Ask the expat: Oktoberfest duds and tent tips

I’m searching for an outfit for Oktoberfest this coming September, and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Should I even dress up? I don’t want to offend anyone. If it is cool to wear an outfit, where do you recommend I get one? Is it stupid for me to get one of those cheap Halloween ones? All my friends are going to dress up; I wanted to at least attempt to get an outfit, but legit lederhosen cost more than I want to spend. Any help would be appreciated. Also, can you recommend any tents or easier ways to get into tents?

-Brian C.

Oktoberfest without dressing up is like a Halloween party without a costume: it’s still a lot of fun, but the right outfit can make it even better. I’d say at least half of Oktoberfest attendees show up in tracht (dirdls or lederhosen) these days, locals and foreigners alike. I’d definitely encourage you to dress up if you can find a way to do it without cutting into your beer budget (and Oktoberfest beer ain’t cheap). So what are your options?

1. Spring for real lederhosen, which will probably run you over €100 (more with shirt and socks). That’s definitely a lot to spend if you’re only planning to attend Oktoberfest once, but on the other hand, you’ll have a kick-ass Halloween costume for the rest of your life. You could try your luck on ebay, or pick some up in Munich. There are tracht shops all over the city center (including about a million branches of Wies’n Tracht und Mehr, which at the very least keeps me entertained with its ad campaigns).
2. Go for fake lederhosen, such as those made of plastic or the Bruno variety. I really, really don’t recommend this route. Look at the guys in the second photo down on this post. You don’t want to look like that.
3. Skip the lederhosen all together and go for a different look. Get a hat or an authentic checked tracht shirt for around €20 and wear it with jeans. Or a lederhosen t-shirt – cheesy, yes, but still much, much better than actual fake lederhosen.
4. Wear a kilt. They have nothing to do with Oktoberfest, but our Scottish friends think it’s a great idea.

Women have it easier: an Oktoberfest-ready dirndl (such as these) can be picked up on ebay for $50 or less (but please stay away from the mini-dress catastrophes on Amazon), and they look just fine. There are also some good deals to be found these days in the many tracht stores along Tal, in the center of Munich.

As for which tents I recommend, it depends on what you’re looking for. All the big tents have more in common than they do differences – big beers, long benches, cheesy music, buxom waitresses – but they all have slightly different personalities. I suggest showing up early on a weekday (when you can still wander into all of the tents) and checking out several of them.  The Hacker tent, Ochsenbraterei, and Schützen Festzelt are all solid choices. The Hofbräu tent has a frat party vibe, and seems to have the highest foreigners-to-Germans ratio. The Weinzelt has wine and fancy food; the Käfer tent has really fancy food and low ceilings. The Hippodrom is where the celebrities hang out, perhaps because they are attracted to colorful streamers.

As far as getting into tents, my main advice is this: go early, and find yourself an unreserved table to park at for the day. On weekends you have to arrive when the tents open if you want a chance of getting a table for the day (although sometimes the tents open back up in the late evening). On weekdays you can usually walk in and out of tents freely until late afternoon, when they all fill up. Since this year is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, it will probably be more crowded than in years past. You also might want to check out my advice for first-time Oktoberfest visitors.

Hey readers: anyone have any great tips on where to get decent-looking lederhosen on the cheap? Please share!

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Ask the Expat is an occasional feature here at This non-American Life. If you have a question for me, go to this post to find out how to submit it.

Tags: ask the expat, dirndls, lederhosen, Munich, Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest clothing, Oktoberfest tents, tracht

Because tap water is making you fat

Found this while sorting through my photos from our recent trip to the US. Sometimes Germany feels like an absurd pit of consumer product marketing (Obama Fingers, anyone?), but the US always manages to take it a billion steps further.

It also reminds me how much I love being served tap water in US restaurants – icy, free tap water. It’s so much better for the environment than bottled, and usually healthier for you, too. Given that Germany tends to be ahead of the US on environmental matters, I’m disappointed that bottled water is still so prevalent here. Alas, in this case the US is moving to be more like Germany instead of the other way around. Perhaps the Germans are worried that tap water will make them fat?

Tags: Americana, environment, German culture, Germany, huh?, travel, US, water

Hooray for Dollywood

In order to preempt what would surely become FAQs, there are two things I will make clear at the outset of this post:

1. There really is a place called Dollywood.
2. I really did go there. Jealous yet?

You may share your boob jokes in the comments.

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There is a special little part of the Great Smoky Mountains where the peanuts are boiled, the t-shirts are air-brushed, and the museums are upside-down. There is so much to see and do in this little pocket of heaven, but the ultimate little piece of kitschy goodness had eluded me until now. Dollywood is a theme park dedicated to thrill rides, folksy crafts, music, and the glorification of God for putting Dolly Parton on this earth. Kettle corn, too.

