Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SLEEPING IT OFF
Your chances of scoring a room in Munich once the mayor has driven the tap into the fam-
ous first keg are next to nil, and even a bed in the dingiest of dorms will come with an ab-
surd price tag. However, with Munich's excellent transport links to the rest of Bavaria, and
the proximity of the Hauptbahnhof to the Theresienwiese, commuting in from Augsburg,
Garmisch-Partenkirchen or Ingolstadt, or even Salzburg and Nuremberg, is feasible. This
secret got out long ago, and accommodation providers across Bavaria hitch up their rates
from mid-September, but not as much as in Munich. Book accommodation just as the pre-
vious Oktoberfest is finishing if possible. If you decide to stay out of town, make sure you
know when the last train back is, or you'll be spending a potentially chilly night at the
Hauptbahnhof!
Camping is a fun and relatively inexpensive way to get around the accommodation
shortage.
Wiesn Camp
(
www.munich-oktoberfest.com
)
sets up shop every year at the
Olympic Equestrian Centre in München-Riem, a 20-minute S-Bahn ride from the Haupt-
bahnhof. The site offers four-man tent hire for a between €59 and €69 a night. Another
place you won't need your own rustling nylon is
The Tent
(
www.the-tent.com
)
where you
can bed down in the communal FloorTent for as little as €14 a night!
OKTOBERFEST'S ASTOUNDING STATS
» The biggest ever beer tent was the Bräurosl of 1913 which held a whopping 12,000
drinkers.
» Munich's biggest bash of the year has been cancelled an amazing 24 times, mostly
due to cholera epidemics and war. There was no Oktoberfest during either world wars
and in 1923 and 1924 inflation put paid to the festivities.
» If you are your party's nominated driver, don't think you're getting off lightly when
it comes to the bill. A litre of water costs almost as much as a
Mass
of beer!
» Some 90,000L of wine are supped over the 16 days of Wiesn frolics.
» It takes around 10 weeks to erect the beer tents and five weeks to dismantle them.
» Around 12,000 waiters and waitresses are employed at Oktoberfest.
» Around 75% of the Munich Red Cross' annual workload occurs during Oktoberfest.
