Photo TR: GeForce and Olympia Looping Weekend 2011!

Looks like you guys were really lucky with the weather.

Part 6 - Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes - Spinning Racer

Onto the third rollercoaster at this year's Düsseldorfer Rheinkirmes - another key player on the current German travelling rides scene, Spinning Racer.

Owned by Bruch since 2001, Spinning Racer is a Maurer Söhne Spinning Coaster 2000.

There were apparently 2 other Maurer Söhne SC2000s travelling around the German fairs between 2000 and 2002, Extrem and Cyber Space, although Spinning Racer has the most complex layout of the three.

Photos, as ever, are from both Hans and me. Check back soon as there are still many more photos to bring you from Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes, including another coaster!

If you asked me to describe Spinning Racer, I think I'd have to say that it's a mixture of thrill and great fun.

Hans pointed out that whilst it spins, it does not race...

...even though I maintain that it both spins and races.

These people have just spun and raced!

It's a fun ride - and very family friendly...

...and you can recognise elements from the other Maurer Söhne SC2000s!

Welcome back riders, how was your ride? "It was a mixture of thrill and great fun - thanks for asking!"

This guy has a slightly troubled look...

Some technical aspects for you.

The Spinning Racer team keep the ride running at very high capacity...

...Be sure to do what they tell you!

We'll finish with some action photos... The first drop

Looks like these people are experiencing a mixture of thrill and great fun!

Same here - thrill? Check! Great fun? Check! Ja. Ja, ja.

This one's my favourite! I think the ratio of thrill to great fun might be slightly skewed here... Check back soon for more!

IMO the Spinning Racer has a quite realxing ride....

Love the pics of Olympia Looping! Was fortunate enough to go to Oktoberfest a few years ago and this makes me want to go back... or to any German fair, really.

Seem to recall some idea that Olympia Looping was being sold / shut down?

It was like coming home, having grown up on West Ed's Mindbender as the only significant rollercoaster near home.

Would love to try out Alpina Bahn too!

^ Yes there was a rumour about it being Olympia Looping's final year on the fair circuit last year, but I think that all boiled down to a mis-understanding, possibly about Olympia Looping appearing at some new sites this year...? Does anyone remember the exact details? Perhaps any of TPR's German readers?

Sorry for the delay in posting the rest of our Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes pictures - there are still a lot to crop and resize, but they'll be coming soon, I promise!

Keine Ahnung - Ich bin ein Brot!

Part 7 - Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes - Everything Else!

OK - time for a final update from the Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes with all of the other rides! Bear in mind that this is Germany's 3rd largest fair, so there is a lot to see! Photos are (mostly) by Hans and (also) me.

So, here we go - the first attraction we saw was Looping The Loop, whereby (mostly) children try to swing their cage so high that it rotates a full 360 degrees. The guys on the far right came really close, but didn't make it.

There's a transportable pirate ship - plus you get an idea of how busy the fair is!

First we must stop for some cash - as Anth said, it's ALL about the Geldautomat! Hi Anth! Told you there'd be another picture especially for you!

Oops - sorry to all of TPR's Dutch readers; I've corrected it now.

It's an official Star Flyer! The guys running this were most likely good friends with (or former colleagues of) the operator of the Lighthouse Tower at Holiday Park. Do exactly what they say, and you won't get shouted at!

An additional level of thrill was introduced by the high winds! It was also great fun! A mixture of thrill and great fun.

We're now just outside one of the many beer tents.

Everyone's crowding in because there's a passing rain shower. Later on at night, I'm sure this place was heaving! Whilst we waited, we enjoyed a Dutch song.

Chair swings against a temporarily ominous cloudy background.

This looked pretty extreme - it revolved 360 degrees in both directions!

I can't put into words how amazed I am that these German fairs replicate every ride that you'd normally find in a theme park!

Here, for example is a Vintage Cars ride!

Another of the many beer tents.

Another rollercoaster credit! This is Göbel's Wilde Maus.

It was actually really good - I'd say a mixture of thrill and great fun! We even got some airtime in completely unexpected places!

And we also got eaten by a cat... despite making barking noises to try to scare it away.

This was running really well!

The Game in... 6D! Not 3, Not 4, Not 5, but 6 Dimensions!

Riesenrad. Wie Freddy sagt.

Time for TPR's favourite slide from Oktoberfest, Rutschbahn!

It's Europe's tallest helter-skelter slide...

...but it also boasts a unique conveyor belt system getting people up to the top...

