Three times a year it’s DOM time in Hamburg. That’s when around 12 million visitors flock to the Heiligengeistfeld right next to the St. Pauli stadium. For the Greier family, the cathedral is their home for a good month.

But this year, the start of the season is anything but routine for the Greiers. For years they were in Hamburg with a bumper car. In 2014, after the Summer Dome, the entire ride was stolen from them. A bitter blow, the whole existence simply gone overnight. They are now starting over with sweets and trying to build a new existence. Mirco Greier (33) built the stand himself last season and invested a lot. His wife Alice (31) has always wanted a stall with chocolate fruits, but whether they can earn enough with it remains to be seen.

The family has spent the last few weeks in their winter camp in Schneverdingen. This has been the home of Mirco’s family for generations. Before the season starts, everything has to be well prepared. Mirco checks the new stand again, while Alice gets her home on wheels ready for the journey. The day of departure is a logistical challenge, 8 caravans have to be moved to Hamburg: the parents’ large caravan, daughter Lisa’s (11) “children’s room”, her great-grandmother’s former caravan, plus the sweet stand and Mirco’s mother has a bumper car and caravan herself.

With their new stand, the Greiers first have to get used to the Hamburg Cathedral: different stands, different conditions, different customers. A new chapter is also beginning for daughter Lisa (11).  She is getting to know her Hamburg class for the first time after primary school.

Once the cathedral gets going, everything has to run like clockwork for the Greiers. A mobile city, in the middle of the city. The stand is open until late in the evening, but there is also the daily routine: shopping, school, laundry, meeting friends and family. It’s hard to be a showman without support. Fortunately, Mirco’s mother is only a few metres away with her bumper car. So the family can help each other.

Alice once tried to settle down, had a flat, a good job. But when her family left for the next trip, she just had to come along. And when the Greiers have time off, they prefer to go to an amusement park: because without noise, lights and merry-go-rounds, they are missing something.