Schützenfest

Sunday, July 12th, 2009 05:36 am
mothwing: Image of a death head hawk moth (Photo)
[personal profile] mothwing
Crocky and I took a break from studying and writing yesterday evening and we had a really lovely time at the Schützenfest (they even have a wiki page, go figure). That's a funfair much like the Dom in Hamburg with various merry-go-rounds and merry-be-tossed-arounds for those with stomachs of steel or no fear of heights, although in contrast to the fairly generic Dom this is a festival geared towards marksmen - or used to be, at any rate, and there were still an astonishing amount of marksmen there.

We arrived at half past nine, which means that the families with small children had all gone home, the roaming bands of drunks had not hit the fair yet and the Schützen were still there in their traditional attire (this being green clothes with green loden overcoats and green felt hats with bushes of boar bristles). As were a mindboggling amount of same-sex couples. I spotted the "Gaypeople"-tent among the various stands selling food, but I doubt that that could have been the single attraction drawing them. It was really cool being among so many couples similar to ours for one, I had expected quite a different crowd, this being a Schützenfest at least by name.

I'm still pretty immersed in my work, which means I wasn't able to catch up with entries and comments and won't be for some time, but I will once this is over.



























This person was trying to scare people coming through one of the doors underneath their balcony with a huge rubber spider which they let down on a fishing rod.
I want this job.






I stood in front of this thing for a couple of minutes and all the while a terribly tired-sounding lady was trying to convince the funfair-goers that having a go at this monster slide might be a jolly good idea round about now, and that everybody was totally keen on it. Her mechanical language and her tiredness was really depressing, and a few of the teenagers standing in front of it here apparently took pity on her and did have a go after some time.








I would never go on one of these things, but I do think they're very pretty:



























Time for some coffee.

Date: Sunday, July 12th, 2009 01:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] krakelwok.livejournal.com
Schützenfeste in the village where I lived during my childhood were a joke, but one everybody seemed to take seriously. They consisted mainly of a small hayfield where a bunch of middle-aged men (who saw each other every other weekday anyway) would meet wearing musty uniforms already worn by their fathers. You also needed was a couple of air guns, someone with a head for heights to fix a wooden bird-thing to a high pole at one end of the hayfield, a kid in his late teens with some amplifiers to play appropriate music whenever the marching band was too busy filling up on beer at the beer tent and maybe a tiny roundabout for the kiddies.
Being made the champion shot of the day was actually a financial burden on the winner because custom dictated that he basically had to finance the festivities and attend some others where he was expected not to be stingy with the free rounds. It wasn't too uncommon that some winners resigned their 'titles' because it wasn't in their budget.

Date: Monday, July 13th, 2009 09:28 am (UTC)
ext_112554: Picture of a death's-head hawkmoth (Default)
From: [identity profile] mothwing.livejournal.com
Huh. Sounds like fun. I've only ever seen such things during my year in Uelzen, where the affair had more of a "grand day out for all the family"-character with a market and various rides attached and during my four years in Norderstedt, that zit on the Northern border of Hamburg one of the biggest towns in Schleswig-Holstein and an amalgamation of four villages which was founded in 1970. Maybe it's because I'm a sheltered suburban kid, but I don't get these parties, there doesn't seem anything to it apart from having an excuse to binge-drink regardless of age.

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