...with often hilarious results for those watching!

Although the attendants are on hand to help if necessary! This guy gave a running commentary via his headset microphone, and they rang a bell every time it looked as if someone might be about to attempt the conveyor belt and fail...!

Continued...

It's the Power Tower 2 drop ride - I recognise this from London's Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park!

High Energy (and Olympia Looping hiding in the background!)

Konga - I believe this was its premiere!

There it goes to the other side! Ja. Ja, ja.

Alpenwelt (with Alpina Bahn hiding behind, but seamlessly continuing the Alpine theme!) - I believe this was a collection of food outlets, from one of which Hans got some Currywurst.

Golden Greats - these were some very high speed Bumper Cars!

This Formula 1 car kept lapping all of the other ride vehicles.

Now... Devils Rock! This looks to be one EVIL ride!!!

You can begin to get an idea of how BRUTAL this thing is...

...We just stood in amazement and watched these poor people get slammed back and forth...

...at high speed...

...whilst spinning around. It seemed to go on FOREVER too - the sort of ride you go on, instantly regret, but then can't get off for about 10 minutes!

This was also a lot of fun to watch...

...such a simple thing as a bit of wool roughly in the shape of a spider on the end of a fishing rod...

...was endlessly entertaining as it attacked the riders and also members of the public waiting to go in!

I love the level of detail - the German fair scene is just something else!

Uh oh! Here comes the 'spider' again! Interestingly, none of the ride vehicles seemed to be the same; some were cages, some were clam shells, some rode forwards, some rode sideways...

I laughed a lot when I saw this as a fan of Electronic Music. Bearing in mind that we are in Düsseldorf, home to Kraftwerk and their Kling Klang studios...

...I wondered if maybe Florian Schneider, former member of Kraftwerk, has now set up his own travelling florist?! This sign is surely based on Ralf and Florian's early neon name signs that they used to take on stage!

This gives you an idea of the crowds as we begin to head out of the fair.

Finally, here's Wildwasser, a TRAVELLING log flume!

And it's not just a basic log flume...

...it has multiple lifts and drops...

...not to mention amazing views over the fair...

...as well as a REVERSING TUNNEL SEGMENT??!

This is surely more elaborate than some PERMANENT log flumes! I just can't believe it...

...look at how huge this ride is!!!

Hans said that I should lie about this picture and say that this is the crane that they use to construct Olympia Looping. All I will say is, take a look at how close it is to the log flume... and you can draw your own conclusions! Ha ha

A final overview of the Düsseldorf Rheinkirmes taken from a bridge that crosses the Rhein (in case you wondered how these and the log flume shots were taken)

Hopefully these pictures have demonstrated that we had a mixture of thrill and great fun at the Rheinkirmes!

Goodbye Alpina Bahn, Olympia Looping, ... and Goodbye Düsseldorf! Aufwiedersehen! Tschüß! One final update to come from Köln / Cologne...

Part 8 - Köln / Cologne

No coasters involved on this day - just a bit of sightseeing on Monday before my trains back to London via Brussels, but I'm sure you'd like to see Köln / Cologne, a city in Germany famous for its Cathedral. With that in mind, here is my Köln / Cologne update! Also - watch out, as there may be a Liège BONUS update!

Wilkommen!

There is not a more appropriate photo to show you of Köln than the famous railway bridge across the Rhein and the Köln-thedral in the background!

"Keine Ahnung - Ich bin ein Pferd" "Und ich bin ein Mann - Weiß auch nicht!"

The Köln-thedral a little bit closer in.

Right the way along the pedestrian walkway of the bridge, people have attached padlocks, mostly to mark couples' love for each other...

...although some love bread-based characters...

...and coaster manufacturers!

Time to climb up one the Köln-thedral spires... it's higher up than it may look! These are the world's second tallest spires!

Looking out over the railway bridge and the Rhein.

This is Europe's largest Gothic church.

Ins Büro? Ins Büro. (Told you there were still more Tampert references to come!)

It's Köln's Hauptbahnhof! This is a good station!

This is a good train! Time to head towards Brussels, with a quick leap off and back on again at Liège!

This is the pigeon I promised you when I wrote the caption for the Silver Pigeon at Movie Park Germany. I have so far kept all promises made in this update.

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing.

Mark's Postcard Paradise received a VERY special surprise in the mailbox...WOW!!!!!!!

The offical MPP mailbox

In the words of Jack Skellington, "What's this?"

