Kramermarkt

I got together with six classmates on Friday night at a restaurant called Litfass for all-you-can-eat pizza. Then tonight, the same group got together at the local fairgrounds to check out a 10-day carnival/fair in Oldenburg called Kramermarkt. It's a traditional, once-a-year fest, and this year marked the 400th annual! I wonder what it looked like in 1607? Isn't that about when the Mayflower pilgrims first arrived in New England? I didn't take any pics or video at the carnival, but I found the following YouTube video taken at this year's Kramermarkt that gives a good sampling of the event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEUS_X83PLw.

Several of us did some crazy carnival rides. One of the rides was, by far, the most intense amusement park ride I've ever done (briefly shown at 1:00 of the YouTube vid). It's this long 200-300' beam with a pivot in the center and a four-seater basket on each end. The connection to each basket is also a pivot, so that when the beam rotates slowly, the baskets stay upright (and all is right with the world). But then the big beam starts spinning at unbelievable, breathtaking speeds, so the centripetal forces make the basket start doing flips. The speed and G-forces were incredible -- I was screaming like a teenage girl (and I'm usually a big, tough-guy with my hands in the air on roller-coaster rides)!