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Report
Germany’s quirkiest theme park
DW (English)
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8/27/2024
Euromaxx reporter Brant Dennis visits Tripsdrill, a theme park where you can explore Swabian legends, stories and food.
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00:00
This is one of the weirdest theme parks in the world, where behind all of these amusement
00:11
rides are a bit of Swabian culture and history.
00:14
Poor bro, it's okay, it's exactly how I feel.
00:20
Swabia is a region in southern Germany, and the Swabians are its indigenous people.
00:24
It's also the location of the Tripsdrill amusement park.
00:27
There are many cliches about Swabians, stingy and straight-laced, but also hard-working
00:32
and innovative.
00:34
What kind of humor do Swabians have?
00:36
How do you call it in English?
00:38
Ironic.
00:39
A rather dry humor, like English humor.
00:41
And very dirty.
00:42
Okay, I think I need someone to be my guide on a tour of what they call the Schwabenländer,
00:50
the region just outside Stuttgart.
00:52
Berger Meierjohann is the right man for that, and he knows Germany's oldest amusement park
00:57
like the back of his hand.
00:59
What kind of park would you say this is?
01:02
Our park is based on stories from Swabia in the 19th century, and we also like to use
01:09
some legends and tales of the area.
01:13
Nearly every one of the 100 attractions has a Swabian connection, so does the architecture
01:19
of the park's Dorfstrasse.
01:21
The half-timbered houses are typical of Swabia.
01:25
Our first stop is the rollercoaster.
01:31
So what kind of ride is this, Berger?
01:34
The ride is called Vorder, which means like full steam.
01:39
The theme is the Swabian Railway.
01:42
It's a folk song from the 19th century, from the area.
01:45
Auf der Schwäbische Eisenbahn, dürfen Kühe und Ochse fahren,
01:50
Wir bleiben immer weit und nah, gut und alles was zahlt.
01:54
Incidentally, the rail line from the song still exists.
01:58
Memory of how I was a child on a child's ride.
02:03
How wonderful.
02:05
The Swabians may not have invented the steam engine, but they can take credit for many
02:09
other things, as I'll soon find out.
02:12
But first, Berger and I have a challenge to take on.
02:15
We have to move the wings just right to make as many turns as we can.
02:23
So you did three turns.
02:25
Three.
02:26
Yeah, that's not bad at all.
02:27
Me, I only did one.
02:28
Is there some sort of Swabian tradition behind this?
02:30
The history is Swabian.
02:33
It's a true story of the tailor of Ulm.
02:37
And in 1811, he invented a flying device.
02:41
Was he successful?
02:42
Partly.
02:43
He announced that he would give it a try at the Danube River, and then he jumped off with
02:49
his flying device.
02:50
But there was just bad luck, there were some strong winds, he fell into the Danube River,
02:56
he was rescued, so he did survive that.
02:58
In spite of this one mishap, the Swabians have a reputation as inventors.
03:03
They came up with the first type of match, maybe even the first teddy bear.
03:08
They even created Hollywood.
03:10
In 1912, Carl Laemmler, a Swabian, bought a poultry farm in Los Angeles and used the
03:15
land to start Universal Studios.
03:18
The spatula press was invented here, too.
03:20
Of course, it's indispensable to Swabian cuisine.
03:25
The classic Swabian dishes are simple and hearty.
03:30
Small wonder the Swabians were generally poor farmers.
03:34
I had hoped we could slow down a bit after that big meal, but Birger likes action.
03:39
Or is it just his way of having fun with me?
03:41
That wasn't fun.
03:42
That wasn't fun at all.
03:44
That was not fun.
03:45
I don't want to...
03:46
I...
03:47
I feel okay.
03:48
It's fine.
03:49
I hope you feel better than him.
03:51
But what's wrong with him?
03:52
I think he ate more than you did.
03:55
That's beautiful.
03:56
The sarcastic, folksy, Swabian sense of humour seems to be infectious.
04:01
On every corner of Tripstil are these odd, funny little figures.
04:05
Like this talking litter basket.
04:10
Maybe you want to climb that ladder and see what happens there.
04:13
Why?
04:14
Well, there's a nice surprise for you.
04:17
In Swabian, it's called Fenstern, an old-fashioned method of courting a bride from the Schwabenländler.
04:23
The gentleman would come calling on his sweetheart by climbing a ladder up to her window.
04:28
Sometimes, instead of his one and only, he would find her parents at the top.
04:32
A rude surprise.
04:36
And so, our day at Tripstril theme park comes to a close.
04:39
Thanks for having me.
04:40
Yeah, thanks for this visit and please be our ambassador for Swabia all around the world.
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2:05
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