Those four words summarize Cologne's carnival for us! We attended 4 parades, saw an incredible array of costumes, and snagged a lot of candy and goodies! We didn't go to any parties since most cost about 20-80 Euros per ticket, but we watched plenty of coverage on the TV.
Karneval (the German spelling) officially started on Nov 11 at 11:11am, but things really start getting crazy on the Thursday before Lent ("the crazy days"). Karneval is celebrated throughout the region, but some of the biggest and most famous parties and traditions are in Cologne.
The theme this year was "Fastelovend em blot, he un Zuckerhot on," a Kölsch saying that translates to "Carnival (Fastelovend) in the blood, here and on Sugarloaf (a mountain in Brazil)." No idea why they decided to bring Brazil into the picture, but it resulted in some interesting costumes and floats (more on this later).
Our Karneval experience began on Thursday, Feb 7, when I left the house around 10am to head to a party at my language school. Traditionally, on Weiberfastnacht or Women's Carnival day, people go to work dressed in costume and then leave work early to party. Everyday scenes such as the supermarket or subway are transformed into spectacles!
On this day, women are also permitted to snip men's ties off with scissors in exchange for a kiss. I saw several guys wearing ties, but none had been cut....so I'm not sure how common this is nowadays ;) The city puts up a couple stages with live music and there are several small community parades, everybody has had at least one beer by 11am, and everyone is generally in a really good mood.
My first stop was the Wilhelmsplatz in Nippes, which is just around the corner from our apartment and the site of a daily farmer's market. On Wieberfastnacht, the Karneval kicks off here with live music, vendors, and dancing starting officially at 9:11am (though the music really started at 8:30am--I could hear it as I got ready to go!). I only stayed for a bit, but later we saw a lot of TV coverage of the live music. In the picture above, you can see a guy on stage dressed in the traditional orange costume of the "Nippeser Bürgerwehr," the local society that sponsored the concert as well as a later parade in Nippes. More on them and other societies later!
After my school party, Jeremy and I met up at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to spend the day people-watching. One of us was dressed festively and the other one was one of the few people in the city who was not! I will let you guess who was who...
During Karneval we saw myriad costumes, which deserve their own post. On Thursday, there were groups of musicians (all dressed up, of course) having impromptu concerts all over the city, with people clustered around them dancing and singing along to beloved Karneval songs (and well-known pop songs):
i love how much fun this lady is having :)
After walking around the area near the cathedral and Alter Markt (which was mobbed! absolutely packed!), we headed to Chlodwigsplatz to check out the live music (see a map). We happened upon a small parade, which had begun after the end of a historic play "Jan un Griet," which is sponsored by the Reiter-Korps Jan von Werth. It was a really fun local parade, and we caught some candy and face lotion (Germans throw more than just candy at their parades!). It's the first parade of Karneval, so it's called Wieverfastelovendzoch.
these little xylophones were a popular
instrument at all the parades
Friday is basically a regular day, with most people going to work and few people dressed up (except at night, when there are more parties). There is more partying on Saturday, sometimes with a Ghost Parade (cancelled again this year due to lack of funding and permits).
On Sunday, there's a well-loved parade of neighborhood and school groups, called Schull und Veedelszöch Zug. The parade (or Zug) winds its way from Chlodwigplatz to the cathedral, from 10am until dusk. I had a great vantage point right across from the cathedral, and it was fun to see all the homemade costumes. I finally called it quits after the 50th group, even though the parade was still going strong. The costumes and floats were really creative!
This has gotten pretty long, so I think I will save the Rosenmontagszug (Rose Monday Parade) for another day. Kolle Alaaf!
Update: I got most of my information about events here--this website is a great resource for planning your Karneval intinerary!
No comments:
Post a Comment