Tripsdrill

 

Saturday we followed the Dawsons through gorgeous German countryside to Tripsdrill, an amusement park about an hour away.  I think we're used to amusement parks being generally by a big freeway or major road.  Not this one... we wandered our way through the main cobblestone streets of maybe 7 quaint towns along the way.  We passed vineyards and rolling hills with churches in the distance.  I know someday we will get used to seeing this everywhere we drive... but right now it's still very surreal... and makes driving anywhere a pleasure. The Dawsons are our 'two week' friends.  Unfortunately, we moved in to the ward two weeks before they moved out.  We were in-processing and they were out-processing... and for most of the two weeks we were in the guest house together  -- with a whole lot of free time.  The boys golfed, the girls shopped, the kids played at the park,  (we enjoyed the 4th together) ... and when they invited us to Tripsdrill for the day and we were game.

The park was gorgeous. When they picked 'quaint German' for their amusement park theme they nailed it.  Everything was beautifully decorated with flowers everywhere.  They even had authentic German speaking workers and not a stitch of English anywhere.   Here's Megan checking out our park map (in German).

We spent the morning doing the kids rides... and they loved them.

 

Matthew being his delightful self, even in this 'out of the ordinary' 100 degree weather.

The animal rides above were a hit for the kids.  There was practically no line so the kids used up almost an hour just riding them over and over again.  Amazing how an animal ride through the gardens could be so exciting.  Luke was in heaven. In a nearby section they had an open area for you to ride bikes... only these bikes were a bit unusual.  If you look closely at the wheels you can see that the center isn't quite in the center, and this makes riding a round a little bit difficult and a lot bumpy. It was pretty funny to watch. Below Katie has climbed a ladder to watch the German man pop out from the window and speak to her.  What?  Ladders that you are supposed to climb?    Amusement parks (and parks in general)  have one major difference from those in the States.  SAFETY is NOT a concern here... One person was working each ride.  It was your job to make sure your bar was down, or that your kid was tall enough for the ride.  Only at the biggest roller coaster did they have another employee.  It made us laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch we got curry bratwurst which (Chris and Emily liked) and bread and pomme frites (French fries) which the rest of us liked.  And of course Fanta orange without ice since they just don't do ice here. The Germans are big into Recycling.  I thought this Cup Recycle center was quite extensive.  Just put your used cup into the appropriate slot.

 

After lunch we walked over to the bigger rides.  The kids walked over a large suspension bridge while I took the stroller on a covered bridge.  The bridge, like several other places around the park, was decorated with hanging socks.  It was actually quite adorable.  Splash Castle is off in the distance. This Splash Castle ride was hysterical.  It was like Splash Mountain but instead of the 'briar rabbit' part they had a European bathhouse with naked women mannequins.   Nice young topless mannequins and big fat sagging older women mannequins.   The kids said 'ewwww!' and closed their eyes.  We could not stop laughing.  What kind of ride is this? The brand new big roller coaster was fabulous too.  We had a great day.

     The splash was very refreshing on a day like this.