Germany's Wild West Theme Parks

"Let's face it, all of those cow towns in KS, TX, AZ, or wherever were made up of 99% men, mostly drunk criminals, drunk gamblers, and drunk cowboys looking for a hook-up. The other 1% of a town's residents was comprised of prostitutes, servicing the 99%. Maybe the Germans could open up a theme park that's more authentic." They did, they gave it a vaguely nautical theme and called it the "Reeperbahn".

Yeah, but the cowboys there are authentic Village People look-alikes, not authentic-looking cowboys. :)

I have not, but recall reading a very interesting article recently on the Germans' fascination with Karl May and the Wild West in the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/09/120409fa_fact_galchen). Suggest checking it out.

Funny...we constantly have debates here about authenticity as it relates to German towns (i.e. skip Rothenburg odT – too touristy and not authentic) or castles (i.e. forget about Neuschwanstein – not authentic), but here is a good example of a completely absurd German fantasy about the American Old West. Let's face it, all of those cow towns in KS, TX, AZ, or wherever were made up of 99% men, mostly drunk criminals, drunk gamblers, and drunk cowboys looking for a hook-up. The other 1% of a town's residents was comprised of prostitutes, servicing the 99%. Maybe the Germans could open up a theme park that's more authentic...good family fun!

The Karl May movies which to almost all Germans ARE the REAL Old West all were shot in Croatia. I have to admit when I first went to AZ, CA, UT or CO I was a bit disappointed ;-) Not that the real West isn't stunning and breathtakingly beautiful - but because it doesn't look like I had seen it on TV. I understand Japanese kids are always disappointed when they first see Switzerland - because it doesn't look like on their "Heidi" animated movies... ;-)