Oktoberfest 2008 (Sep/October 2008)

BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN

After our hugely successful Oktoberfest 2007, you've guessed it we are gonna go back for more and 'do' the Big O again next year in 2008!

Even if you don't like beer or big crowds, München's annual Oktoberfest is a truly unforgetable experience, there is plenty to see and do!

The Oktoberfest grounds not only has beer tents but around a 3rd of the grounds are occupied by funfairs and rides as well as food stalls selling pig rolls, chickens etc.

And contrary to a lot of what you may have heard, it is not just a 'tourists' festival'. It is a big event for Germans as well with everyone dressing up (Bier-Mania! included!) in their best Dirnd'ls and Lederhosen for the event. Children also go to the Oktoberfest, it is for everyone.

Have a look at the dates, if it's not for you then no probs, if you just want to stay for 3 days in Munich in a drunken haze then there are plenty of London based companies that do those style tours, we don't though (although we do drink a fair few 'wets'!).

The Dates
So, dates for 2008-

• Tour 1 Friday 19-Monday 22 September
  
• Tour 2 Tuesday 23-Friday 26 September
  
• Tour 3 Friday 26-Monday 29 September
  
• Tour 4 Tuesday 30 September-Friday 03 October
  
• Tour 5 Friday 03-Monday 06 October

Bookings are now being taken, first come first serve!
Prost!

Bier-Mania!

New Czech Republic Beer Tours

THE NEW BIER-MANIA! TOUR IN THE BOHEMIA REGION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IS NOW LIVE!

The »Bohemia Czech Special« is a 5-night/6-day tour taking in the beer culture, pivovars (breweries), pivnices (pubs) and other sites in the Bohemian region between Ceske Budejovice (Budweis), Prague and Plzen (Pilsen), this tour really is awesome!

Locations range from Eggenberg, Budweis, Regent, Platan, Lipan, Zvikov, Herold and many many more!
For some great info on great Czech breweries and beers check out the excellent site based in the Czech Republic www.czechbeerguide.com, awesome.
More details email Bier-Mania!.
For now though, some photos, enjoy.

Click on this link for photos from the Bohemia Czech Special.

The Sumava region of Bohemia. One of the remotest areas of Europe.



Ceske Budejovice main square. Gorgeous main square, countless little pivnices (pubs) are on the back streets as well!



Ceske Budejovice Pivovar brew house. Although Budweis is of course not the only brewery in Bohemia, it is one of the largest and best known. There is an excellent visitors centre at the brewery with the tours even taking in some beer from the lagering tanks! Awesome, if you're not driving.



Ceske Budejovice Pivovar lagering tanks.



Hope you are thirsty.

Dobre Den!

Oktoberfest 2007-Tour 5 (MB-071005)

Tour 5. The Danes.
The last Oktoberfest tour this year. I am sad.
Star date Friday 05 October 2007.
Just dropped off the last tour at a definitely horrible time in the morning at Nürnberg airport. Bye bye.
Oh dear, no clients. Ha, that's cause they're already in München-travelled from Denmark by overnight train, smart move with guaranteed sleep, or so they thought until someone decided to jump in front of a train somewhere near Cologne!

We don't load up (remember, everyone's in München) then it was back to the 'cannonball run' from Nürnberg to München, a 2-hour drive, this time the skies were blue and the birds were singing. And the beer-bus went a lot lot faster empty. Allianz Arena goes past in a blur.

Click this link for photos from the tour.

Today, Friday 05 October, 1200 hours (midday), Hofbräu Festzelt, Mass Kruges and Hend'l, yum yum. we are well early, gonna be a long day.



Day 2. München, great walk and a great lunchtime sesh at the Hofbräuhaus. Great day.



Day 3. Regensburg, Weltenburg Kloster, Burg Randeck, Schneider Privatbrauereigasthof. Great day.



Day 4. The last day of this year's Oktoberfest for Bier-Mania!. Drop-off Regensburg train station.

I need a break so I drive 320km across the Bayerische Wald in Germany and the Sumava in Czech, arrive in Ceske Budevice, drink some more beers, try my Czech out and hit the sack, very very hard!

Ein Prosit. Or of course Dobre Den if you're the other side of the border.

Oktoberfest 2007-Tour 4 (MB-071002)

Tour 4. Star date Tuesday 02 October.
Nürnberg airport. 3 down, 2 to go.

We load up then it was back to the 'cannonball run' from Nürnberg to München, a 2-hour drive, this time the skies were blue and the birds were singing. And we had loadsa time.

Click this link for photos from the tour.

Tuesday 02 October, 1400 hours (2pm), Hacker Festzelt, Mass Kruges and Hend'l, yum yum.



And horses need beer as well.



Day 2. Walkabout. Hofbräuhaus. Waltzing Matilda. Awesome!



On the way out.



Ein Prosit.

Oktoberfest 2007-Tour 3 (MB-070928)

After dropping off the last tour at Nürnberg airport, 5 minutes later the South Africans and New Zealanders arrive, yep, they mistook me for a 'kraut with lederhosen on'!