INTAMIN & SCHWARZKOPF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AWESOME postcards guys! They will find a VERY special home amongst my postcards.

I love these postcards. THANKS ROBIN, PETER, & HANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^ You are most welcome, Mark! And a fantastic postbox report!

BONUS Liège Update!

Now for the part of the update that you've all* been waiting for! It's the BONUS Liège update! Wow!!

But before we get to the pictures, here are some top Liège facts!**

FACT 1 : In Dutch, Liège is "Luik" and in German, Liège is "Lüttich"!

FACT 2 : Until 1949, Liège was written "Liége"!

FACT 3 : Liège has Belgium's third largest Population!

FACT 4 : Studio 100 band, K3 take all of their holidays in Liège!***

FACT 5 : Liège is, perhaps, best known for having hosted the Winter Olympic Games!****

FACT 6 : Liège is the official launch site of the European Space Agency's Ariane Space Rocket!*****

* None of you. This update confuses even me.

** 50% of these so-called facts are not factual at all

*** ^ Like this one

**** ^^ And this one

***** ^^^ And this one too

So, in the last update, I was just about to travel from Köln to Brussels. Here I am on my way via an ICE train!

We're about to make a stop... in Liège!!!

Approaching Liège!

This is now officially Liège!

Pulling into Liège station! (Liège-Guillemins)

This moving walkway takes you from the station into Liège!

I have arrived in Liège!

I'm now officially in Liège!

You can see Liège over there!

Er... right, time to get back on the train.

We're now pulling out of the station away from Liège.

Goodbye Liège.

I hope that you have enjoyed this BONUS Liège update. This is now the end of the report. Senk you for trewelling with Deutsche Bahn, Goodbye.

I really enjoyed the reports and wish I could have joined.

Love the non-factual facts about Liège/Luik/Luttich

Movie Park Germany looks quite interesting. I really should visit that place some day.

^ Brilliant!

Great TR! Glad to hear GeForce is running better than ever. I’m curious to check out Van Helsing - cool theming, and if nothing else, it’s gotta be a thousand times better than that crappy movie (though the building hardly looks tall enough to have a coaster inside). And the Rheinkirmes fair looks great! I love Olympia Looping and Alpina Bahn. Haven’t ridden Spinning Racer yet. The Wilde Maus looks different than the one at Hamburgerdom and the ones at Oktoberfest (I don’t recall being eaten by a cat). Ah, I really wanna go back to Germany now…

Glad you enjoyed the report, Benny and Ryan!

According to the book "Germany's Rollercoasters / Deutschlands Achterbahnen" by Ralph Latotzki (which is very good despite a few curious English translations, although you can also read along in German), there have been 10 different Wild Mouse travelling coasters over the years, 6 of which are still touring the German fairs. There are also 3 Spinning Wild Mouse coasters on the German fair circuit too. There are also 5 different Wild Mouse type rides on the Dutch and Austrian circuits!

The one with the cat is owned by Eberhard/Göbel and has been touring since 1994!

Nice pictures. I was in Germany this week too. We were on a Euro-Coaster-Road-Trip around Holland, France, Belgium and Germany, and we visited Phantasialand, Holidaypark, and Europapark, as well as the fair in Herne, to ride Olympia. Geforce is an absolute marvel, now my number 2 (close second after Khan) and Olympia will probably always be in my top 10. EP was excellent (1st visit there for me and my friends) and Bluefire is so fun I want to see Mack's future big projects...

According to the book "Germany's Rollercoasters / Deutschlands Achterbahnen" by Ralph Latotzki, there have been 10 different Wild Mouse travelling coasters over the years, 6 of which are still touring the German fairs.

SIX? I wouldn't have guessed! When I rode the two at Oktoberfest, I only counted one of them as a new credit, as I figured one of them HAD to be the one I rode at Hamburgerdom. (And maybe it was?) Because, I reasoned, there couldn't possibly be more than two traveling Wilde Maus coasters touring Germany, right? But I stand corrected. I guess six Wilde Mäuse would make sense... seeing as there are a LOT of fairs in Germany.

^ ^ Olivier, great that you went to Cranger Kirmes! I was trying to convince some work colleagues that were in Bochum that they should go, but they let me down! It would be great to see some pictures!

^ The German fair scene is just incredible, isn't it? So many great rides travelling around so many great fairs! That's why I was so sad that my work colleagues didn't go to Herne (only 30 minutes away from where they were!).