I went to Oktoberfest with three of my best friends, a mix of college and childhood, and then one of them came with me to Amsterdam afterwards. Oktoberfest was one of those bucket list items that we had set out to cross off and the drinking it requires seemed appropriate for a year out of college. Although the overall rating for this trip is average, I think a lot of that can be attributed to our own less than stellar decision making for the Oktoberfest part of the trip and not in the trip structure inherently. Regardless, I will definitely be returning to Amsterdam in the future.

Day 1: Inbound Flight + Evening in Berlin

• Take an inbound flight from JFK to BER and arrive by 3 PM, leaving stuff behind at the hotel

• Explore the streets of Berlin, checking out nearby landmarks and making your way to the East Side Gallery

  • see the Berlin Wall with the famous murals and walk along it/the water for a bit

  • see the Mercedes Benz stadium that hosts a lot of sporting events

• Eat dinner at Hans im gluck -- great spot with interesting vibes with all the bamboo decorations

• Uber to the TV Tower to see the Berlin skyline and views in the dark

  • Honestly, not worth it -- coming from NYC and seeing tall buildings regularly, the view is nothing special

• Head back to hotel and chill

Day 2: Explore Berlin + Train to Munich

• Grab breakfast around the corner and head to the Brandenburg Gate to start the day of exploration:

  • Reichstag Building

  • Memorial to the Jews

  • Museum Island -- 5 different museums, hop as desired, tickets are free on the first Sunday of each month

  • Flea Market near Museum Island

• Eat dinner at Kimchi Princess -- needs a reservation, but good KBBQ

• Take a train from Berlin to Munich after dinner

• Head to hotel to sleep early in preparation for a full day at Oktoberfest

Day 3: Oktoberfest

• Head to Bavaria Outfitters to pick up lederhosen outfits that were rented beforehand

  • Definitely rent in advance if you go this route to avoid showing up in regular clothes

• Walk to the Oktoberfest grounds and begin your day

  • Do the carnival rides and games first before drinking or eating to prevent throwing up

  • Go to one tent and start there by ordering your first liter and eating some chicken and pretzels

  • Tent hop the rest of the tents since each one has a different theme

  • End the day with a ride on the Ferris wheel at sunset to take all the views

• Head back to the hotel to shower and relax after a long day of drinking

Day 4: Explore Munich

• Head back to Bavaria Outfitters to return the lederhosen

• Return to the grounds of Oktoberfest to watch the closing ceremony and buy merch and souvenirs

• Explore the city of Munich throughout the afternoon:

  • Marienplatz/Neues Rathaus  -- definitely stick around to see the performance of the little characters on the tower

  • St. Peter's Church -- take the stairs to the top of the tower and get a rooftop view of the whole city

  • Munich Residenz -- formal royal palace

  • Eat lunch at Heimwerk

• Go to the original Haufbrahaus beer garden and drink/eat the rest of the night

Day 5: Travel to Amsterdam

• Sleep in a little and head to the mall near the airport to kill time before a flight to Amsterdam

• Take a Lufthansa flight at 1:30 and reach Amsterdam hotel by 5, leaving the bags behind

• Walk through the streets of Amsterdam towards the canal cruise location

  • Great tour with unlimited drinks and shows a lot of Amsterdam's history through the water

• Head to Kantjil de Tigjer for a great Indonesian restaurant dinner

• Walk through the Red Light District before heading back

Day 6: Amsterdam Day 2

• Explore Amsterdam's streets throughout the day, seeing all of the following:

  • Jordaan district -- has Anne Frank house and the drunken houses

  • Cheese Museum -- can do a quick stop by to see the inside since it is also a shop

  • Floating Flower Market -- very pretty and has lots of stalls to spend time at with trinkets​

• Amsterdam has a lot of fun food that is worth trying as well, most of which is media famous

  • Van Stapele Koekmakerij -- viral cookies

  • Van Wonderen Stroopwafels -- viral stroopwaffle

  • Fabel Friet Runstraat -- viral french fries

• Head to the Rijksmuseum to spend a couple hours -- nice museum with history and pretty exhibits

• Bike around VondelPark

• Visit the Heineken Museum -- lots of interactive activities and tons of beer included with it

  • The rooftop view from here of Amsterdam is also gorgeous

Day 7: ​Fly back to JFK