The main problem is that they are at a damn ridiculous time: 10 pm on a Saturday. That is smack in the middle of Saturday's allotted drinking time. Even if you were to nip out to see them, it'd cost you walking time plus the overheads of fighting through the crowds. Then once you're there, at least one of the group would desperately need to go for a slash, but even if there were a public toilet nearby the queues would add another 30 minutes to the delay.



The best solution is to to go for drinks in someone's apartment, and head out via the fireworks. But coordinating people to leave the house at the right time presents the usual logistical nightmare. Plus that doesn't get rid of the crowds.
hayes, Aug 8, 2009 @ 18:00

[quote][b]

_Marina_ (08/08/2009)[/b]

Nir, being a grumpy old man sounds much healthier.

At least they're both once-a-year events.[/quote]



Nah, he's a grumpy old man a lot more frequently than that [ unless the duration is 365 days, natch ] ;)
hayes, Aug 8, 2009 @ 19:30

Marina:

Sounds a bit indeed like the Rio thing: watching the fireworks and being awe-struck by them seems to be a bit of the social things to do. Or maybe some folks out there are indeed hyper-amazed by the show. Who knows.

Nir

Me in 20 10 5 years:

Nir Ofek, Aug 8, 2009 @ 20:41

So it's now 22h15 on Saturday night, and the fireworks have been going on for 15 min now. 40 more min to go. Yawn...:ermm: 
Nir Ofek, Aug 9, 2009 @ 00:14

We have been watching the people getting on the tram at Thonex.....blimey if that lot are heading down...i hate to think of the crowds all ready down there.:P

We were well impressed at the fireworks that Thonex did last Saturday(even got mini me up!)

Afterwards the air smelt like bonfire night back in the uk!!

The best chaos I have seen is in Frankfurt on New years eve.The country with so many rules..but happily allow people to light fireworks from any available bin,wine bottle etc!!We would watch from our flat, watch rockets shooting up the street...with people trying to dodge them!Walking down the streets the next morning looked like going through a war zone with all the used fireworks!!!!!:w00t:

But hey....you got to love fireworks!!(just not the crowds)
Nookes, Aug 9, 2009 @ 00:29

actually i stand mildly corrected. watching the awesome power of chemistry was quite impressive. if anyone knows the cost to the city, for the fireworks only, i would be quite interested in knowing.

hayes, Aug 9, 2009 @ 01:06

the local papers reported the cost at the 1 million euro range. how many hungry people that could have fed.
pink_bunny, Aug 9, 2009 @ 10:54

[quote][b]

pink_bunny (09/08/2009)[/b]

the local papers reported the cost at the 1 million eurorange. how many hungry people that could have fed.[/quote]



Thanks, that's actually less than I was guessing.
hayes, Aug 9, 2009 @ 11:49

 Fireworks are only fun when I am doing them. And i don't mean for the spectators, they are fun for me. what's more fun than blowing stuff, legally, and having a little 'spray' that some awestruck person may just enjoy as well.

Of course I rather enjoy putting a firecracker under a coffee can as well, nice thud.

StephenSQL, Aug 10, 2009 @ 21:20

 Well, I tend to agree with Nir.
Part of the frustration comes from the
fact that the fireworks are there for 1h. Why not exploding them all in let's say. 5-10 minutes?
That would be fun!
zenbrain, Aug 11, 2009 @ 13:50

 I dogsat
patsycat, Aug 12, 2009 @ 12:59

 maybe it is also because it is one of the few things happening in town
maott, Aug 13, 2009 @ 11:18