It’s going to be a big weekend this coming weekend in the so-called “Regionalpark RheinMain”, with events taken place between the Mainspitze where the Main flows into the Rhein and Hanau, and with Oberursel playing a key role.
Linking up all the places along the route is the “Regionalpark Rundroute” which was opened almost exactly a year ago, whilst the idea of the “Regionalpark” has been around a lot longer, and has been supported since 1997 by the Fraport AG – the company that runs Frankfurt’s airport.
The park itself is a network of paths for walking or cycling that enable access to much of the region’s countryside, with lots of things to see and do in the area outside of the larger towns.
Here is a selection of the events taking place around Oberursel:
- Horse-drawn carriages will be offering rides between the agricultural display at the U-Bahn station “Weißkirchen-Ost” (U3) and the Maize Maze (€1.50 per trip, 11am-7pm), from where it is also possible to take a ride to the Krebsmühle.
- The Maize Maze at the other end of the Weißkirchen (just off the main road to Steinbach) will be exhibiting vintage threshing machines between 11am and 7pm.
- There will be jazz music, participation theatre and tours taking place at the Krebsmühle, with a concert in the afternoon (10am-6pm).
- At the agricultural display (Weißkirchen-Ost) children can make their own kites or jump on the hay stack whilst learning about locally grown produce (10am-6pm).
For the first time this year an additional event called the “Regionalpark Open” will be taking place, also in Oberursel.
This starts on Saturday evening with a series of presentations in the Stadthalle in Oberursel on the future of air travel, cars, logistics, public transport, town planning, agricultural planning and even the future of air travel technology from Dr. Gregor Kappmeyer from Rolls Royce.
Then on Sunday there will be a number of events taking place in the town centre, all to do with alternative methods of getting around:
- Between 10.30am and 6pm it will be possible to build an engine using alternative energy sources in the Stadthalle (last entry 4pm).
- There will be Pedelecs (electric bicycles) and Segways to try out at the Epinayplatz from 10.30am, with the chance to take a Pedelec tour to the Regionalpark Rundroute at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm, or a Segway tour at 4pm.
- Universities and companies will be holding a “who can transport the most removal boxes on a bicycle” competition over a 400m course between the Rathausplatz and Epinayplatz from 11.30am onwards
- School pupils will be having a “who can travel the furthest using a litre of water” at the Rathausplatz from 12.30pm onwards.
So there’s a lot going on, and that’s only in the Oberursel area. There are events all along the route on Sunday, with full details in the mini-brochure which can be downloaded here.
About Graham Tappenden
