I do not drink alcohol, but I enjoy the culture around it. That culture ends rapidly when people drink too much and the Oktoberfest is unfortunately famous for exactly that. Keeping a balance is difficult, and the more alcohol, the harder it seems to be to not fall for the extreme. It is sad that this questionable reputation overshadows the nice parts of the event. I cannot blame anyone for it, since I am also on an extreme by not drinking at all. Rather than complaining, this year I wanted to get a bird's-eye view of the event. The tower of the Saint Paul church is right next to the Theresienwiese and offers exactly that. The viewing platform is open exclusively during the Oktoberfest and thus I did not want to miss the opportunity. The weather was nice and the queue inexistent on a Monday morning, but I underestimated by far the 97 meters height of the tower. At the top, the drunk and the noise were far, leaving me to a peaceful view of the largest beer festival on earth.

I did not manage to ride the flying swings this year

Symmetric view to the west

The stairs of the tower offer unusual views of the church interior

I regretted not bringing a camera with proper telephoto lenses

In 1960, a C-131D airplane coming from this direction hit the tower and crashed