The First Day of Karneval!

    Karneval has begun! To kick off Karneval, we met up with the other students at AIB Thursday morning so we could walk to the parade in Bonn Beuel together. People of all ages were dressed up in elaborate costumes and people were already drinking at 8:30 in the morning! Once we got to Bonn Beuel we heard Karneval music blaring in the background as we weaved our way through the crowds of people dressed up in every costume imaginable. Shortly after finding a spot big enough for all of us to stand, the parade began! In order to get candy, we had to yell ‘kamella’ and ‘alaaf’ as the floats and people passed by. I think we were pretty successful because we got a ton of candy thrown our way! Of course the fact that we were dancing along with the music probably didn’t hurt either. I loved the fun and goofy atmosphere of the entire parade, and that atmosphere didn’t fade as we walked back across the Rhine to grab lunch in Bonn. The streets of Bonn were filled with people, parties, and beer. After lunch we walked around Bonn and went to several bars which were a lot of fun! However, by dinnertime we were all pretty exhausted so a group of us went to get dinner before going back home for the night. From just this first day I could tell Karneval was going to be awesome and I’m glad it lasts all the way until Tuesday!

Everyone at AIB before the parade

A group of us at the parade in Bonn Beuel

Some of the bioscience kids at the parade in Bonn Beuel