had heard there was an outstanding spot in Munich, so that is where we headed following the Glockenspiel show. Along the way we encountered lots of interesting sites including an iconic memorial to Michael Jackson (who knew?) as well as a Steiff shop which brought back a flood of memories from my childhood.

I’m not sure which of my son’s discovered Döner Öz Urfa but judging by the line to get in the secret is out. We tried to sample a wide array of offerings and they were all satisfying and fresh (if you are garlic averse you may want to think twice). After quickly finishing our meals we gave our precious seats to the next diners and continued on our way.

Although we had just finished lunch we couldn’t help but point ourselves in the direction of the Viktualienmarkt which consists of more than 100 permanent food stalls and a large beer garden which has occupied the same spot in the old town for more than a century. We opted to eat with our eyes as we were still quite full from our Turkish lunch, though the enticing displays were certainly tempting.

Following our exploration of the market we popped back in to the Mandarin to see whether our rooms were ready, and as luck would have it, they were. We had booked four rooms, a Junior Suite for ourselves as well as 3 deluxe rooms for our (grown) children. Included below are photos of our room, reports from my kids were that their rooms were very nice though the floor was badly buckled in my eldest son’s room. He did report the issue to the desk after tripping over it numerous times but they stated there was noting they could do about it. Because it was Oktoberfest there were no empty rooms to request so he made do. Additionally our suite was on the fifth floor while their rooms were on the sixth and they all reported a strong smell of fish wafting through the hallway throughout the weekend. You don’t have to be a detective to figure out why as there is a Matsuhisa on the top floor of the hotel and the pesky odor lingers in the hallway. Just be warned if you are fish averse you may want to request a different floor.

Our room was comfortable and nicely appointed, though not terribly exciting. Included was an appealing array of Oktoberfest treats which came in handy for late night snacking, as well as a complimentary mini bar featuring some sort of amazing gummy candies that my crew loved, which the hotel continuously replaced during our stay.

Our plans for Oktoberfest included dinner on day two of our trip, but we wanted to experience it during the day as well, so after quickly examining our rooms we set off to the Theresienwiese (fairgrounds) to get the lay of the land and enjoy some (big) beers.

Seeing photos of Oktoberfest doesn’t prepare you for the enormity and scale of the festival. There is no fee to enter the fairgrounds, instead you pay as you eat, drink and experience the amusement park offerings. I would say that 90 percent of the attendees were dressed in traditional garb- lederhosen and dirndls as far as the eye could see. Surprisingly the crowd was very well mannered and orderly especially considering many had been drinking a good portion of the day.

There was so much to absorb, it was truly overwhelming (in a good way). Endless sights, sounds, smells and fantastic people watching. After a beer and some death defying rides (my kids, not me) we headed to dinner.

We were all exceedingly proud of ourselves for packing so much into our first day in Munich, literally going non-stop from the moment we landed. To assume we were hitting a bit of a wall would be correct, though we were so excited for our dinner at Landersdorfer & Innerhofer that we rallied and were grateful we did as the meal was outstanding. There is no set menu to speak of, rather you inform your server of any dietary restrictions/dislikes and they create a three of four course chef’s menu with whatever is freshest at the moment. In addition to the fantastic food and service there is an unbelievable wine list which served to enhance the meal. Although this is not a touristy spot our table of eight was warmly welcomed and accommodated; if you are heading to Munich I would recommend this restaurant enthusiastically! Truly a special meal. Needless to say after a magnum of great wine and a big meal we were all exhausted so we retired to the hotel and all passed out!

Jet lag be damned, we arranged to meet at breakfast at 8 am in anticipation of a full day touring with our guide Gabe. Rarely do you find such a knowledgable, informative, captivating, irreverent guide and when you do you file away his number. My son and I spent time with him in Vienna a few years ago so once we knew we were heading to Germany we made sure to book him far in advance. He is based in Berlin but can offer his services not only in Germany and Austria but Poland, Prague and even farther afield. We knew we were due for an action packed day so we hit the sprawling Mandarin buffet pretty hard (and downed a steady stream of caffeine to boost our energy).

Taking advantage of the glorious weather our first stop was Schloss Nymphenburg which dates back to the mid 17th century and is truly magnificent. It was the perfect day to explore the grounds of the Summer Palace and experience the light filled rooms as they were meant to be enjoyed. Gabe regaled us with fascinating details making history come alive.

A highlight for me was Amalienburg, a small hunting “cottage” on the estate which was just incredible, and empty of any other visitors.

You may or may not be surprised to learn that after our excursion to the Nymphenburg we were quite ravenous so we took a lunch break at a very authentically Bavarian spot called Zum Dürnbräu. Gabe had originally chosen an Italian restaurant for lunch but because of German Unity Day it was closed. As it turned out plan B was much more of a crowd pleaser. For more than 5 centuries Zum Dürbräu has been satisfying those in search of cold freshly tapped beer and hearty dishes. One of the best tastes of the meal (and frankly one of the best of the trip) was a hefty serving of Obazda a German cheese spread that has many variations of ingredients but generally contains Camembert, cream cheese, onions and paprika; sort of like elevated Cheez Whiz. The majority of our group slathered it on the fresh pretzels but I ate it straight up. We also enjoyed some additional stick to your rib dishes (goat cheese salad for me) all washed down with lots of beer.

