So JWLZG and I were looking at going to this years Oktoberfest, but the prices are so exorbitant that we're not going to bother. I'm talking $400+ a night for a place on airbnb, $150+ a night for a bed in a 12 person hostel dorm, not necessarily even close to the Wiesn. We really should've booked something 6 months ago but we didn't even know either of us would be in Europe, so such is life.

We're keen on the idea of going to a similar German beer festival/fair though, I guess the idea of busty babes in dirndl's is too appealing. We've done some Google'ing and the biggest two seem to be Stuttgart Cannstatter Volksfest and the Bremen Freimarkt, both of which are convenient for us to fly to and would actually be majority German. Unfortunately there is no info on either of these on RVF even though they seem to be massive events. Does anybody know which would be funner and better gamewise, or know of any better Oktoberfest alternatives on in Autumn/Winter?

Needless to say there's beer in it for you.

Go to the Annafest in Forchheim or to Berch in Erlangen. It's called Erlanger Bergkirchweih. You can also go to the spring and autumn Volksfest in Nürnberg. Fürther Kerwa and many more. To mention also Sandkerwa in Bamberg, its also quite popular.
If you prefer wine go to Volkacher Weinfest. Not to mention that from May till September there is festival season. Oktoverfest is kind of the last festival in the season. This means every small village has at least for a weekend its own kind of beer festival. Sometimes they also lift up also trees. Mostly for 1. of May and on Kirchweih.
I'm from that area (Franconia in Bavaria) and personal think the Oktoberfest is just for tourist. 1 L beer at my local festival is 5,80 € compare to 10,90 € at the Oktoberfest. Not to mention the tourist crowd.

Also you will stick out more as a tourist what can you give a positive vibe. Those festival the only time where its super easy to meet girls. If you prefer more carnival then Cologne is number one but there its also a big events in south-western Germany. Also in Northern Germany its more common to have those Schützenfeste. I'm not from that area but they are kind of beer festivals too.
Dirndl also more a Bavarian tradition even when young people wear that now at almost every festival. Its ridiculous.

Novemberfest?

Quote: (06-21-2015 11:14 AM)Galahad Wrote:  

Dirndl also more a Bavarian tradition even when young people wear that now at almost every festival. Its ridiculous.

Sort of like how kilts have been appropriated by Lowland Scots.

Quote: (06-21-2015 10:46 AM)Deluge Wrote:  

So JWLZG and I were looking at going to this years Oktoberfest, but the prices are so exorbitant that we're not going to bother. I'm talking $400+ a night for a place on airbnb, $150+ a night for a bed in a 12 person hostel dorm, not necessarily even close to the Wiesn. We really should've booked something 6 months ago but we didn't even know either of us would be in Europe, so such is life.

We're keen on the idea of going to a similar German beer festival/fair though, I guess the idea of busty babes in dirndl's is too appealing. We've done some Google'ing and the biggest two seem to be Stuttgart Cannstatter Volksfest and the Bremen Freimarkt, both of which are convenient for us to fly to and would actually be majority German. Unfortunately there is no info on either of these on RVF even though they seem to be massive events. Does anybody know which would be funner and better gamewise, or know of any better Oktoberfest alternatives on in Autumn/Winter?

Needless to say there's beer in it for you.

Try the Allgäuer Festwoche. Its like Oktoberfest a beer festival but in a small City called Kempten(1,5h from Munich). There is one main tent but also some outdoor action. No tourists and a lot talent with big boobs and dirndl´s. The Allgäu region is in the Alps and very nice anyway. http://www.neuschwanstein.de/index.htm is not far away.

I been there many years and like it more then Octoberfest..

Vist http://www.festwoche.com and ask google for some pics

I go every year and just cough up the €1200 for a shitty hotel close by.
But this year I am staying in Augsburg. Its only a 20minute train ride to Munich central station. Plus there are some cool bars I like in Augsburg.

I am sure there are other cities close by where you can get a similar deal.
You probably travel more than 20 minutes to get into town back home anyway.

I've been in Bremen several times when the Freimarkt was happening. It is like a big carnival or fair. More of a family thing. Great fun, but that may not be what you are looking for. But, you are only an hour away from Hamburg.

Plus, Ryanair operates a lot of low cost flights out of the Bremen airport which makes it easy and cheap to get to Mallorca, London, Latvia, Stockholm, ...

Quote: (06-21-2015 11:14 AM)Galahad Wrote:  

Not to mention that from May till September there is festival season. Oktoverfest is kind of the last festival in the season. This means every small village has at least for a weekend its own kind of beer festival.

This is the issue, we are both travelling through the Summer. We are not free to go to a beer festival until September, when most of the smaller ones mentioned on this thread are over.

Quote: (06-21-2015 02:59 PM)spalex Wrote:  

I go every year and just cough up the €1200 for a shitty hotel close by.
But this year I am staying in Augsburg. Its only a 20minute train ride to Munich central station. Plus there are some cool bars I like in Augsburg.

I am sure there are other cities close by where you can get a similar deal.
You probably travel more than 20 minutes to get into town back home anyway.

20 minutes by public transport plus walking to and from the train stations would be a gigantic cockblock.

Quote: (06-21-2015 03:29 PM)hypoluxo Wrote:  

I've been in Bremen several times when the Freimarkt was happening. It is like a big carnival or fair. More of a family thing. Great fun, but that may not be what you are looking for.

