Welcoming 2012 with a BIG bang!

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Knowing my geographic bachelorette status, my friends Steven and Ally invited me to spend New Years Eve with them.  I'm a bit of a homebody when it comes to New Years...sometimes Tom and I are in bed before midnight (sad I know but it's the truth).

I just figured we'd be staying in...watching movies, eating food and drinking French champagne.  Which would have been enjoyable enough, but fortunately for me...Steven and Ally had other plans.  Usually no later than 10 p.m., they drive up to one of the U.S. military installations, which sits on a hill and has great city views, and watch movies and eat snacks, waiting for midnight.

You have to see it to believe it but we witnessed pyrotechnics gone wild.  

On New Years Eve private citizens all over town, and surrounding communities, launch personal fireworks from streets, yards, pedestrian bridges, parking lots, parks, etc...basically any place with a flat surface and aerial access.  There is nothing organized about this celebration.  It is not planned or coordinated by a Department of Parks, a university or other government agencies.  It is a pyrotechnics extravaganza with no government restrictions or interference.  Any guy's dream...right!?!?

For an hour, maybe more, (and I'm not exaggerating) the citizens of Stuttgart put on one spectacular fireworks show.  An ungoverned firework show that would most likely be illegal in the States.

It was pure fun and pretty impressive.  The sounds and lights make you feel like your in a world war air raid.  It eventually gets so smokey that you can hardly see the fireworks but they keep going.
Watching movies in the suburban waiting for midnight
Here are some short videos of how we rang in the new year.  It's not the greatest quality but I think you'll get the idea.  I'm so glad I got to see this before leaving Germany.


Group photo with most of us (Steven's taking the picture).
End of the night...smokey and raining a bit

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