Flügtag and Cupcakes
It’s hard to think that almost a year has gone by without me taking any major trips or vacation. It’s even harder to come to grips with the fact that I won’t be traveling to any place exotic this year, the first time that has happened in four years. But, with the job transition and the purchase of a new car, it was time to lay low for a bit. The bad part is that I’m left with a few weeks of vacation that I need to somehow use up.
I returned once again to one of my favorite cities in the country: Chicago. Note: Chicago in the Spring, Summer, or Fall. What I love about Chicago is that there are so many different areas and neighborhoods that have their own style and make you forget that you are in a major city. Every time I go, I get to explore something new and that’s pretty cool. The purpose of this visit (besides seeing my good friends Doug and Debbie who happen to live downtown north of the Loop), was to fulfill a yearning I’ve had for the past few years: to see a Red Bull Flügtag. Flügtag is German for “flying day” and the event, free to the public, consists of ridiculous people pushing ridiculous man-made flying machines off a ridiculously high platform. The tradition started in Europe in 1991 and comes to about three cities in America every year. Each “flying machine” must be completely man-powered (so no motors, catapults, etc.) and contestants are judged on three criteria: 1) distance, 2) creativitiy, and 3) showmanship. Essentially, people strive for points in the last two categories and most build machines that plummet to their doom without any real hope of flying. This leads to a most amusing experience for all who gather to partake. As I was watching, I realized that if aliens were ever watching out planet to judge the intellectual capacity of our species, perhaps today was not the best day to do so – it was that good.
Last time Flügtag came to Chicago, 70,000 people came to watch so Doug and I went down the day before to scope out the best place to sit. Information about the event was sparse but we knew that the gates wouldn’t open until about 11am. We arrived around 9:30 and was able to find a good spot along a wall on the lake that gave us a clear line of sight but put us some distance away. Knowing we could do better, I snuck around and was able to somehow get inside the gated area and get *amazing* seats. Doug was able to sneak in and we spread our blankets. The weather, hot at first, cooled down as the clouds began to roll in and it was a great day for Flügtag-ing.
Before the festivities started, you were able to walk through the area where people had setup their machines and could interact with them. Because performance and showmanship were being judged, the people were dressed in themed costumes and tried to get your attention to vote for them. Overall, there were 29 machines that would try for glory (most of them failing miserably to the crowd’s delight).
Among my favorites:
• The Flying Ditkas. Their flying machine was a simple hang glider contraption but they all dressed up like Ditka and didn’t crack a smile all day. The tail of their plane was a large picture of Ditka’s head.
• The Nintendudes. They recreated the original Duck Hunt from NES and their flying machine was a duck. Someone dressed up as the gun, the dog that catches the ducks, and the ducks themselves.
• Go Shuck Yourself. Basically, it was a big corn on the cob.
• Cactus Smurfs. Papa Smurf was large and energetic as their Smurf House Flying Machine fell straight off the platform.
Whether it was a flying monkey or a flying mustache (and yes, they had both), Flügtag did not disappoint and next time it’s in town, I’m entering. The showmanship, performances, ridiculousness, mayhem, and destruction all worked so well together to make it an awesome experience. (The awesome seats didn’t hurt either).
The one lowlight of the day was this guy who obnoxiously decided to walk through our blanket, nudge me out of the way, and sit right in front of me (which is bad considering I was in the front row). After trying to make small talk with me (that didn’t go well for him), he brought some old guy up and wedged him in right in front of me as well. Irate, I called the police over who did nothing. Additionally, behind us, this angry woman nudged her mom and little daughter down and almost got into a fist fight with the lady behind us. I was amazed at how rude some people can be. The level of disrespect someone must have to think they can show up right before an event starts and move in on people who have been sitting there for over two hours to save space astounds me. But alas, it all worked out in the end. My friend Emily who lives in DeKalb came out to enjoy the festivities and it was glorious! Next time, the plan is enjoy Flügtag from the platform whilst in our costumes!
The day after, Doug, Debbie, and their friend Michelle, decided to take me on a biking cupcake tour of Chicago. It was a great way to see the city and taste some of the finer (and not-so-fine) sweets the city has to offer. We ended up stopping at eight places, splitting a cupcake at each place and ranked each place on a comprehensive scoring matrix. In the end, it was way too many stops and we were feeling it by the end. In the future, we would limit it to four with a real meal in between. But we fought through the nausea and sugar rushes and had a great day overall. It was a clever way to get out and see more of the city and experience something you normally wouldn’t. We rated each place along four dimensions: Cake, Frosting, Overall Presentation, and Value. Most of the cupcakes were around the $2.00 range but there were a few that ventured close to $4. In the end, our last stop, Molly’s Cupcakes, was the clear and unanimous winner.
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