MUNICH, GERMANY - SPRING FEST

Prost! I’m back again with our trip to Munich, Germany to celebrate Spring Fest (like Oktoberfest but in April…and a few beer tents smaller). This was actually one of the first trips that we booked, because we knew that this was something we wanted to do, and we were worried that the flights and hotels would have gotten pricier. It was a trip dedicated so Spring Fest, so we didn’t do a whole lot else during our time here, however, we still snuck in enough time to go see Dachau, a concentration camp right outside of Munich.

Narrative of our trip below & helpful links / bullet points to follow!

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Our flight left Madrid around 8:00 PM on the Thursday evening after spring break (talk about a quick turnaround...2 days in Madrid and we were back on the move). We got to the airport in plenty of time to grab a bite to eat (McDonald’s of course), then we boarded our flight and settled in for our 2.5-hour flight to Germany! We hadn’t made a decision on our mode of transportation for getting from the airport to our apartment that we rented (it was at least a 45-minute drive but there was also the option of the train that takes you from the airport to the center of the city). Since it was really late, we opted to call an Uber…I’m fairly certain that it was expensive as there were not many available (but there were a lot of taxis available outside of baggage claim). After our 40-minute drive, we arrived at our apartment—OneBavariaHomes. I booked this little spot through Booking.com because it was within walking distance from the Spring Fest grounds, but it was also a 30-minute walk (or 2 metro stops) away from the center of Munich. It had a contactless check-in system similar to AirBnb, so as soon as we figured out how the keys worked, we were inside and very excited about our set-up for the weekend! It was basically a one-room apartment, but it had a large bed, pull-out couch, kitchenette, and nice bathroom. It was everything we needed and more for our little weekend stay. At this point it was well past midnight, so Lilly, Daisy, and I got ready for bed and rested up for our weekend ahead. 
 
In the morning, we decided to explore the city center some and grab some breakfast while we waited for Laine to arrive (her flight was Friday morning). We settled on Café Beletage at Belstaff for our meal—a cute little restaurant surrounded by great shopping. If you go here, the entrance may seem very confusing. It is actually located above the Belstaff clothing store—just walk inside the shop and follow the stairs! We had amazing coffee, avocado toast, eggs, and a non-recommended yogurt bowl. Post brunch, we walked around Marienplatz (the old town) and saw the Glockenspiel, meat market, a few beautiful churches, and did some light shopping. Soon after, Laine was on her way to the apartment, so we started walking back to meet her and let her in. Once we were reunited, we went to the grocery store to get a few supplies for the weekend then were ready to get ready to go to Spring Fest. The online information about the grounds was a little bit unclear…we tried to research when the festivities began, however, we couldn’t find a real answer anywhere. Since we were so close to the grounds we decided to take a look to check out the area and ask some people what time we should come back. At least for me, this was not what I expected Spring Fest to look like. It was like the Germans took a fair from the States and teleported it—there were all kinds of rides, a ferris wheel, endless game booths, and of course, so much yummy food. After walking around for a little bit, we came to find out that since it was the opening day, things wouldn’t get started until 5:00 PM. So from the grounds we pivoted back to the Marienplatz to grab a drink at Hofbrauhaus. Although some may find it touristy, it was totally worth a visit. I got a radler (half beer half lemonade) and the table split some sausage and pretzels. The vibes were awesome and the live music got us really excited for what was in store for the night!

 
After Hofbrauhaus, we walked around a little bit more, did some shopping, and then made our way back to the apartment to try on our drindls! We had ordered these on Amazon and got them delivered in Spain; I’m very glad that we did because a traditional drindl in Munich can be upwards of 1,000 euros (no thank you). Once we were all dressed and ready, we started to make our way to the grounds. There is no entry fee for Spring Fest or any of the beer tents (score), however, the lines to get inside the beer tents seemed like they would take forever. Even though we got there around 6:30, it looked like there was no hope for us getting inside either of the two tents. We opted for the outdoor beer area, searched like a hawk for a table, and finally settled down with our beers. Moral of the story: if you go on opening day, be one of the first people in line for the beer tent. We had an awesome time at the outdoor area though; we met a very nice German chef and a guy who is from Madrid—small world! About two beer chalices later, it was close to 10:00, which is when everything at Spring Fest starts to close…I know, super early right? At this point we were all a bit cold, tired, but also full from our half-meter sausages—a perfect recipe for a collective walk back to our apartment. We said goodbye to our new friends and started walking back to the apartment when we saw that the line for the beer tent was basically nonexistent. We went inside and enjoyed the last couple of songs and people watched the very intoxicated individuals that were shutting the tent down. We finished our walk home and were all fast asleep around midnight (I’m not sure the last time we did that).

