2021-07-09

Rookburgh: A long wait for a complete experience

When Phantasialand reopened following the second COVID-19 lockdown, the family and I rushed to get there on the first weekend for a look at their newest theme area: Rookburgh. It took the park about four years to finish it and it was well worth the wait.

From top to bottom and all around, Rookburgh is a complete steampunk experience. We were fortunate enough to stay a night in the Hotel Charles Lindbergh and we were floored right from the start. The whole theme revolves around the concept that you are in a giant airship and everyone there is a so-called “aeronaut”. The rooms are all two-person cabins and are even cylindrical, to emulate a berth on the aforementioned airship. All the décor is made to look like it is from anywhere between the late 19th to early 20th centuries, well in line with the steampunk style, including turning light switches and old-timey ads for products that are outlandish, but still close enough to reality that they might very well have existed.

The brochures with information about the hotel are printed as newspapers and when you check in, you get a logbook and a flightplan-looking folder with your tickets for the park, priority passes for the F.L.Y. coaster (more on that below) and bracelets indicating you are COVID-free (aka tested). They also include postcards (which we sent to relatives), a “Logbook” notepad. Our tickets for access to the park were also made to look like plane tickets, obviously providing access to the airship. Like I said: top to bottom.

I truly hope that someone, somewhere made a lot of money writing the entertaining stories that skillfully add to the mystique they created while informing guests about the most relevant facets of staying and eating there.

More than just a hotel
Once you leave the hotel (named, of course, for the flying ace and adventurer), you are immersed in the steampunk vibe. The entire Rookburgh area is adorned with brass piping, random steam vents and wherever possible, they incorporated wrought iron and wood as materials. The sandwich counter is called the “Kohleschipper” (coal shoveler) and all the fake ads are for airship companies and otherwise touting the benefits of steampower.

One amazing ride
The main and only attraction in the area is the F.L.Y. roller coaster. There is not much to say here except that it is an epic roller coaster where you lay down as you are catapulted through the Rookburgh area: over, under, upside down, right side up and through several loops.

Efficient, but still warm and comfy
Interestingly, while the overall style looks overly elaborate, thanks to the airship/aeronaut theme, the hotel and restaurant make extremely effective use of the space they have available, while maintaining a very enjoyable and comfortable atmosphere. This is no easy task, considering that Phantasialand has very limited space to expand and develop. That’s probably one reason why it took so long to build this area: They do a lot of digging, making a good portion of the hotel, for instance, subterranean.

The restaurant is also amazing, with wrought iron chairs that are attached to the tables by a swinging arm – because if the ariship hits turbulence, we don’t want them falling over or rolling around.

Not once do they break character – the staff even has to wear costumes resembling that of coal shovelers from old steamships or of 19th century croupiers or bartenders with waistcoats and sleeve garters.

The beers in the restaurant are all served in bottles, which is odd for Germany, but it works. Because with no beers on tap and no glasses; the “airship” you are on saves on extra weight. The bottles even come in buckets filled with ice – another nice, old-school touch. The food is all just shy of exotic, leaving typical theme park fare behind, while still keeping the vibe relatively simple. It’s good, too.

In conclusion
Go there, go on the F.L.Y. coaster (before eating) and if you can’t stay over, try to eat at Uhrwerk or at least get a sandwich at the Kohleschipper. It is well worth the wait and the cost, if you like this sort of thing.