Faschnacht 07
Trip Start
Oct 18, 2006
1
21
93
Trip End
Oct 19, 2007
Basel,
Switzerland
Saturday, February 24, 2007
We arrived on a Sunday morning and toured around Basel old town and famous paper mill (Basler Papiermuhle) for the day with Laurence's cousin who was our wonderful guide. The medieval Gallician mill housed exhibits relating to the history of paper, writing and printing. The girls and l got to make our own paper and do fancy calligraphy and stamps on it afterwards...it was fun and interesting.
We then had an early dinner at the cousins place which was one of the most interesting dinner parties l have ever been to. Laurence's cousin spoke perfect German and French, so perfect you could not tell which was her native tongue (German) and of course very good English. However the family l work for speak French while the rest of the guests were all Swiss German. It turned out that neither parties could speak each others languages well enough to hold a conversation (despite 10 years of classes in these languages at school) so everybody ended up speaking English! Of course that was great for me, but it was fascinating that these people are all from the same country but can not speak a common native language to one another...as English is not a native language to Switzerland (French, German and Italian are).
01- Multi lingual dinner in Basel
I was told to keep this night a secret... it obviously was something they were all not proud of ....but of course l had to share this experience with you all. We tried to finish dinner early so that we could get back to our Hotel and get a very early nights sleep in order to get up at 3am for breakfast and then make our way to the carnival parade which begun on Monday morning at 4am!!! This opening of the carnival is called Morgestraich (morning tattoo), when at four in the morning the lights go out in Basel and the Lady of Misrule takes over the city.
Origins of the Basel carnival
(Fasnacht = shrovetide eve)takes its name from the start of the fasting season of lent. But this, the most important event in the life of Basel, is also fixed by Christian holy days. Carnival is always held six weeks before Easter, a week later than the Fas(t)nacht widely celebrated throughout neighboring German-speaking Catholic areas. This came about because of a 16th-century Papal change of calendar, of which no-one in Protestant Basel would take notice.
Waking up at 3am we had a quick breakfast and made our way with thousands of other people who had come to Basel just to experience this night, onto the chilly black streets. We found our friends and exactly at 4am the lights in the city went out a hush fell over the whole city. All of a sudden in the distance came the gentle noise of high pitched piccolos playing, and suddenly a faint echo of drumming began. Soon, as the people walking in the parade got closer, so did the noise and the illumination of the head lanterns each person was wearing.
02- Faschnacht 07 street parade sign
It was an unforgettable sight and feeling watching these soft lighted lamps coming towards you and suddenly a whole lot of funny, grotesque and clown like masked people coming straight for you playing a deafening and repetitious high pitched piccolo tune which didn't leave my head for days while the army of drum players in sync beats vibrated through our bodies and the whole city. Drums and fifes
For three days and nights, the city is in uproar, borne aloft on the sound of tens of thousands of fife-players and drummers who form into so-called cliques that join up in procession, with a new common theme every year. For a generation, these have been supplemented by the Guggemusigg, wind and percussion bands best defined as a cross between big band and noise machine.
We watched the drummers and fifes and followed our favorite paraders around the city, through large squares and down tiny cobbled stoned lanes, following the sound and lantern lite path as we went. It was quite seriously one of the strangest nights of my life. It all felt like a you were in a dream, l felt a bit like l was one of the children following the pied piper of to his death. Around 5.30am after an hour and a half of walking the streets totally immersed in this dream like parade we partook in another Faschnact tradition: Schnitzelbängg, Mehlsuppe and Zwiebelwähe (mocking verse, flour gruel (soup), and onion pie)!!!! Yes thats right at around 5.30am in the morning everybody retreats inside the restaurants in the city to eat flour soup and onion pie!! Talk about morning breath! I have to admit l was pleasantly surprised by the taste of them both, though would prefer them as more a lunch time meal instead of a very early breakfast!! By this stage of the morning the girls and l were exhausted and the day was just beginning.
03- The opening night parade in early morning
So we walked back to the hotel to get a couple more hours sleep before partaking in the rest of the days celebrations.Waking up around 11am, l literally felt like the events earlier in the morning had been a dream. We went and had a huge breakfast again and then made our way back out onto the streets to join in the festivities. Again the paraders came out in their costumes, playing the same tune and beat, only this time they were either marching or standing in large floats. The masked attenders in the floats would pass out lollies, wattle, oranges and roses to those who would beg hard enough. However, it wasn't without a risk! If you dared to go near the floats the attender would decide if they would give you one of these items or grab you and throw confetti all over you! Of course the girls and l got completely covered in confetti, but we also managed to end up with a whole umbrella full of lollies, wattle, oranges and roses!! It was such a fun afternoon and the masks and costumes were simply amazing! Alto of the political meanings l could not work out behind the costumes and banners as it was either in German or just too bizarre to work out, but it was absolutely fascinating to watch!
Tired and carrying enough lollies to last us a year, we packed our tired bodies into the van in the late afternoon and ate our lollies all the way to Verbier leaving Basel and its confetti and orange littered streets behind!
Fachnacht is an experience and day l will never forget, a mixture of dreams, political saturation, fun and over tiredness made it an unforgettable experience!
If you too would like to go: In 2008, the "Basler Fasnacht" will take place from 11 to 13 February. Make sure you book months ahead, there is a great YHA in Basel right near the train station.
