Franconian Beer Message Board

The old and the rich will destroy Bamberg
Posted by barry on 2017-07-18 04:16:23
It may not seem obvious from some of my comments but I have mellowed a lot with respect to this type of thing.  I believe that, if you choose to buy a property under the flight path of an airfield, for example, you've not much right to complain of the inconvenience.  However, if you were already living somewhere and they suddenly decide to build an airfield, then you have the right to feel agrieved.  Strassenfest (en?) fall into a difficult category in that, obviously, some people will love them and some people will hate them.  The one I went to recently with Frank (just down from Spezial and Faessla) was lovely.  I think that it was organised by the locals, who appear to be there in great numbers and really enjoying themselves.  The problem is trying to marry up conflicting interests, a really tricky task in some cases.

I think also that different criteria applies to whether a festival or street event is organised for the benefit of the people who live there or simply for commercial purposes.  Again, it may be tricky to differentiate between these two interests.  With Schlenkerla, to be honest, I think the whole situation has got out of hand.  I've pretty much given up going there outside of winter months because the crowds are so great and the queue for beer so long, plus it is difficult getting a seat in the Schwemm.  It is purely a commercial venture and it is hard to see the benefit gained by anyone living nearby.  And, yes, a pedestrian route should be introduced or, more properly, a cycle route.  Regarding Canalissimo, I'm not sure that I actually remember enough about it to make any kind of sensible judgement.  One if the big problems with street festivals is that they usually involve 'rock' bands and, to be honest, to my ancient ears, they do play far to loud and, probably, for too long.  At Memmelsdorf, although the duo were very good, they were too loud to allow conversation and, personally, I like talking to my friends when at such an event and am not interested in dancing.  Now, if they had a decent Irish ceili band, they wouldn't have such problems - same also true for a traditional jazz band!

In the end, it comes down to compromise and common sense, whatever that may be.