This was my concern about the other beer festivals.

I’d figure out a way to do the actual Oktoberfest. I found a 6 bed hostel room pretty close to the tents for $99 just a week or so before, but you could just not get a hotel and party through the night...

It’s not in fall, but I’ve heard the spring fest in Munich is comparable.

I've been to Munich Oktoberfest, and I've been to scores of smaller town feste, from the 1970s up to a couple of years ago.

I prefer the smaller festivals. Oktoberfest is too crowded, too impersonal and more for just saying "I've been to Oktoberfest."

I agree with what Galahad said - much easier to meet girls and hang out with Germans in the smaller festivals. Even better now there are not scores of thirsty American GIs like I was.

There are a lot of weinfeste along the Main and Rhein valleys in spring and summer. Every town in the wine country is going to have a festival. The weather is better.

This is an excellent comprehensive website for these wine and beer festivals:

http://www.veranstaltungen-in-deutschland.de/

Right now it's not loading for me, but according to the cache, it's recently been updated, so probably just down for maintenance. But if you can manage a few German words or use Google translate to use it, you can find several town "volksfeste" and plan an itinerary to hit several town festivals depending on the time of year.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

http://www.michaelismesse.de/

Miltenberg has two breweries of its own - the Faust and Kalt-Loch, which dates from 1300 or something.

http://www.aschaffenburg-volksfest.de/

http://stadt-marktheidenfeld.de/page2/to...enzi-messe

http://www.bad-mergentheim.de/de/maerkte...im-id_300/

Here is a list of weinfeste in the Franken region:

http://www.frankenwein-aktuell.de/Veranstaltungen.html

From a player's point of view, the Oktoberfest offers neither good value nor a good gaming environment. I suggest checking it out if you're already in the area or have reasonable priced accommodation sorted out. It can be fun for sure, however I wouldn't recommend coming to Munich specifically to visit the Oktoberfest.

If you decide to go despite the bad ROI, here are some tips...

- if you want to join the party in one of the beer tents, better arrive early, especially on weekend nights. Usually tents get crowded early on and close the entrances. It can be a pain in the ass or almost impossible to get in afterwards.

- once in the tent it can be still hard to find a table with space left. Ideally join a table with attractive girls and a favorable ratio...

- the tents don't let you reenter once you leave, unless you have a reservation or it's not crowded yet

- don't go solo, but don't go with a big group either. Best is to head out with one male or female wing

- try to manage your beer intake, absolutely avoid getting shitfaced (total sobriety is not a solution either in this case...)

- approach like a machine (also and particularly outside the tents)

- most people will appear in full traditional attire. No need to get a complete outfit necessarily. Buy a Lederhosn, combine with normal clothes, look good and different

With that being said, there are some good suggestions for smaller "Volksfeste" in the thread. Those are actually very good opportunities for gaming in Germany, especially when you are a foreigner. Find a small local Event, stand out and enjoy the atmosphere. People will be curious and it's super easy to approach/strike up conversations, as opposed to the Oktoberfest, where your "foreigner value" is close to zero.

Quote: (06-21-2015 10:46 AM)Deluge Wrote:  

So JWLZG and I were looking at going to this years Oktoberfest, but the prices are so exorbitant that we're not going to bother. I'm talking $400+ a night for a place on airbnb, $150+ a night for a bed in a 12 person hostel dorm, not necessarily even close to the Wiesn. We really should've booked something 6 months ago but we didn't even know either of us would be in Europe, so such is life.

We're keen on the idea of going to a similar German beer festival/fair though, I guess the idea of busty babes in dirndl's is too appealing. We've done some Google'ing and the biggest two seem to be Stuttgart Cannstatter Volksfest and the Bremen Freimarkt, both of which are convenient for us to fly to and would actually be majority German. Unfortunately there is no info on either of these on RVF even though they seem to be massive events. Does anybody know which would be funner and better gamewise, or know of any better Oktoberfest alternatives on in Autumn/Winter?

Needless to say there's beer in it for you.

Would definitely recommend Stuttgart as a great alternative to the Oktoberfest.

I did the Munich Oktoberfest with my mates from 2003-2006 and then Stuttgart every year since. Unless you are a fan of an 8am queue outside the tent for a 10am start then suggest the Stuttgart Wasen is a far superior beast. It’s simply more accessible, less busy (but still rammed to be fair) and the ‘exotic’ foreigner factor still has some value. I’m Scottish so wearing a kilt is gold – the attention is unreal. They also have a banging Spring Festival in April for those who cannot wait a full 12 months for their next fix. I was there this year and while a bit smaller than the October version the Germans certainly know how to party hard – never saw any trouble. If they tried to put on a gig like this in somewhere like England (where I live) there would be a series of massive rammies kicking off all over the show. Not a sniff of that here. Great beer in the Hofbrau tent and the music suits the mixed age crowd.

As mentioned German Fests are not a great pick-up venue as social circle can be quite tight but after hours venues in Stuttgart can be decent.

Managing the lows post-Fest can be a challenge though…but totally worth it.

Wear a kilt - that will get enough attention from girls.
Go to a the mentioned alternatives instead of the Octoberfest unless you really wish to approach like a machine there. The other local events offer more opportunities than the overcrowded, over-marketed Munich one.