It's a Small World After All: February 2012

You might have clicked on this link merely to figure out what the title of my blog says. Kölle Alaaf, Cologne above all, is a popular phrase heard throughout the city during the season of Carnival. Carnival is a week-long street festival which takes place between Fat Thursday and ends on Ash Wednesday. The highlight of the carnival is Rose Monday.

     We have been anticipating a trip to Cologne, one of the oldest and the fourth largest city in Germany, and thought what better time than during Carnival. It was a two hour drive for us. We took off on Saturday and landed a room at a hotel just outside of the city.

     It just so happened that the small town that we stayed in was having its parade that day. As we unpacked the car and settled in, we watched masked people of all ages making their way down to the town's main drag. After a brief rest, we bundled up and headed out to the festivities. The parade lasted two and a half hours. We collected an entire plastic sack full of candy bars, gummies, fruit chews, flowers, stuffed animals, and other goodies.

     The following morning, we headed downtown Cologne to see its famous cathedral. It was magnificent. I wish I could have taken you there, because pictures just do not do it justice! Upon leaving the cathedral, crowds were gathering for yet another parade. Knowing that most places would be closed on Sunday, we cut out to join in. This parade also lasted two and a half hours.   It consisted of school groups, community groups, and bands. This was the most fun one to me because each group had a theme and all members were dressed the same. Some of the groups promoted energy conservation, local landmarks, or current events. With another bagful of candy and goodies in hand, we were ready to call it a day!

     We rose early the next morning, got dressed, ate breakfast, and headed downtown to find parking. It was Rosenmontag, and that meant the biggest parade yet! The carnival parade in Cologne is one of the largest street festivals in all of Germany. The parade was 7 km long and lasted for 5 hours. Lots more candy, costumes, and floats. Many of the floats were from local businesses such as banks and universities. The businesses or groups would have several floats guides by huge horses and the floats were very decorated, some featuring political satire, others covered in fresh flowers. Often the floats were followed by a train which housed their candy, since the parade lasted for so long. About halfway through we began to get ready to leave, but one quick look around reminded us we were there until the end. There were so many people around, it was impossible to get through the crowd, especially with a double stroller! About that time both girls fell asleep, so Ben and I munched on chocolate bars and gummy bears and watched the rest of the parade.

We had a lot of fun- it was really neat to celebrate in the German traditions, and we were really excited about all the confectionery we accumulated (although we had no idea what to do with it all)! More than anything, we were all ready to be home!!!

We will have to go back some time to see more of the beautiful city.

Take care & God Bless,
Staci