We load up then it was back to the 'cannonball run' from Nürnberg to München, a 2-hour drive in conditions resembling a waterfall on speed.
Anyway, we check in and then it's off to the Wies'n in some pretty yucky weather, the tent and a few beers later.....

Click this link for photos from the tour.

The Big Weekend, the busiest and the half way point for the fest! 3 million litres drank so far (just Bier-Mania!).

I wouldn't want to be a chicken within a 100km radius of here.

Day 1. Friday 28 September, 1400 hours (2pm), Schottenhamel Festzelt, Mass Kruges and Hend'l, yum yum. And of course 'Grant's girls'.

Day 2. München walkabout. A wet at Augustiner Bierhalle, another at the Englisher Garten. The lads hit the fest again, the rest of us look for 'Dirndl's' and drink some more beer at Schneider, along with copious amounts of food!



Ein Prosit.

Oktoberfest 2007-Tour 2 (MB-070925)

This tour again had a 'pre-tour' when we had the night in Forchheim before the tour getting over to the Kellerwald again and of course seeing me mate Andy's beer-garden/pub, the fabled Rappenkeller look around the cellars and a couple wets then it was off back to the Schweizergrom hotel for a few more beers before beddie time!

Welcome to Bavaria!

Day 1. So, Tuesday 25 September, the second Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest tour. Pick up the Aussies in Nürnberg airport then it was onto Regensburg, some lunch then Schneider Weisse brewery to see how Weizen beer is made the real way! Then it was Burg Randeck for some great views and our cosy brewery guest house, Josef Schneider.

Click this link for photos from the tour.

Day 2. Wednesday 26 September, 1400 hours (2pm), Hacker Festzelt, Mass Kruges and Hend'l, yum yum.



Day 3. Walkabout. Augustiner, some great beer, Hofbräuhaus, some great music. 'Afternoon-cap' at Schneider, some serious beer!



Ein Prosit.

Oktoberfest 2007-Tour 1 (MB-070921)

The Oktoberfest tours kicked off on Thursday 20 September when we drove down to Bayern, of course via Forchheim!

We actually had the night in Forchheim before the tour getting over to the Kellerwald and of course me mate Andy's beer-garden/pub, the fabled Rappenkeller look around the cellars and a couple wets then it was off down town to the Eichorn brewery pub then met up with Banz and his mate for a few more jars.
Welcome to Bavaria!

Day 1. So, Friday 21 September, the first Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest tour. Pick up in Nürnberg airport then it was onto Regensburg, some lunch then schneider Weisse brewery to see how Weizen beer is made the real way! The it was Burg Randeck for some great views and our cosy brewery guest house, Josef Schneider.

Click this link for photos from the tour.

Day 2. Saturday 22 September, 1200 hours (midday), the sounds of the canons fired to mark the start of the biggest Volksfest (people's festival) in the world.

We wait for our American friends, we worry, we meet, they set a world record, 50 metres in 1 hour. We hit Munich.
Hofbräuhaus was kicking, when I got in that is, no flipflops son!



Day3. 1100. Hofbräu Festzelt. We are all excited. It will be a very long day.



Cheers.

Bier-Mania! Update

Welcome back to Bier-Mania!.

Been away awhile but yep, I'm still alive, just!

Back last Thursday after nearly a month on the road, 5 x back-to-back Oktoberfest tours and a 4-day research trip to the Czech Republic later I am sort of slowly recovering! My thirst for beer however is still there although I do count 4 'beers' these days as 4 litres. Oh dear!

All Oktoberfest tours were 4-day/3 night tours starting in Nürnberg airport and spending 1 night in Josef Schneider's (and of course Ute, Joesef's missus) brewery guest house on the Altmühltal river near Kelheim, very nice place indeed and of course great food and beer! Most tours also included a brewery visit to Schneider Weisse brewery in Kelheim where everyone managed to bottle their own beer, those who missed kindergarten when they were younger showed their definite lack of skills! Regensburg was also visited with our lunch stops normally in Spital brewery beer garden or restaurant, great place, old hot dog stand and of course nice cathedral!

The other 2 nights of the tours were spent in München with 1 day at the Wies'n soaking up the Oktoberfest atmosphere (Oktoberfest grounds) and 1 day seeing the rest that München has to offer such as the beer gardens Augustiner (Arnulfstrasse) and the Englischer Garten over to the NE of the centre of town. Of course the historic Altstadt was also visited such as the Rathaus and square, the Glockenspiele as well as the Hofgarten and Odeonsplatz. Of course a München trip would not have been complete without the Hofbräuhaus in which we had lunch in and a sing-song a total of 4 times, great atmosphere and great band, in fact they even played Waltzing Matilda for us (see tour 4)! München's other great 'beer-places' were also visited-Schneider on Talstrasse (also great food) with it's New York/Kelheim Weizen beer and of course Augustiner Bierhalle, great beers and great places!

So, the nationalities on the tours. A complete mix of people, large and small, male and female and from all walks of life, Aussies, Canadians, Brits, Americans, New Zealanders, South Africans and Danish! To you all, you were all good people and cheers for making your way to Bayern for the tours, ein PROSIT!

Cheers for now,
Bier-Mania!