Schwarm: flashmobbing in Munich

Back home in Munich, and the fun continues. Last night we participated in Moment of Starlings, a flash mob event that momentarily bewildered many a passerby downtown. We received information on the meeting point by SMS about an hour before the event was to start. After crowding into a bookstore to listen to an introduction … Read more

Oktoberfest 2009 day 16: Das Schützen Festzelt

Somehow we managed to survive another whole Oktoberfest, concluding with a day in the Schützen Festzelt. This is the largest tent at Oktoberfest, and they really know how to pack in the people. As we were ordering up our first round of beers the tent shook with a mighty loud boom. Everyone jumped a bit … Read more

Oktoberfest 2009 day 13: Weinzelt, good and bad

After a couple nice visits last year, I was really looking forward to our evening reservation at the Weinzelt this year. Overall it was a fabulously fun Oktoberfest night, but my esteem for this tent has dropped considerably. I’ll have to be on the lookout for a new favorite. The main reason I love the … Read more

In Munich tomorrow? Join the Carrotmob

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 17th, 2009) afternoon Munich will experience its first Carrotmob. If you understand German, watch the video below (if you don’t, check out Carrotmob’s English-language website): [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6rRnkr9Akw] The idea behind Carrotmob is to reward businesses which pledge to become more environmentally-friendly by delivering a bunch of consumers to their door. In this case, … Read more

Oktoberfest 2009 day 6: Bavarian Heaven

Thanks to its charming decorations and lively atmosphere, the Hacker tent (Himmel der Bayern) makes it onto lots of people’s list of favorite Oktoberfest tents. The walls are painted up into a fairytale-like Bavarian town, and the ceiling is a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Today (a Thursday) we decided to go for lunch, … Read more

Oktoberfest 2009 day 4: itty bitty tent

Last year I don’t think I even noticed the tiny tents interspersed amongst the big Oktoberfest tents, but there they are. Most of them have names which describe what kind of animal they most like to kill and cook up for your dining pleasure. We spent yesterday evening in the Heinz Wurst- und Hühnerbraterei, a … Read more

Oktoberfest 2009 day 1: Ochsenbraterei

Ozapft is! Munich’s mayor tapped the ceremonial first keg at noon yesterday with two brisk swings of the mallet. Bring on the drunken revelry. We spent the first evening in the Ochsenbraterei tent. We had a table reserved, which is the only reason we even considered going opening day. All the tents were full, and … Read more