Gen's personal Blog

My favorites at the Oktoberfest

2005-09-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

I could have sworn I already had this info somewhere where I'd never lose it. My favorite attractions at Oktoberfest are the traditional rides, the old ones.

Every Tuesday is Family Day and the rides are cheaper.

In German: Oktoberfest's traditional rides and attractions

the Teufelsrad -- like sitting on a record player that spins, last one sitting wins. If you don't speak Bayrisch to understand the fellow making fun of everyone, well, you're reduced to laughing at the slapstick.,

the Carousel,

the Flea Circus,

"Auf geht's beim Schichtl": a show with a genuine beheading,

the Krinoline romantic carousel with a live oompah band, and

the Toboggan which is more fun to watch drunken people on than it is to ride yourself. It's just a tornado slide, but you go up on a conveyor belt without a handrail

Rund um den Tegernsee is also a lovely ride and very old, and the ferris wheel gives you a great view. It's also good to climb up inside the Bavaria Statue and look out at the scene.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest

Photos of the Teufelsrad -- fotos!

The Russenrad with the old organ -- here's the old organ, also very nice.

Good letter in support of non-smoking zones

2005-02-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

by Robert Rockenbauer, Bundesleiter der Österreichischen Schutzgemeinschaft für Nichtraucher. That whole website makes great reading too, lots of links and studies collected. He quotes numbers for New York City that revenues in restaurants went up, not down, after the smoking ban was instituted. Hooray!

http://www.belair-muenchen.de/

2005-02-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

Brand-new website. I'm helping the organization, which I fully believe in. They're going to give out awards to restaurants that offer a non-smoking zone. Hooray!

I'm not one of the organizers, and they have nothing to do with what I publish on my blog.