Cologne: Aalaf!

Karneval is not an official holiday in Germany but if the cities in the Rhineland didn't shut public offices and schools down, I'm not sure how anyone would be able to get around! Koln, or Cologne, is noted for the biggest parade and celebration of Rosenmontag, or Rose Monday, in the Rhineland. Just a short distance from Dusseldorf, we were lucky enough that our friend had received tickets for a party at Cologne's rathaus and seats on bleachers for the parade route. While "helau" is the traditional greeting in Dusseldorf, you'd be laughed at for saying anything other than "aalaf" in Cologne.


At the rathaus, or town hall, we joined in the celebration being hosted by the city mayor. Red and white were the colors of the day with balloons and streamers in those colors all over the room. Traditional German dancers (wearing red and white, of course) performed with a live band for the cheering and dancing crowds. Though early (about 10.45 am), the local pilsner beer was flowing freely and the lunch buffet was fully stocked.



Everyone was in costume at the party. Everyone. The most traditional sort of costume is the old Prussian military uniform, sported mostly by older men (and some women) but all sorts of costumes were in play. Some of the less creative (including myself) used hats or wigs to constitute 99% of the costume but, hey, at least we were all in the spirit. Use of feathers was widespread and I thought that the hat pictured above showed them off quite nicely.


A little after noon, we headed out of the rathaus, stuffed and maybe just a little tipsy from all the tiny glasses of beer. Claiming our seats on the bleachers, we expected German punctuality for the quarter-to-one start time. While the parade did start then, it was quite a slow beginning. A float or marching group/band would pass by every 5 minutes or so. We thought "this is it?" Luckily, after about a half hour the pace picked up a bit and the floats really started to come by.

The celebration of Karneval is nearly as old as the city itself since the Christians adopted pagan springtime rites to incorporate them into Lenten rituals. However, the organized celebration that we were able to witness dates back less than 200 years. In 1823, the Festordnende Komitee was founded and began to organize the celebrate and the parade that continues today. Like the social clubs that create and sponsor the New Orleans Mardi Gras floats, the Festordnende Komitee operates in a similar fashion.


Instead of beads, chocolates and candies are thrown from the floats to the crowds. Since this is a family affair, creative costumes attract attention from the floats - not nudity. The Komitee members on each float (and their friends and family, I suppose) have chocolate bars that are often wrapped in personalized paper to indicate what Komitee they're from. The crowds along the streets and bleachers come prepared - we were probably the only group WITHOUT a canvas bag to throw all our candy in. In fact, we had a hard time collecting in the beginning. It just didn't seem like much candy was coming our way and wasn't until a box (yes, a freaking box) bounced off my hands onto the bleachers to be stolen by a woman in a bumblebee costume that we realized we had to be more aggressive. So we dove within bleacher seats and Mark tried to attract attention with his large afro. We didn't get nearly as much as our seatmates (or the bumblebee) but we collected a large enough portion that our host (with whom we left the chocolates) probably won't have to buy sweets for another few months.


The parade and floats themselves were a mixture of bands, dancers, and political humor. We saw a float that depicted German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a string bikini, one representing the economic meltdown, a cowboy cartoon of G.W. Bush, and of course - President Obama. Costumes from the stands ranged from bumblebees to Winnie the Pooh to a broke investment banker (probably my favorite). The Cologne Karneval ended up providing the perfect atmosphere to let loose before Lent's message of abstinence began.