After lunch it was time for a little religion. We visited St. Michael’s Church as well as the Bürgersaalkirche where we learned the fascinating history of Rupert Mayer who had the moral fortitude to stand up the the Nazi’s. He was subsequently sainted in the late 70’s and the small museum dedicated to his life is truly inspirational and fascinating. Just to clarify Rupert Mayer’s remains are in St Michaels while the museum dedicated to his life is in the Bürgersaalkirche.

There is also a powerful Jewish Memorial nearby which stands in the place of the Main Synagogue which was destroyed by the Nazi’s in 1938.

One note- we did not witness a single antisemitic poster, protester or bit of graffiti during our time in Munich which was very refreshing compared to what we have been seeing in other European cities.

After our day with Gabe we all headed back to the hotel to rest up for our big night at Oktoberfest. I was grateful we had the Mandarin attending to all the details because it made everything go so much more smoothly. The evening started with beers and photos in the entry way to the hotel, served up by Julian, the very young and enthusiastic Mandarin employee who would quickly become our 9th family member. He served us beers, loaded us into the cute little Oktoberfest bus and enlightened us as to the history of the event. He also made sure to take a bunch of Polaroids throughout the night which were presented to us the next morning. He had done a “dry run” during the day to make sure he knew the best way to navigate us to our tent so when we arrived at 8pm we were led expertly to the rear entrance of the Kufflers Weinzelt tent, reputed to be the most exclusive and “high-end” of all the tents.

When the hotel first confirmed our reservation at Kufflers we were a bit concerned as they only serve beer only until 9pm and then just wine and champagne. My husband thought this seemed a little sacrilegious, after all, how could we be drinking wine at Oktoberfest?? We were reassured by several people that we would be happy, and scoring a table at Kufflers was a big deal- they have the best music, the most enthusiastic crowd, and the most delectable food. Keep in mind there are dozens of tents and many options at Oktoberfest, I just didn’t want anything left to chance.

Once we found our way to the “secret” entrance thanks to Julian, we were granted entry- literally being pulled through a bit of a mob (think velvet rope at Studio 54 back in the day). The reason it is so hard to score a table at one of the premium tents is that they are secured year after year by the same people. Someone literally has to die for a table to come available (at least that is what we were told). We cleverly got around the “no beer served after 9” rule by ordering extras to keep under the table for when we needed refreshing. At a certain point we did switch over to champagne, but we were pretty much floating away with all the beer in our systems.

The servers do a tremendous job managing the throngs of people and general chaos, and they deserve very generous tips! The food was delicious (and incredibly plentiful) as promised and the music was indeed terrific with German drinking songs, pop music and American sing-a-long classics like Sweet Caroline on rotation. As you would expect the noise level keep increasing as the evening went on. The crowd was remarkably well behaved, but there was A LOT of security in case anyone decided to step out of line (we saw a few people who got a little too rowdy taken down by burly security agents).

With all that beer consumption the lines for the bathrooms were very very long, but moved quickly; the conversations I eavesdropped during the wait were especially entertaining, and got more so as the night progressed.

Julian was thrilled to share our table; at the outset he said he was just going to get us settled and leave, but ended up not only eating, drinking and singing with us with us like we had known him forever. It was truly memorable and lots of fun. Kufflers is the tent that is open the latest (1:30 am) but we made out exit at about 11:30 which we thought was a wise idea. We did not have out little bus to take us home but there were dozens of Ubers lined up to take advantage of intoxicated festival goers with insanely high rates.

Gabe offered to start our morning tour a bit later the next morning due to possible hangovers but we were all in pretty fine shape so at 9:45 we headed to the Munich Residence to marvel at the opulence of the interiors and the stunning jewels (my favorite). Gabe again proved to be a fountain of knowledge but sadly we had only booked a half day with him so following our tour of the palace we bid him farewell. If you are interested in getting in touch with him please send me a DM.

One thing you must see when you are in Munich is the Eisbach, or Ice Brook where there is a constant flow of not only water but surfers riding the sizable swells the river flow creates. Located amidst the spectacular English Garden it is worth a detour to watch these talented (and not so talented) surfers take turns at tackling the waves.

Its hard not to get carried away with the dirndls and lederhosen as they really are quite flattering so we stopped at Lodenfrey a small luxury department store in the heart of the city. I realized that in truth I might not have the occasion to wear a dirndl back home, but I did get a gorgeous traditional cardigan complete with embroidery. In preparation for our trip I outfitted the whole fam in clothing sourced from lederhosens.com; the dirndl’s were perfect for a one-time wear, and the lederhosen most likely will last longer, but the clothing from Lodenfrey were in a whole other league. Curiously lederhosens.com is actually based in Pakistan which I learned when the package arrived; for some reason that was surprising to me.

Our final dinner in Munich was at Brenner which is somewhat of a sprawling restaurant where their claim to fame is the large grill in the center which is the cooking vehicle for most of the dishes. While the restaurant came highly recommended from several sources I have to say in the end the best thing I can say about it was that it was in close proximity to the hotel. The food was fine , pretty close to average so I am not going to waste any more space here describing it.

Our trip to Munich had quickly come to a close and I felt we had gotten a terrific overview of this beautiful, sophisticated city. I am so glad to have checked Oktoberfest off my bucket list and would absolutely recommend it whether you are a beer lover or not. If you want an easy experience I would book at the Mandarin and let them attend to all the details.

Aside from attentive customer service the Mandarin staff is also quite skilled at loading a car! We were off to Salzburg and half of us chose to take a car service with all the luggage while some of the kids thought taking the train was a better idea. Stay tuned to see how that turned out in my next blog post.