New YouTube Video! https://youtu.be/oPQso0kLUcQ
13 of 40 Birthday Experiences! September 2023 - Oktoberfest in Munich with Kassie’s Parents!
Oktoberfest tip: Three different large and pretty busy tents - Kassie would ask the first waitress without beer in her hand, and ask where we could sit if we didn’t have a reservation. Every single one got us a spot at a table right away and beers! One time even at a reserved table!
Day 1: We landed in Munich just after lunch. After overnight travel - we were all pretty tired! But pushed through to take the short walk from the Aloft hotel to Oktoberfest! We were there on a Friday and Saturday but didn’t have bad crowds at all. We made it to our first beer tent, Armbrustschützenzelt - the “crossbow hunter’s tent” for a Paulaner. We found the Oktoberfest Horses (so beautiful!) then on to a new tent, Augustiner Festzelt - the oldest Munich brewery and the only Oktoberfest tent to serve beer from traditional wood kegs. Known as the “friendliest” tent! And proven - since we made friends with the germans at our table. By that point we were pretty exhausted and a bit tipsy so back to the hotel we went.
Day 2: We woke up and grabbed some breakfast before heading into Oktoberfest right as they opened. It was so nice out! We explored a bit then got on the Willenborg Ferris wheel for views of the full festival. Some more exploration before heading to a new beer tent, Hacker-Festzelt, known as Bavarian Heaven, opened in 1907 and the current design was created by Oscar winning set designer, Rolf Zehetbauer. A few beers each and food, along with singing and dancing. Then on to some sight seeing in Munich’s Old Town followed by dinner at Park Café in the Alter Botanical Garden. Finished the day with drinks at the Aloft bar courtyard.
Day 3: We had breakfast at the hotel before heading to the train station to head to Austria.
A few weeks later: We came back from Switzerland and finished some light exploration and dinner at Augustiner Stammhaus. Then uber to the Airport Hilton - which was a lovely hotel with a great bar and a short walk to the gate.
What started as 40 from august to august has expanded to the start of 2023 to August 2024. Due to other people planning things that we want to join… before August 2023. This is the celebration of “omg Kassie survived 40 years - we never thought it would happen.” Maybe the next 40, I’ll be more careful so it won’t be so surprising. 40 “experiences” have to be #1 unique, #2 require the day and night in the location to count, #3 that’s it.
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Originally from Iowa (Kassie) and Kansas (Rick), we met in Kansas in 2005 and immediately found that we had so much in common - including our desire to someday see the world. We now live in NYC and quickly started catching up on travel after our first (just us) international trip to Iceland in 2015. We decided to start making videos for us and our family/friends to track our travels. Kassie is in Marketing, an Author (see her poetry + author videos), and Puppet Creator. Rick is an Engineer and Script Writer (see our current and coming puppet movies!)
YouTube Site: https://www.youtube.com/@KassieAndRick-ExploreManyPaths
Kassie's Author Site: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/
Joint Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore_many_paths
Kassie's Magazine: https://www.opendoorpoetrymagazine.com/
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Important Links and additional information:
Aloft: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mucal-aloft-munich/overview/
Oktoberfest: https://www.oktoberfest.de/en
Armbrustschützenzelt: https://www.armbrustschuetzenzelt.de/en/
Augustiner Festzelt: https://www.festhalle-augustiner.com/
Hacker-Festzelt: https://eng.hacker-festzelt.de/
Alter Botanical Garden: https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/urban-districts/alter-botanischer-garten