The World of Nickolândia: koln

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Brühl. Brooool!

The great thing about visiting my friend Laura was that she is from a smaller town outside of Cologne, called Brühl , so I got to see how Carnival is celebrated in a more traditional ways, outside of the big show in Koln.

We started the day at one of her friends houses, with a big group of her friends from back in high school. Naturally, I sat there like a dumbo listening to all the german and understanding nothing. My 30 word German vocabulary doesn't lend too well to conversations. I'm pretty good at tuning people out now while they speak foreign languages in which I have no clue what is being said, and just seem interject when a thought pops into my head. Better than being a mute the entire time in some instances, which lends itself to not getting to know anyone. Since it is a smaller town most of her friends speak some English, but were not so confident in their abilities. That meant they more or less didn't pay too much attention to my humble presence unless coerced into talking via questions. Then they finally realize, after reassurance that their English is ok, that a conversation is perfectly possible.

Big breakfasts seem to be a pretty German thing in my experience, and Carnival breakfasts don't disappoint. The table spread was massive. prosciutto, salamis, cheeses, fresh breads, jams, butter, nutella, and deserts such as Berliners (which is like a jelly roll donut). During carnival they also have a somewhat special food which is essentially raw ground beef. Spread it over a nice roll, and it is quite scrumptious indeed. I topped that off on a roll in addition to prosciutto and salami and they looked at me like I was from Mars. We stopped at the bakery beforehand and picked up some sweets to bring, but generously the host supplied nearly everything for a bloat inducing breakfast. She showed me her box of costumes from her and her dad's stuff from the last 30 years, they really get into it. I borrowed a black robe with some Japanese writing on it, stuck with the fish on my head, and settled for sushi chef (lame?). At least the fish on my head made me look like a buffoon.

Brühl is a tiny town of 50,000 or less. And for that size, they throw a heck of a parade. It seemed to last for at least 3 hours or so, and it felt like pretty much the whole town was out for it.With Lautaro also coming in from Luxembourg, we partook vigorously, like little kids, and tried to get a bit of everything they threw out (Lautaro enjoyed beating the kids to the candy). Apples, oranges, kids tshirts, coffee creamer, candy, kleenex, and plenty of other random things. Our group had a massive bag at the end. The resemblance to Halloween, sans parade, is certainly there.

Only in a small town can you take a photo with people in the parade!

You can drink beer on the street (well...like most countries on Earth).

I caught an orange!

These guys came right after the Texas redneck float. I'm not sure if the irony was planned.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cologne Carnival

Cologne (Köln) Carnival. It's like halloween meets St. Patrick's day on steroids, mixed with Lousiana Mardi Gras and lasting full on for 6 days (sans lewd guys trying to get girls to show their boobs on balconies, but including a wave of 'carnival babies' 9 months later). Comparing carnival in Koln to that of Rio is a bit useless. The one in Koln is definitely unique into it's own. It's one of the biggest in Europe, and the Germans in North-Rheine Westphalia, the state Cologne is in, definitely go all out over it. They even call it their 'fifth season', because technically their celebrations start in November and don't end until Ash Wednesday. Every small town in this state seems to have their own parade. Even the Monday before Ash Wednesday is a state holiday so people can attend the big parade in Cologne.

And in those 6 days you'll see it all. You can walk down many a street in the afternoon, seeing packed lines on the sidewalks so people can get out of the cold and into bars. People in Bert and Ernie costumes or dressed as clowns with their butts pressed up against the steamy glass windows as they dance on a bench to some classic German Oompah carnival songs with a tiny kölsch beer in their hand (kölsch is a style of beer specific to only Cologne, highly akin to water and served in mini .2 L glasses, contrasting completely with it's famous Bavarian counterparts). Trying to find a bar for a nice drink where you can talk easily in the city during Carnival, now that is a challenge which we failed miserably at.

But it's not just for people in their 20s. You will see all ages dressed up and out, from people pushing their dressed up stroller kids to 85 year olds. It's a real tradition, and people get seriously into it. There are the traditional Carnival costumes, like the clowns with the patchwork fabric, or more conservative but still festive suits and dresses for men/women, plus plenty of non-traditional ones, like a group of ghostbusters, for example. Pirates, military guys, dumbo, Jesus, anything with makeup, it's all there.

On Monday ('Rose Monday'), there is a parade in Cologne that lasts 6 hours or so, with something like 1 million people out and about in the streets. They throw out candies from the floats during the parade, mostly. Also, things like oranges, single flowers, and stranger junk like coffee creamer, t-shirts, masks, etc. And not just the kids yell for them to throw stuff, so the atmosphere is quite lively with many people shouting and laughing and excited. Nothing as gaudy and hot and sweaty as Rio, but certainly as festive. I even felt a bit out of place one day not wearing any sort of costume walking around the city.

My friend Laura, whom I met last semester in Gent and is from a city just outside Cologne, was there to show me around. We saw some parades, went to some bars, ate some quintissential german food, and did a bunch of other touristy stuff while at it, even spending a day at her hometown 30 minutes away, Bruhl, for their celebration. One day, Lautaro, my friend from Buenos Aires, joined us, and another evening Monika, who is also from Germany but living here in Gent, joined us. I bought a stupid looking fish hat in Gent, and was given a black robe with some japanese signage, so I went as a sushi chef.