re: Munich Oktoberfest advice

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3.) Oktoberfest is to Munich like Mardi Gras is to NO/Bourbon Street. The tents can be a tourist trap. You can enjoy the beer and oompah bands in the hofbrauhaus any day.

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Not really, Bourb on a random Saturday is not like Mardi Gras either. Furthermore, doing the actual event is worth something. That's like saying going to your local Italian restaurant is like going to Italy, or eating sushi is like going to Japan. There's something well worth going to the actual event.

Also, inside the tents is FAR from being a "tourist" event. Inside the tents at night is probably 90% locals. It may be higher than that. Just look at pictures, there are some tourists certainly but most tables inside the tents are reservation only (at least 75% of them) and to get a reservation you basically have to be local.

Similar to Mardi Gras but on a much grander scale, Oktoberfest is very very much a celebration of the people of Munich and Bavaria of being Bavarian. Go to the Hofbrauhaus and there are maybe a handful of people in their Dirndl and Lederhosen while at Oktoberfest at least 75% of the people are dressed traditionally. If you aren't, you definitely feel "out of place". There's a ton of locals that love going there. Additionally, while the fest is going on you can go to other parts of the city and have little idea that its going on outside of more locals wearing the traditional clothes than normal and seeing more people on mass transit.