The next morning we followed a pretty similar process: woke up, got a small breakfast at a nearby café, ran to the grocery store, went to the ATM (they really only accept cash in Munich) and then went back to the apartment to get ready. We set out around 2:00 on the second day and got an early start on all of the festivities...but of course we had to have a drindl photo shoot first....

We got inside the beer tent easily, however, finding a table to seat 4 of us was a whole other story. We went up and down the rows of tables at the beer tent, asked countless people if we could join them, and repeatedly got rejected. We then exited the beer tent and met up with some of the TCU guys that were studying in Madrid and Florence at the outdoor area that we had gone to the day before. We all had a beer together and then us girls proceeded to try the second beer tent. I’m not quite sure how, but we finessed our way through the side door and one of the guards let us in so we didn’t have to wait at the long line at the front entrance. We found a table and enjoyed another beer with the awesome live music. After an hour or so, we were getting kicked out of the beer tent so that they could set up for the night and for reservations. We grabbed another meter-long hot dog, bought some tickets for a ride, and proceeded to take a turn on the swings and another really fun ride that was quite adrenaline inducing. After that, we of course had to end with chocolate covered strawberries and mac-and-cheese…I think collectively, we can agree that the food is one of the best parts about Spring Fest. Once we had full stomachs, we went back to the apartment around 8:00 PM….we were full and tired but it was too early to go to bed. We all kind of did what we wanted.; some of us walked around the city and grabbed drinks and some stayed in the room. We all ended up back home a little after midnight and fell fast asleep.

 
The next morning, Lilly and I decided that we would take the S-baun (suburban railway) to Dachau concentration camp since our flight wasn’t leaving until almost 8:00 PM on that Sunday. We packed our bags, grabbed breakfast at the same café that we went to the day before, then made our way to the main train station in Munich (Hauptbahnhof station). Since check-out for our apartment was at 11:00 AM, I researched to see if any train station had luggage lockers that we could rent while we were gone for the entire day. Thankfully Hauptbahnhof was the answer and we fit both of our bags in a single locker for a whopping 2 euros. Once that was done, we found the platform for Dachau, boarded the train, and were ready for our almost 40-minute train ride. Similar to Austria and a lot of EU countries outside of Spain, most tourists do not buy public transportation tickets as there is nothing that requires you to validate your ticket. We had made it through the entire weekend on the metro without a hiccup, however, that streak was quicky coming to a close. About 5-10 minutes into our ride, a man came up to us and asked to see our tickets…my heart quickly fell into my stomach. In a desperate act to get out of the fine, we pleaded for him to let us off at the next stop so that we could purchase tickets and get back on the train. He claimed that since it was a “delayed purchase” we were obligated to pay the fine. He was not budging. We coughed up a full 60 euros along with our pride. Feeling defeated was an understatement. 
 
Anyway, after that tragedy we finally made it to the Dachau station. We had read up on an article that explained the best way to get to the concentration camp from the train station (I’ll add this to the links below). Once you get outside of the station, wait for Bus 726 and ride it until Memorial Bus Stop. This will drop you off right outside of the entrance to Dachau…as soon as you enter the grounds there will be a stone building on your left. While entrance to the camp is completely free, you do have to pay for an audio guide (I think it was around 4-5 euros, but they only accept cash). Another option would be to try to make it for the daily guided tours in English at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The audio guide was incredible and was very easy to follow along and simple to compare with the map that they give you in the visitor’s center. It took me around 2 hours to complete the tour, but I could have easily spent 4 hours at the grounds. The museum itself is full of so much information and even has a movie that is around 40-minutes long (we didn’t have time to watch it). Going to Dachau was a surreal experience. Looking at the main, open area and thinking that less than 80 years ago, innocent humans filled this spot and stood malnourished, exhausted, and sick for hours each morning for their head count was truly dumbfounding. An estimated 41,500 people died at Dachau, which is an incomparable amount to how many were transported from this camp to extermination camps that were a few hours away by train. The camp left with a perspective of human nature that I have always thought of, but never was able to solidify into a feeling. I hope and pray that this kind of evil never comes about the world again.

