It slowly started coming back to me… like the details of a long-forgotten Monty Python sketch. The oompah bands, the men in lederhosen, the girls in dirndl skirts and the kind of blouses guaranteed to stop traffic.
The giant fairground, the heaving crowds, the noisy singing of drinking songs and pop anthems.
Oh, and the endless arrival of stein after stein of foaming lager, served up 12 at a time in oversized glasses, each containing a litre of beer, carried by strong young men and cheery barmaids whose ability to carry the drinks belied their frames.
I had just survived the last night of the world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich and the full picture was still emerging from a hazy mist of bleary-eyed recollection and a slowly clearing head.
Oh what a night, as the Four Seasons song goes. Oktoberfest has been celebrated for more than 100 years and what started as a wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and his bride Theresa has become the biggest annual party in the world.
It is definitely a bucket-list event and one I am glad to have finally got under my belt.
Staying at the luxurious Maritim Hotel in the centre of Munich, I was a comfortable 10-minute walk away from the festival site. At least it was at the start of the night. I’ve no idea how long it took to walk back – but I was certainly in good company with the many thousands of revellers who turn up during the 16-day festival.
During that time more than 6.5million litres of beer – all brewed in Munich – are sold. That’s around 11.5million pints.
Of the 14 large tents and 20 smaller venues, the Hofbrau-Festhalle is the largest, holding around 10,000 guests per session. You can choose a daytime session or an evening one, starting at 6pm, but it’s essential to get a table.
We spent the night in the Schottenhamel tent which holds around 5,000 people, many decked out in traditional costume, sinking stein after stein of Spaten beer.
And we all got well and truly Shotten-hammered!
Schottenhamel is the oldest and many say the most important of the tents – they are more like giant hangars, erected for Oktoberfest and then dismantled again – as it is always where the event begins.
At exactly 12noon on the first day of Oktoberfest, the mayor of Munich receives a 12-gun salute as he opens the first barrel with the words “O’zapft is” meaning “It’s tapped”. Only then can the other tents begin to serve.
Each tent serves its own beer – Paulaner, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Augustiner, Spaten and several others – and there’s no point asking for a half!
You can find wine in one of the smaller tents, but we’re only here for the beer. The carnival atmosphere fills the city and the build-up of excitement is like getting yourself ready for a major football match.
Except that at Oktoberfest you will rarely see any trouble, despite the huge amounts of alcohol being consumed every day.
The Red Cross even has special “hangover tents” on hand for those who really overdo it.
Even during the afternoon session you will see people – women as well as men – being carried back into the city by their pals.
Traditional food is everywhere, from Hendle (roast chicken), to Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle), Weisswurst (white sausage) and, of course, sauerkraut!
You won’t go hungry, that’s for sure, and a giant pretzel is never far from your reach. The steins of lager cost 10 euros a time, but you’re getting nearly two pints’ worth of a premium-strength beer for that.
And it is all brewed to the strict German purity laws so, to be honest, the hangover needn’t be that bad.
We flew with Lufthansa to Munich’s modern and very efficient airport, which is around 40 minutes by train from the heart of the city centre, with bus and taxi options, too.
But if you want to travel farther afield, it is well worth hiring a car to explore the beautiful Bavarian Forest region.
A couple of hours from Munich is the Arberland region, with Bodenmais, known as the pearl of the Bavarian Forest, at its heart. It is the easternmost holiday resort area of Germany and borders the Czech Republic.
It is an area of outstanding wild woodland with hundreds of miles of hiking and mountain biking paths, clear mountain rivers, and a family-friendly skiing area in the winter around the Grosse Arber mountain.
An overnight stay at the Hotel Tagungshaus in Regen gave us time to sample the delicious food at the Bohmhof 1 in Bodenmais, where I enjoyed a deer stew, and visit a wood-carving workshop where Sebastian Von Zulow and his family have been making hand-crafted artefacts for generations.
The area is also famous for its crystal glass. At the Joska Kristallwelt in Zwiesel you can try your hand at glass-blowing, as well as pick up some exquisite souvenirs.
One of the hidden gems of Bavaria is the magnificent Hartl Golfing Resort at Bad Griesbach. It is the largest golf and thermal health spa resort in Europe. And it is well worth British golfers checking it out.
For a start, the 2015 European Open is going to be played there on the Franz Beckenbauer course next month, one of three designed by former Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer.
With the Mercedes-Benz Course, Brunnwies, Uttlau and Lederbach courses, the resort has five championship-standard challenges plus golf tuition in the giant Golfodrom.
There are two four-star hotels, the Ludwig and Furstenhoff, and the five-star Maximilian.
I played the stunning Brunnwies course, with one of the finest views in golf off the 10th tee, but with so much choice in one resort, it could easily be the perfect golf break destination.
Back in Munich we did a walking tour of the city, taking in the famous sights, including the square where a rabble-rouser called Adolf Hitler was arrested and jailed.
Lunch was at the famous Ratskeller restaurant which opened its doors in 1874 and is now a favourite of Munich’s movers and shakers.
But that was all a prequel to the big event of the trip – a night at the Oktoberfest. Now, I’ll drink to that!
Get there
The 2015 Oktoberfest opens on Sept 19 and runs to Oct 4. oktoberfest.de
Lufthansa flies to Munich from Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham from £99 return. lufthansa.com
Rooms at the Maratim Hotel in Munich start at £74.50pn r/o inc free wi-fi and use of the wellness centre. maritim.de
Rooms at the Hotel Furstenhof in Bad Griesbach start at £71pn BB. hartl.de
Rooms at the Hotel Tagungshaus Bayerischer Wald in Regen start at £25.70pppn BB. tagungshaus-bayerischer-wald.de
Tourist info: muenchen.de and bavaria.by
Time zone: UK +1hr
Currency: Euro £1 = 1.40
Best time to go: Wish brew were here in late September?
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