September 1990: “We drove around for 4 hours trying to get to the festplatz-parked very far away.”We headed out to the Dippemess fest on Saturday afternoon. Signs clearly marked the way ….until we got within an approximate 10 kilometer radius of it's location. This was actually a common phenomenon in FRG. It is also proof that the Philosophy of the German Tourism Board is in fact summed up by their slogan “We’ll gladly get you to the general area…but if you can’t solve the last leg of your journey by yourself, then you don’t truly deserve to complete it anyway”. We drove in circles and u-turns until we found the fest right before closing time. Not a problem as we had one more weekend day left to make a second run and successfully complete our mission. Used failed attempt to do some reconnaissance; pinpointed the entry point and relevant fees planning to return the next day.
The Dippemess Fest was kind of like the old Elitch Gardens…except that it would be torn down in a matter of days. The following day when we arrived at the Dippamess Fest, we were greeted by a Giant Viking (yes, the face was modeled after New Mexico Man). He threw his head back, laughed, spoke in deep booming German, and put a bull horn up to his mouth and blew a long rumbling blast. New Mexico Man and I were entranced for approximately 30 minutes.
Excerpt: “We played many games and got our picture taken by shooting bb’s at a target. We won 6 glasses by tossing ping pong balls. Bought fireworks, my favorites were little bees that twirl up into the air. Bought a black jacket with tie die panels on the sleeves and won a little stuffed moose.” 
In addition to their love of Animatronics Vikings anything with a Western Theme was big. We rode the Goldener Westin which was a hokey ride through western themed dioramas. It reminded me of the Ol’ Mine Ride at the Original Elitch Gardens.
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Most people are afraid of Animatronics. Admit it, I am Fearless.
