Ich feire Karneval in Deutschland!

Today is Ash Wednesday, a very quiet day to end the many days of parades, drinking, and celebrating here in Deutschland. I have experienced two surprisingly different ways to celebrate Karneval: Fasching and Fasnacht. Fasching, the more modern and younger way to celebrate Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) in Boeblingen and Fasnacht, the more traditional festivities for Shrove Tuesday in Rottweil (about 1 hour South of Boeblingen). I am excited to share the differences through pictures and description! 

*Unfortunately Ryan was at work during these festivities so he was not able to participate. 

Fasching

First off let me say that I had no idea about these celebrations until we went to the Real store (like Walmart) and saw all of these costumes for sale, much like Halloween. People have been dressing in costumes since last Thursday and many restaurants and stores have been decorated since then as well. 

For the parade which was supposed to start at 1 pm I walked down to the city near the lakes and found a not-so-crowded place on the street to stand. The schools have been closed for these celebrations so the streets were packed with kinder in costumes and people of all other ages. Like most American parades, there were bands but please note the differences in costumes.

Then things got interesting... Here is a list of things at this parade: people and cars pulling flaming wooden carts and baskets (yep, real fire), fireworks and various things that smoke and make loud cracking noises, candy for children and shots of alcohol for adults (yep the people in the parade poured shots into the mouths of the people on the street). The most unusual part is that the parade is comprised of various "monsters" in masks that go around and tease people. They tickle your face with feathers, take your hat and mess up your hair, throw confetti in your face, draw and write on your face with face paint, and tackle young women (mostly teenagers) and tie their feet together.

After the parade the streets were very crowded so I followed the crowd to the lake where I enjoyed a few beers, Schoenbuch makes a special Fasching beer that was quite good. I met some American girls and English speaking Germans that I spent the afternoon and evening barhopping with. It was educational and I was able to practice some German.

Fasnacht 

Early Tuesday afternoon our landlords, a very nice older couple that speaks English very well, asked me if I would like to accompany them to Rottweil to see the more traditional Fasnacht parade. I joined them of course for the drive, the parade, and dessert at a cafe. We talked about life, Germany, and traditions so that I could understand the differences between the celebrations. Rottweil is a very old city on the river near the Black Forest. It was not damaged during WWII since it is out in the middle of nowhere. The old brick streets were still very crowded but the music, the costumes, and the festivities were different. The entire parade was comprised of people in masks and costumes, hundreds that walk down the street. They entertain and tease the crowd but in a much milder form.

When we couldn't take any more of the children near us chanting a song in German that means "Give me candy" much like "Trick-or-Treat", we walked down by the street to hear the live band and then left to go a town over for cake, coffee, and Berliners.

I am happy that I had the opportunity to experience both of these traditions and also happy for a day of peace and quiet.