We had the good fortune of visiting during the ‘Festival of Nations.’ Given the homogeneity of the park guests, it was nice to see a little diversity. Check out this charming young Italian lad:

In addition to the regular park performers such as the Kingdom Heirs (presumptuous much?), the Festival of Nations involves performances from groups from all around the world. We sat down for an acappela show. After a promising first number, one of the young African men on stage started talking about how his life was changed when Christian missionaries came to his little village and shared the love of Jesus with them. We left to go find something that would calm our twisting stomachs, such as a roller coaster. Luckily there were lots of those.

Many of the rides have ‘example cars’ outside the entrance, which larger guests are encouraged to try out for size.

The guided tour of Dolly Parton’s tour bus was led by her number one fan, a local lady who could not say enough wonderful things about the star. As we left the bus she called out that we should be sure to find lunch in one of the park’s many restaurants. “Everything’s been baptized in grease and is absolutely scrumptious!”

I do have one bone to pick with Dolly. The museum in the park – the one covering Dolly’s life journey from poor country girl to international singing superstar? It’s called Chasing Rainbows. Dammit, that’s what I was going to call my museum. She stole my name. Now where will I put my collection of amply-bosomed sequined dresses?

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What will the museum that showcases your life story be called?

Tags: Dolly Parton, Dollywood, Tennessee, travel, USA

Checking in on Munich’s art students

My there was a lot going on in Munich this weekend. Drag queens were racing through Marienplatz. Anime aficionados were living it up in the English Garden. I managed to sleep through the Kocherlball for the third year in a row.

Sunday’s cool weather lured me out to see the student art show at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. Munich’s art academy consists of two main buildings, one old and one new, and getting to wander around in them was half of the fun to me.

As expected for a student show, there was definitely a fair number of duds on display, but a lot of delightful pieces could be found amongst the various exhibition rooms. I was especially impressed with how many works really made me laugh (with them, not at them). Modern German art isn’t exactly known for displaying a sense of humor.

The lawn of the Old Building was spotted with boards for one to poke one’s head through and be photographed. (Do you know what I’m talking about? Why is there no actual word for these things?) Collectively titled “Extreme Situations of Human Existence,” these particular head-cutout-boardy-thingies allowed you to try on the role of combat soldier, 1000-pound man, or crucified Jesus, among other fun stuff. » Read the full post

Tags: akademie der bildenden künste, art, cheap things to do in Munich, german art, Germany, Munich, news

That foreign feeling: ten years in Europe

Warning: this post is going to gaze squarely at my navel. Like, even more than your average post on a personal blog. I apologize in advance.

As of this summer, I have spent ten years of my life in Europe – ten out of the last fifteen, with five international (plus a few domestic) moves in that time period. I’ve changed cities on average about every two years.

I feel like I should reflect on this milestone, about how I’ve chosen to live my adult life. But what is there to say? I like living in Europe. I’m OK with being a foreigner. I could try to say something deeper than that, but I’ve never been one for sentimentality. So I’ve spent most of my adult life as an outsider looking in. That’s not so odd, given I spent most of my childhood feeling foreign, too.

I’ve been a little bit foreign almost as long as I can remember. When I was a child our little nuclear family moved from New Jersey to the Deep South. My first indication that this was a bigger deal than our move from one street in the neighborhood to the other was on the airplane. It was an early-morning Delta flight, back when airlines still served food and Delta was still Southern. Breakfast consisted of biscuits smothered in white, gooey, gelatinous ickiness with little specks in it. I looked at my mother questioningly. » Read the full post

Tags: Europe, expat life, personal

A quick Italy fix in Udine

On our way back from Croatia we broke up the driving by spending a night in Udine, Italy.

We didn’t have much time there, but we managed to squeeze in two meals, two gelatos, and a lovely aperitivo while people-watching on a busy square (ie, all the essentials of a great Italy trip).

We had dinner at the charming and casual Al Vecchio Stallo, where we learned that Friuli offers up dishes just as yummy as those from Italy’s other regions » Read the full post

Tags: food, Friuli, Italy, italy trip, restaurants, travel, Udine, udine italy

And the crowd goes wild

This World Cup thingy is really catching on in Germany. Who would have guessed?

Munich’s many beer gardens are probably the best places in town for World Cup viewing. The crowd at Menterschwaige certainly seemed to enjoy watching Germany spank Argentina yesterday.

But the celebration was just getting started. Back in the center of Munich, police closed Leopoldstraße for a three-kilometer-long victory party which lasted all afternoon and into the night. And this was just the quarter-finals.

An attempted burning of an Argentinian flag was thwarted by the flame-retardant nature of its material.

The final score? » Read the full post

Tags: beer gardens, German culture, Germany, Munich, soccer, sports, World Cup