After the tour, I met Lilly back at the visitors center and we returned our audio guides and ran to make it to the bus back to the train station. Be sure to check the time tables or look on the app City Mapper to see what time the bus leaves the camp (I’m not sure if this was because it was a Sunday, but the bus was only running 1 time per hour). We caught it right before it left, exited at the train station, then made sure to buy tickets for our ride back to the center of Munich. Laine and Daisy had a big project due that Monday, so they stayed in Munich to do some work, but told us about this amazing dumpling place they went to before they headed out to the airport. Lilly and I took their advice and feasted on some beef and chicken dumplings along with some delicious edamame and a large coke zero. It was delicious! We did a quick walk around Marienplatz one last time, then made our way to Hauptbahnhof to grab our bags and head to the airport. We bought tickets for our ride (around 12.50 euros) and settled on the train for our 45-minute ride out to the airport. Honestly, I think this is the way to go if you don’t have a large suitcase to lug around…it took us right to our terminal and we were soon through security and at a café table with Laine and Daisy. We got to the airport a bit early, so we all worked on our homework for at least one hour, and then boarded the plane for the flight home! After another long 2.5 hour flight, we landed back in Madrid and were more than ready to get back to our dorm and go to bed. 
 
Munich was an incredible trip and we were so glad that we got to experience Spring Fest! However, if you are dying to get a full beer-fest experience, I would suggest going to Oktoberfest…they have at least 6 beer tents and probably an infinite amount of food. All in all, it was a trip that I will never forget—and I can’t wait to break out my drindl for Halloween!
 
Thanks for reading guys! Happy traveling 
 
<3,

Mary Price

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Our Trip to Munich in a List:

• Food
• Cafe Beletage (cute cafe, center of city)
• Hofbrauhaus
• Lots of food at the Spring Fest grounds
• Dumpling place near Marienplatz (can't remember the name)
• Meat market!!! by Marienplatz
• Activities
• SPRING FEST!!
• Walked around / shopped near the Marienplatz
• Saw the Glockenspiel
• Dachau concentration camp

Tips & Helpful Links:

• Bring a light sweater to wear at Spring Fest (gets cold at night)
• Buy a drindl on Amazon before you go (make sure its close to your knees, short drindls are not popular)
• Munich and Spring Fest really only accepts euros in cash (go to an ATM or bring plenty with you)
• Machines at the train station require you to put in a pin for your credit cards (I had to set up a pin when I was buying a ticket...just be sure you know yours / do it far in advance)
• BUY TICKETS FOR THE S-BAHN TRAINS SO YOU DON'T GET A FINE LIKE US
• It's probably fine to ride the metro for free....we never had an issue with it
• If you're looking for where the luggage storage area is, follow the signs that are marked with a bag and a key
• DO NOT do this camping site for spring fest (Stoke Fest: https://www.stoketravel.com/trip/springfest/)
• The TCU boys did it & hated it
• Links:
• Where we stayed (great location for Spring Fest):
• https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/bavaria-boardinghouse.en-gb.html?aid=318615&label=New_English_EN_ES_21457893385-TTKU5WNpzZlV3nreO8zMBgS217291076842%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg&sid=ed3b91c88e63806419356c09c916177f&dest_id=-1829149;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1653322378;srpvid=1a9972048ece0144;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl
• Information on Dachau and its tour
• https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/en/our-tour-and-programs/guided-tours-individual-visitors/
• How to get from Munich to Dachau
• https://www.bigboytravel.com/germany/dachau/how-to-get-to-dachau-from-munich/

If We Had More Time in Munich We Would...

• Take a guided tour of the city (either by walking or bike)
• Only do Spring Fest for one day
• Probably just on Saturday since Friday opened late