Cologne Hotels
|
  | |  |
Karnival - Prelude to the Main Event
Entry 40 of 61 | show all | print this entry |
|
Back in November when Steve and I first arrived in Cologne, we had our first taste of Karnival. It kicked off on Sunday, November 11, 2007 (every year it is on 11/11)and we had no idea of what to expect. Days before the celebration began, people gave us hints of what it was going to be like..."the biggest party you have ever seen, "bigger than Mardi Gras in your country", "more than 100,000 people will be here". Of course neither Steve nor I believed them...at first.
In the days leading up to Karnival, we watched people begin preparing their costumes for the big day. Those wearing their own costumes were making their final touches and those who hadn't yet purchased one (like Steve and I), were rushing to the costume shops at the last minute to find one.
As far as costumes went, we first thought that we could "blend in" without one...that not everyone would be dressing up. Well, once we saw all of the costume shops everywhere, we realized that we would be completely singled out as tourists without one. So at the last minute, we made a mad dash to Germany's equivalent of a "dollar store" (I use the term loosely because they sold some very strange items). Anyway, I picked out a pink-fringed cowboy hat and Mardi Gras mask for my costume and Steve bought a black cowboy hat (upon which he fixed a stuffed penguin wearing a Santa hat). We spent $10EU on both costumes and considering we saw costumes renting for $200EU, I think we did pretty good!
The night before Carnival, Steve and I walked around Heumarkt, the main city square, to see how they were setting everything up for the big party. We couldn't believe our eyes. Imagine the streets of downtown Holland gated off for Tulip Time and then condense all of it into Centennial Park. That is what they were preparing for. There were vendors set up every ten feet, beer stands everywhere, and stages in several different locations. They had several hundred "porta potties" (which they call moveable water closets here) and these strange things called "peeing curtains" where guys pee on a curtain and it just drips onto the ground. They are really disgusting but a good utilization of space if you don't mind people watching you pee!
The day of Karnival, we awoke to loud sounds of marching bands and people partying in the streets. This was at 8:00 a.m. We followed a posse of drunk Germans to Heumarkt where the celebration kicked off at 11:11 a.m. I'm going to do my best to describe the scene at Karnival but pictures will speak much louder than words so make sure you take a look. Imagine stepping foot into Times Square on New Years Eve in New York City, then put Halloween Costumes on everyone standing there, and then place a beer or a bottle of booze (or both) into everyone's hand. Add loud festive music, crowds so thick that THEY move you, and broken glass under your feet everywhere you walk. Now you are at Karnival in Cologne!
So you're probably asking yourselves, "Why is she writing this blog now when this took place the very first week they got there?" Good question. After Karnival was over and the madness of the day had passed, we were talking to a local bartender and he asked us of we had a good time. We said that we had a lot of fun but that we were glad it only lasted one day because it was so crazy. He laughed and said, "So will you be ready for the big Karnival then?" Quite confused, we looked at each other and said, "We thought this WAS Karnival?" He replied, "Oh it was...but just the little one. The big one is on January 31st and goes for 5 days straight. That one is the BIG party!"
In light of the fact that more is yet to come and that this is just the "Prelude to the Main Event", I thought that it might carry a little more impact if I posted these as a series of blogs all at once. That way you get a much better idea of just how crazy things were, are, and will be during the Karnival celebration here in Cologne! More thumbnails ...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from Germany or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
4 votes 
This is a top pick!
