Crowdsourcing Fireworks (New Year's in Munich)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 17:21 Frau A and I returned to Munich, from our holiday trip in the States, on the morning of New Year's Eve (called Silvester in Germany). We decided to spend most of the evening quietly with nice filet steaks and warm goat cheese-topped salad for dinner, followed by a movie. However, we headed to Marienplatz around 11:30pm, brought a half bottle of champagne, and toasted the new year in the shadow of the Rathaus (home of the Glockenspiel).
It was one of the most interesting New Year's celebrations we've experienced...no celebrities counting down, no Waterford crystal balls descending, and really no formal, organized activities of any kind by the city. (Note: I would have linked to ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Dick Clark, but their web page will NOT let you stop the video advertisement. I hate that. So it's a boycott. Anyway, 39 years with Dick Clark is enough, right?)
Instead, a large crowd showed up with their own fireworks, putting on a show as impressive as any municipal display we've seen. So they weren't the absolute largest ones (need a license for those), nor were they synchronized to music (better in theory than reality), but the length and energy of the experience were fantastic.
Through the window we could hear occational firecrackers go off starting at 6:00pm, but things really started getting crazy around 11:40pm. "Small" fireworks are legal in Germany, and sold in many stores in the weeks leading up to Silvester. It appears that sales were strong this year. There was a constant stream of light and sound for almost the whole hour we were there, ranging from small bottle rockets to booming M80s (or the German equivalent). It appeared people were aiming at the Rathaus too -- you would frequently see rockets or roman candles hitting the facade - one guy even had the aim to hit the clockface. By the time we left, the entire plaza was filled with smoke from the pyrotechnic activity.
Check out the viedo we took:
There were probably a few people who were injured in the chaos, but we didn't actually see anyone get hurt. Amazing. Especially since open alcohol is allowed in Germany, and most people brought their own drinks for a midnight toast. Glenn Reynolds posts frequently about crowdsourcing - perhaps this is the way to go for fireworks too, if the people are as motivated as the Müncheners were.
Frau A
Now that I've learned how to rotate video....here's the longer one showing the full extent of the fireworks over the crowd and just how full of smoke the plaza became...you can barely see the Rathaus now.
Happy New Year!
Herr J ... Post a Comment Germany & German Culture tagged Munich, New Year's Eve, crowdsourcing, fireworks ... Print Article Email Article Share Article 
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