disappointment or success?
This is how the Oktoberfest virgins felt about their premiere at the Wiesn
Created: 09/30/2022, 19:10
By Phillip Plesch
Oktoberfest for the first time – also for waiter Andreas G., who works in the Bräurosl beer garden.
© Achim Schmidt
The Wiesn was a premiere after a two-year Corona break, and some of those involved even experienced their first Oktoberfest in general.
They report on their experiences.
Munich – final sprint at the 187th Oktoberfest!
It was freezing cold, raining almost all the time and less busy than usual - but it was something special.
After all, the Oktoberfest was canceled twice due to the pandemic.
For the protagonists, who celebrated their Oktoberfest premiere this year in different roles, this year's edition naturally meant even more.
We asked how they were doing.
Oktoberfest 2022: The Schützenlisl team is at the Oktoberfest for the first time
There's no better place at the Wiesn: "Schützenliesl, it crashed three times," sounds through the loudspeakers.
The Bavarian classic is sung loudly.
No wonder, after all, both the name and the singing-along program are part of the Schützenlisl Volkssängerzelt.
The innkeepers Lorenz and Christine Stiftl are at the Oide Wiesn for the first time this year with the big tent.
Before that they were at the Oktoberfest for many years with one of the smaller tents.
Lorenz Stiftl and his wife Christine are running a tent at the Oidn Wiesn for the first time - the Schützenliesl.
© Achim Schmidt
"Of course the weather determines your business, but overall we are very satisfied," says Lorenz Stiftl.
Kitchen, service, security, office, toilet company - everything runs like clockwork.
This gives Stiftl the opportunity to talk a lot with the guests, get feedback and be close to them.
"That's my favorite thing," he says.
Stiftl's premiere at the Oide Wiesn
The fact that things are going well in the Volkssänger tent is not least due to the music program.
For the first time presenter Traudi Siferlinger is responsible.
She is also on stage every day and encourages participation.
"People have fun and are totally involved, the music is right," she sums up.
Even the songbooks are gone.
As a souvenir, they took many visitors home with them.
The fact that her own voice has suffered a little from the strain is not a problem for Siferlinger.
A lot of tea helps a lot.
Instead, her motto is: "Trust me singa." She is happy when many people join in.
Of course, that does the rest for the good atmosphere in the tent.
"Everything is going the way I imagined it would," says Lorenz Stiftl.
Traudi Siferlinger is the musical director of the Volkssänger tent.
© Achim Schmidt
The food is also often praised.
This has persuaded the innkeeper to focus on organic products in the Hackerhaus and Wirtshaus Zum Stiftl in the future.
When it comes to Wiesn, Stiftl takes a few points with him from his premiere.
"I've already written down three pages with little things that I'll do differently." It's still unclear whether the tent will then be called Schützenlisl again: a legal dispute over the name is smoldering.
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Waiter Andi G. had imagined his Oktoberfest premiere differently
The waitresses in the beer gardens of the Wiesn tents didn't have it easy this year: the cold and rain kept the guests away all too often.
Andi G., who works in the Bräurosl beer garden, had therefore imagined his Wiesn premiere to be a little different.
He doesn't give up, because it was still fun, he says - and after all, you can't change the weather.
He and two others from his five-person team, whom he knows from school days, started at the Oktoberfest without any previous experience.
"But I think we're quite well suited for it," he says and laughs.
"We can carry the crowds, have a friendly manner and come from Bavaria."
Oktoberfest for the first time - also for waiter Andreas G., who works in the Bräurosl beer garden.
© Achim Schmidt
In his opinion, it is quite feasible to work at the Wiesn without any experience in gastronomy.
"The guests here are all in a good mood and also forgiving." The biggest challenge: to keep calm even under stress and to keep an overview.
"So that there is no confusion." Andi is studying math and sports to become a teacher in Regensburg, so for him the Wiesn falls exactly during the semester break.
"I'd love to work here again next year," he says, hoping for better weather.
How much do waitresses actually earn at the Wiesn?
Paramedic Lukas Jungkunz on duty at the Oktoberfest in Munich for the first time
"I love the Wiesn, I always want to be here somehow.
And if it's professional, all the better,” says Lukas Jungkunz (27).
This year he is working for the first time on a voluntary basis in the medical station at the Wiesn.
Those who are injured and need help come here every day.
It's practical that Lukas speaks Italian in addition to German and English: "That's used almost every day," he says and laughs.
As a medic, he must be able to remain calm and exude sovereignty.
Especially at the info point when dissolved patients are standing in front of him.
"You have to be able to suggest to people that everything will be fine, we'll take care of it." Whether it's an elderly lady looking for her husband, cuts or blister plasters for the waitresses - Lukas and his colleagues take care of it.
"And fortunately it was a very peaceful Wiesn this year."
Stand operator Philipp Vespermann is trying out the new stand for the first time at the Wiesn
Philipp Vespermann applied for a position for eight years.
This year it finally worked.
The 28-year-old celebrated his Oktoberfest premiere with his “Jungle” stand, where you can shoot with a bow and arrow.
"We're satisfied, but of course the weather isn't playing into our hands," sums up Vespermann.
Things were going better for him and his five employees at the folk festivals in Straubing and Rosenheim.
Incidentally, Vespermann comes from a real family of showmen.
His father runs the Alpenrausch running shop.
Nine years ago, the son became self-employed.
The premise: create something new!
He undoubtedly succeeded with the bow and arrow stand, because that is unique at the Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest for the first time - also for stand operator Philipp Vespermann, who runs jungle archery.
© Achim Schmidt
Friedrich Geiger von Spaten: Former guest, now part of the Wiesn
He used to be a guest at the Oktoberfest, now he's a part of it.
"It's nicer than I imagined," says Friedrich Geiger (37), managing director of technology and master brewer at Spaten.
He particularly liked the stand concert in front of the Bavaria on the middle Sunday.
"I was there with my two children and when the balloons went up and the Bavarian anthem was played, it was something special," he says.
Friedrich Geiger has always been a guest at the Oktoberfest in Munich.
© Oliver Bodmer
Overall, he experienced a good atmosphere at the Wiesn.
"The experienced employees made up for my lack of experience the first time and took me with them on the journey," says Geiger.
Of course, not everything went smoothly.
Bad weather, fewer visitors, less sales.
Nevertheless, he received a lot of positive feedback for the beer.
Now he hopes for a good degree.
After that there's a big meeting - and then we work on making the second year at the Wiesn even better.
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