Das Circus Krone with an Amazing Wall Trampoline Show

During our time here in Munich we often ask people what are some of the better sites and places to visit. Several times we have people tell us you must go to the Circus as it is the largest in Europe and one of the better circus performances around.

So on Wednesday we finally decided that this would be a fun event to attend at night with Jeremy and Rachel. I had a circus brochure, all in German of course, and tried to call for tickets first thing Wednesday morning but the person at the box office only spoke Deutsch so that was not very successful. We then decided that since the circus was located down town, only a few blocks from the Hauptbahnhof that Deb and Rachel would swing by and pick up some tickets during the day time. We were unsure if this was really necessary, but better safe than sorry. Well it turns out the circus was only about half full on this Wednesday night so we could have easily just walked up and bought the tickets.

So after a busy day of shopping (for Deb and Rachel) and a visit to the BMW museum and the Olympic Park (for Jeremy and I) we headed out to the circus. Deb dug out her trusty Tram map and we decided the best route was to jump on the #19 tram at Wiener Platz. I have come to really like the Tram, which is the above ground version of the subway here in Munich. The underground and high speed subway is referred to here as the U-Bahn, while the aboveground trolleys are referred to as the Tram. While the ride is generally slower with more twists and turns, as it runs in the middle of the road, I find it more relaxing and more enjoyable to sit and watch the scenery go by.

Munich has an incredible public transportation system that allows you to get to within a block or so of almost anywhere in the city. As in other European countries owning a car in Germany not for everyone. There is a very high cost to getting your license, insurance is high, the cars generally cost about 30% more than in the US (even for the same models), and in Munich the parking is a nightmare. For this reason, you find that the State and the city have created an extensive public transportation system that is comprised of high speed InterCity Express (ICE) trains known as the S-Bahn, the underground subway system know as the U-Bahn, the Tram system, and then finally an extensive network of buses. At each stop, be it a major S-Bahn or U-Bahn subway stop, or even a local neighborhood Tram stop, there is a small digital LED display sign that shows the next few arrivals at your stop. The data is live and real-time, and they always seem to arrive just on time. The MVG (the local Munich transportation agency - Munchner Verkehrsgesellschaft) even has an iPhone app that shows the nearest public transportation stops and when the next trains, etc will arrive. Works cool and I use it all the time.

The Munich circus is just like any other circus you might attend. It started with a young girl who did a balancing act with 3 large balls, followed by a pair of gymnasts who did a number of unusual stances and poses. The funny part of this act was the fact that the woman was the strong man and the man was the one who was twirled and held and bounced around by her.

Next was your typical elephant act, followed by trained horses and a fairly small and odd lion display.

Later in the show there was a really good juggler who did some amazing acts of balance and juggling. He was able to place saucers and cups on his foot and flip these up and land them on his head. Here is a photo of him after he was able to land 4 cups and saucers in a row. While this was unique, the most remarkable part of his show was when he was smoking a cigar with a pool cue on his foot. He flipped the pool cue up into the air and landed the narrow end of the cue on his cigar in his mouth. The crowd went wild and you really had to marvel at this talent. 

He was then followed by a clown act of two guys throwing stuff at each other that had the crowd in hysterics. These clowns wandered around through the crowd in between acts to keep the tempo up and keep the crowd busy while they swapped out acts.

This was then followed by a high wire act that was really quite good. At one point the music changed and the two hire wire guys did not connect and one person fell to the net. The crowd gasped, but Jeremy said it was all staged for on the next attempt they nailed the catch. Staged or not, as you look at this person in flight you have to admire their courage and their ability to make this look so effortless.

So while this last act was memorable and inspiring, we saw two more acts that really impressed me. These were so good I in fact had to switch my camera from still pictures to video to capture the full essence of the event. The first act was a young man with a large hoop. At first you had to wonder just how good this might be. Here is a guy with an oversized hoola hoop, so tell me how good can this be. Well watch the video and you decide.

So this was really fun to watch, and while it might be difficult to see on the video he was totally winded each time he stepped out of the hoop. I found this exhibit and his performance really entertaining.

After this though it even got better. At this point the clowns came back out to entertain the crowd and I sat there wondering what might be next. The clowns were traipsing through the crowd, launching these massive beach balls and doing all sorts of moves and gyration to capture your attention. As we waited for the next act to be setup, I truly had no idea what might be next. They setup a trampoline, so that much seemed clear, but as they then setup what looked like a building next to it I was completely confused.

Well I was not disappointed, for the next act was like nothing I had seen before and was the most entertaining act of the entire show. No wonder they left this for last. So take a look and let me know what you think of this amazing wall trampoline act.