We’re heading to Germany in a couple of hours. Here is a post about one way we got prepared for Oktoberfest while still on another trip.
On the way home from the Balkans we had an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt. We planned to head into the city to kill a little time since neither of us had every been to the city before.
Kim and I did some reading about Frankfurt and neither of us came up with much to do. We figured at worst we could just wander around the city center and grab something to eat before heading back to the airport for our flight home.
Soon after, we came up with a plan- the perfect way to make good use of our time rather than just wander around.
We’d be leaving for our trip to Germany just a couple of weeks after getting back from the Balkans. We knew when first booking the trip that we would want to make our time at Oktoberfest the best possible experience, so we really wanted to dress the part. Our plan was to use our time in Frankfurt to locate a place that sold tracht- traditonal German clothing.
Once we arrived in Frankfurt, we took the train to the main station and quickly found the tourist information office. I waited on a short line before it was my turn. I then asked where we could buy tracht. I got a laugh from the rep and was told to go to the store Galeria Kaufkof.
We walked over to the store, going the wrong way a couple of times. Once inside, we were pointed to the appropriate floors to find the clothes.
I found the section and wasn’t sure where to get started. I started looking around and luckily one of the associates came over and offered some assistance. Her English wasn’t the greatest but she was able to understand what I wanted and then showed me a printout of a couple of package deals.
I then had her get me the tract to try on. Getting into the outfit needed some guidance and she was happy to help.
At times it was hard to communicate with the lady since her English was so poor. Other people working in the department store spoke English better so when she got stuck she went over to get some help from her fellow associates. There were a few instances when I had 3 employees helping me out and answering my questions.
When I was done we headed to the women’s floor and Kim picked up a dirndl for herself. In contrast to the men’s department, where I was the only shopper, the dirndl section was pretty busy with girls of all ages picking out their Oktoberfest dresses. Last, we looked at the kid’s section but we decided to wait until we get to Munich to get Lucas his traditional German outfit.
We had a blast trying on traditional German clothes and cannot wait to wear our tracht in Munich at Oktoberfest!
The full set of tracht, bought as a a package was €199. If bought separately, it would’ve cost around €260. Kim’s dirndl without the shirt was €99. It was the cheapest pricepoint.
After being at Oktokberfest for 3 days already, I’d say it was well worth it.
Just curious how much the tracht and dirndl cost 🙂
Here are some ideas if you have time in FRA in the future:
Kleinmarkthalle has some awesome foods to try
The Roemer and Dom area is picturesque and has many places to eat
Walking along the banks of the Main river can be nice – and there are lots of museums
South of the Main is Sachsenhausen which can also be worth a stroll
Many of the streets near Hauptwache are good for shopping, and it is also an easy stroll over to the Alte Oper which is neat to look at
And I always love going to the Hauptbahnhof and looking at the huge halls and where all the trains are departing to – since we have nothing like that in USA
One that that is nice at FRA is that it is only about a 12 minute ride on the train into town, and it runs at least every 15 mins all day long, so it’s very easy to get into town, even on a short layover
Some great suggestions! Besides shopping, we did walk along the river and visit a few squares. Hauptbahnhof is impressive and the train to/ from the airport was fast at only 14 minutes each way!
Probably better to say it was hard to communicate because your German was so poor. After all, you are in Germany and the main language is German over there. 😉
Definitely a great point! My point was that she spoke a little English. On the other hand we speak no German. 🙂