Nachtskaten > Reviews > Skating through the Night

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	great fun
Disadvantages:	some accidencts

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Imagine the following: It's 9.30 pm, it's dark and you skate within 2000 people on a 4 lane well asphalted road, watching the century-old baroque buildings on the other side of the river Elbe. They are floodlighted and in front of you is a car with music.

That’s what Dresden’s Night skating (Nachtskaten) is about. It runs every Friday in the summer period and is the greatest weekly attraction in our city. The Dresden Night skating was one of the first ones of these events (may 1998) now established all over Germany. The Skating movement is really big and rich of influence here.

Every Friday at 8 pm the skaters meet at the public half pipe on the street "St. Petersburger Strasse". That is the one with the big diamond like UFA-cinema and opposite the major’s house. You can get there by public transport going to "Pirnaischer Platz".

http://www.stadtplandienst.de/query?ORT=dd;LL=%2B51.048151%2B13.745941;GR=4

At 9 pm the parade starts, escorted by the police, which also closes all the used streets for traffic. (So, if you are driving around Friday nights in Dresden by car or bus make sure to have much time to spend by waiting.)

The route changes every week and you get a good impression of all faces of Dresden, seeing Europe’s most modern car factory or the old Zwinger, crossing the river.

Mostly there are between 2,000 and 5,000 skaters on the road, depending on the weather. There are all kind of skaters, totally beginners, families and professionals. Some drive fast, some slow, some make stunts, some accidents. But this mixture gives the event a special flair.

There are stewards to guarantee the security and it is highly recommended to follow their orders. Also the Sachsen Ambulance follows the convoy with a car, taking care of all kinds of accidents.

After one hour there is a big break of 15 minutes and then the convoy starts again. Totally skating time is 2 hours and the route is between 14 and 20 Kilometres. You can join and get out everywhere you want, because the route goes only within the central city and you will always find a place with public transport connection nearby.

Last year we made a record (recorded by the Guinness book of World records) establishing the longest rolling living chain. 8,000 (!!!) skaters took each others hand rolling through the Grosser Garten (Great Garden, a big and famous park) and set a symbol of unity and equality.

If you are interested in Skating and stay in Dresden Fridays, it is a MUST to join the Nachtskaten!

There is a official website, but unfortunaly its only in German:

http://www.nachtskaten-dresden.de

(If you have any questions, just write an email to jurassic@gmx.de)

If you're interested in skating events in other German cities just have a look on:
http://www.muenster.org/inliner/main/main4.html

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Please note: I have already written this opinion in Home » Travel & Holiday » Destinations » Europe » Germany » Dresden, so you do not have to read it there again. I already asked Ciao to delete this earlier opinion. The category Home » City Guide » European Cities » Dresden » Festivals & Events » Nachtskaten is new and I just wanted to have the opinion in the right place.