Well this year, Karneval (i.e. Carnival, or Mardi Gras) fell on my birthday! So I had to go. And conveniently enough, Cologne is both the heart of German Karneval and almost exactly equidistant from Hamburg, Munich, and Paris. So it became a birthday trip with my other fellow Californians-in-Europe, Sarah Tegenfeldt and Caitlin Miller. Three of Caitlin's fellow TAPIF-ers also joined, so we were a group of six and we had a BLAST.
What to say about Karneval... it was quite a unique experience, and I'm really glad I got to experience it. The whole city basically becomes one giant party. I'm not exaggerating. We didn't have a plan in place for where we wanted to go, because my roommate had told me, "Even if you don't end up where you planned on going, you'll end up somewhere!" And she was so right! All you have to do is cross the river and you're in Karneval. In fact, you don't even have to do that. As long as you can see the Dom (which is pretty much from anywhere within a 10 kilometer radius), you can find somewhere to party.
Cologne isn't necessarily my new favorite German city, and I don't think that I would go to Karneval every year, but it certainly is a ton of fun. I would recommend the experience to anyone who asked. And it is a hell of a lot cheaper than Oktoberfest.
When you enter the city on the train, you come in on this bridge:
and end up right next to the Dom! (Cathedral)
Now, I know I've seen a lot of cathedrals. Probably at least 20, depending on your definition of a "cathedral". But this one is in the top five most impressive, next to the cathedrals in Milan and Bergamo. Here are some facts from Wikipedia to accompany the next few pictures.
The Cologne Cathedral is Germany's most-visited landmark, with an average 20,000 visitors per day.
The facade is the largest of any cathedral in the world, with towers approximately 157 meters (515 feet) tall.
Construction began in 1248 and continued until 1473, when the cathedral was left unfinished. It was finally finished according to the original plans in 1880.
The Koelner Dom actually survived World War II despite the total desecration of the city, because it was used as a landmark for Allied bombers and therefore avoided being a direct target.
From 1880 to 1884, this cathedral was the tallest building in the world.
For more facts about the Koelner Dom, go to Wikipedia or The Dom Website.
Day 2, aka Valentine's Day, aka my birthday, was devoted to enjoying Karneval!! It is required that you wear a costume. Required. For many many Germans, this implies finding the most ridiculous clothing you can and throwing it on all at once. There were many sequined hats, boas, brightly-colored wigs, ridiculously-painted faces, and animal onesies (which Sarah and I have decided is the way to go. So easy and so warm!). There were also some awesome group costumes... keep looking for pictures and details!
Our group had two group costumes: the four seasons, and "night and day".
From left to right: spring, summer, fall, and winter!
The face paint was honestly our favorite part.
I wore those heels for half of the day... they weren't uncomfortable, but the cobblestones were dangerous.
The whole group. The headlamp as "the sun" might be my favorite part of anyone's costume. Way to be a trooper, Andrew.
We took off to explore the city without any rhyme or reason, and unfortunately most of the pictures are not on my camera. If you're curious, they should appear in my tagged pictures on Facebook within a week or so.
One of my favorite parts about Karneval is the way in which completely crazy takes over completely normal. Shop owners wear blue afro wigs, grocery stores are decked out in ribbons, and costume-wearing, grown-ass adults flood the public transit like any other day.
My favorite quote about the experience is from Caitlin's friend, Zoe: "I was on the train with a BILLION Germans, between a woman in a blue wig on this side, and a couple making out on the other..."
These guys were from the Spanish Pinquisition. Their relic was the teeth and mustache of "Freddie Mercury", and they gave me a holy blessing when they found out it was my birthday. They also said, and I quote, "Americans are so pious! You're the first ones to do this shit with us!"
Pictures from the night are non-existent, as they should be. But here's a short video from a bar we went to in the student quarter. Lots and lots of Schlager Music. (Don't know what that is? Click HERE) There were several songs that Sarah and I particularly like because we know them from Oktoberfest, and we of course sang along as loudly as possible. Enjoy our two favorites here (or here if you're in the U.S.), and here.
Day 3 was for sight-seeing. The France crew left early to pick up a rental car and drive over to Berlin, so Sarah and I looked up the best place to get a bird's eye view of the city (Koeln Triangle, for those of you who are interested. Only 3 euros!)
Selfie from the top. The pictures of both of us, as well as those on the GoPro, are in Sarah's possession.
This bridge was completely destroyed during WWII:
We then wandered back through the city just to observe some more madness.
Don't judge the selfie stick until you've used the selfie stick!
The city was prepared. Many stores boarded up their glass display windows, and pretty much every statue was protected as well. Btw, "Jesus lebt" means "Jesus lives".
The city basically gets trashed every day. The ground throughout the entire center was sticky from spilled drinks. But they clean it up overnight, just for it to get trashed again the next day. This goes on for a week.
One of the strangest parts of the whole experience was the juxtaposition of a ridiculous party atmosphere against this stately, incredible Gothic cathedral. People went in the cathedral while in full costume. No one was disrespectful from what I saw, but it's funny to see a group of ducks wandering around looking at the mosaics and statues.
Many MANY awesome group costumes. I think my favorites were the toadstools, a group of pink panthers, and bumblebees. There were also countless men in dresses and skirts. I love that Germans, who are typically very serious people, really know how to let loose for things like this. And they have no qualms about cross-dressing.
A short glimpse of a parade. The people in the parade throw candy to the watching crowd.
On the train ride back to Hamburg, I sat next to a man in a penguin onesie and across from a clown whose makeup was wearing off.
So there you have it! This was definitely an excellent way to spend my birthday. Thanks to Sarah, Caitlin, Anya, Zoe, Andrew, and tens of thousands of un-named Germans and tourists for celebrating with me!
