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Today we went to Tripsdrill erlebnispark. After a mildly challenging parcours of u-bahn, s-bahn, regional bahn and 2 busses, we made it. The German transportation system is well coordinated and so when you get off one leg of the trip, the next is waiting for you shortly afterwards. The park is a love letter to swabian culture, celebrating the quirks and eccentricities. They are nestled in a valley surrounded with vineyards and winemakers which they showcase the history of. As you enter the park you are greeted by a maypole ride where cars are hung from the pole and move up and down as it spins. We began our day with 2 rollercoasters added just in time for the pandemic. Hals uber kopf or head over heels is a new generation Vekoma suspended coaster (gold track). It fortunately bears absolutely no resemblance to the classic SLC headbangers we all know and love to avoid. I have heard that new generation Vekomas are really good and this confirms it. It had really nice pacing and a snappy layout of helixes, heartline rolls, swooping curves and inversions. The transitions were smooth and effortless making it a very reridable family coaster…. Which we did all day. Interwoven with it is Volldampf, roughly full steam ahead, a family steam train themed shuttle coaster (red track). The steam engine front car even has smoke coming out of the stack while in the station. It is pulled backwards up the launch hill and then released to come back through the station and past a bunch of twists and turns and burst through the roof of hals uber kopf before returning backwards to the station. Nearby they had a new ride themed to a coal car which at first glance looks like a top spin, but it swings you around and up and down without dumping you upside down and leaving you hanging watching the change fall our of your pockets. On the other side of the park they had a nice log flume, i guess loosely themed to roman baths complete with bathtub shaped boats but with a swabian castle exterior. Maybe trying to explain its contradictions is unhelpful, but it was really fun nonetheless. Sharing much of the structure is G’sengte sau- crazy pig coaster, a Gerstlauer wild mouse (pig) ride that was really good. It had a few of the standard flat 180 degree turns but also many swooping banked drops. The track on its own was great but its interactions with terrain and castle made it awesome. Easily on of the best of its type i have ridden. I thought i would like it but loved it instead. Next to it was Mamut, a gerstlauer wooden coaster. We were looking forward to this and were disappointed by how rough it was when we rode mid train. We came back later to ride the middle seat of the last car and it was much better but still not great. Wanted to like it but can’t. Around the corner was Karacho a gerstlauer infinity coaster. It looks really cool with a lim launch, lots of loops, non inverting and regular and helixes and curves. I am a big fan of Fahrenheit and enjoyed Voltron the tesla coaster but didn't like this one. It started off poorly with a jojo roll a la hydra ar dorney, a slow corkscrew inversion that has you upside down, falling into your restraints. Then an awkward klunky drop into the launch. it seemed that every time there was a transition between elements or the top of the non inverting loop, it had a jarring bump. It was really irritating and it took away from my enjoyment of this ride. I had hoped to ride it many times but i just went the one time. It did make a nice mark on rhe horizon with the vineyards in the hills behind it. Nearby was a fun ride that was a cross between a huss swing around and a jumbo the elephant ride with motorcycles and side cars. When you turned the throttle it made a motor sound and the bike swung out and up. They also had a really nice tivoli coaster themed to a millipede that banked and dropped through the trees and flowers. It was fun. For me it was an interesting contrast between the midway rides with their spectacular lighting packages at the wassen and oktoberfest and the ones here. They were more subdued and relaxing as opposed to something striving to get your attention. Tripsdrill is a really nice park with traditional displays celebrating local culture and old familiar rides coupled with new expansions that broaden the park’s appeal. It is a very different experience but fun in it’s own way.

The suspended dark ride! I remember some one else posting a shot of it, during their tour of Europe. And that looks like a really interesting version of a Mouse Coaster. And the Rock & Roll Coaster looks great, too. And it looks like a less freak-out time, with smaller crowds, etc. Enjoy Tripsdrill!

Today we took the train to stuttgart en route to Tripsdrill tomorrow. When i was planning things out i discovered they were having their Canstäter Wasen festival, a smaller cousin to Oktoberfest and thought it would be neat to go. Without knowing what to expect we were impressed and had a great time. It is smaller and more manageable than Munich but had a nice vibe to it. The local breweries run smaller tents here with horses and wagons with beer barrels. One of the traditions is the fruit tower, though it seemed to have more vegetables than fruit. We found a suspended mouse coaster which was a nice ride. As well as the Mondial air wolf. Canadas Wonderland has a similar model called Soaring Timbers but Airwolf has a much more aggressive program to the point that you can see the tower shake side to side. They had some nice themed food stalls on the midway. And then we turned a corner and saw this: The rock and roller coaster, a Schwarzkopf Wildcat. i have not seen or rode one in a long time and wasn't sure i ever would. we rode it a couple of times and it was great. It was remarkably smooth and fluid for one of the earliest steel coasters, Ca.~1967. Ran like a charm. The drops and helixes were really good with nice transitions. Worth the visit just to see and ride it. If you are ever going to oktoberfest, try to check this out, and while you are at it head to Tripsdrill, where we are going tomorrow.