Schweizer Bobbahn (Swiss Bobsled)

Heide Park, Soltau, Germany

I wish I could say more about this ride, but honestly, it was all such a blur that I can't possibly do a play-by-play of the layout. What I can say, however, is that this is the bobsled coaster that all others hope to be when they grow up. In fact, only France's La Trace du Hourra even gets close.

 Most bobsled coasters offer big, lazy spirals at moderate speeds. Schweizer Bobbahn (Swiss Bobsled) at Heide Park wants none of that. First, wind those spirals in reeeeeally tight. No, tighter... there we go. Now, let's see how fast we can hurtle through them! Look at the black wheel marks in the pic below...  Notice how in the lower part of the spiral that they stay up on the sides and never come down to the bottom? This is one of the slower spirals in the layout. The ones later on are seriously wicked.

Sorry for the boring pictures, but so much of the Schweizer is either hidden or inaccessable, that it's really hard to get good shots of it. In fact, the best shot I saw of it was the on-ride photo taken by the park in the surprise tunnel where the train plummets down beneath the station. It wasn't a great picture of the ride, but the look on my face was priceless. I don't get truly surprised by coasters much anymore, but in that picture, both my eyes and my mouth were wide open!

One last picture of insanity in motion: the beauty of the layout of this ride is how effectively it mixes the spirals with tight, speedy zig-zag trackage. Just when you think you can predict the next zig or zag, it throws in something completely unexpected... oh, and check out how far up the wall those wheel marks go on this curve. Considering that there is a brake run just above it, you can get an appreciation for the speed this thing has. If you are ever in northern Germany and have time, you simply owe it to yourself to find this thing and have a spin... and by the way, one of the world's most unusual and best log flume rides runs right under it (just barely visible in the lower right of the picture below).