Alaaf! We decided to stick around and participate in Karneval this year, as it may be our last chance while living in Europe. These Karneval celebrations are very specific to the Rhineland region of Germany, with Koeln being the center of all the festivities. I don't fully understand it all, but the gist seems to be that normalcy is turned on it's head and this is a time to go a little crazy and indulge in being foolish. The towns have entertaining gatherings for men, women and children, costume balls and parades. I am told that the humor is unique to this region and would not really resonate with other Germans (let alone us!) Brennan's school had a two day celebration during which the kids came in very elaborate costumes (many children had different costumes for each day) and attended a disco in the gym. Each child received a little toy and a Lebkuchen heart with the local Karneval cry of "Alaaf" written on it. Brennan came home wearing this Bob the Builder necklace and I had noticed that some of the children were wearing them as nametags. And what should the nametag of a 3-6 yearold preschooler be made out of? Why, a beer coaster of course!
Many of the sights and sounds of Karneval are not appropriate for younger audiences, but there are special children's parades and activities for kids. Here are some pictures of the kiddies and I attending a small children's Karneval party. Costumes from the American West seemed very popular: we saw a lot of cowboys and Indians throughout the weekend! Here are also some photos of a recent visit with Max and Katharina.
Here we are attending a local Karneval parade with our friend Erika. This one was not too wild, but the music blasting out of the concert speakers on the back of each elaborate float was incredibly loud and there was alcohol to spare. The floats were amazing and pulled by tractors. Most towns were represented by one and behind each float would come a crowd of people in costumes coordinated to match their theme. It really makes one wonder where 60 adult fox costumes or 100 viking outfits can be purchased in bulk. The particpants were mainly teenagers and the vast majority of them were drinking bottles of beer while on the move. The floats even had built-in recesses for the crates of beer to be easily accessible to the kids walking alongside. There were candy, toys, bagged popcorn, fruit and even juice boxes flying through the air, and Patrick and Erika were serious about bringing in a good haul.
Here are a couple of the floats and matching gangs of drinking teens. I wish I could pipe the music through this blog, it was deafening but entertaining. There is music that is specific to Karneval and we heard a few of the popular songs repeated, but we really had some surreal moments during the numerous renditions of "Sweet Caroline" and "Cotten Eyed Joe." Alaaf!
