Kamelle, Kostumes, Karneval, Alaaf!!! - Week 6

Bonn, Germany

February 20th - 27th

Karnvel is here! Alaaf!!!

This week was chalk full of fun! I have officially learned what it means to balance work with play. I had my first differential equations test on Thursday, which happened to be the first day of Karnvel and we had no scheduled classes that day but my professor at A&M didn't know that. In turn, this required me to study for hours for an exam I took at 7:45 in the evening instead of enjoying the Karneval festivities that began at 10:45 that morning. I'm pretty sure all of the hard work paid off though, and that's all I could ask for.

Traditional Karnvel guard outfits

So what is Karneval you ask? I like to think of it as Halloween on steroids. Everyone dresses up in costume, young and old people alike, and we go watch parades that travel all throughout the city, screaming Kamelle so that the people in the parade will throw candy and other goodies at us. One could compare this event to mardi grais, but I would have to say it's better. This is a very biased opinion though since I've never actually participated in mardi gras. I've only heard the stories. Anyway, the whole city on Bonn completely transformed into a party town for five days. Thursday was the official start to the holiday weekend, in the sense of the parades began this day, and there was an introductory parade in Beuel. Thursday was also considered women's Karnvel, a day specifically for the women. Men would wear ties so that women could cut them and the women could kiss anyone they thought was cute. Everyone got really rowdy but it was all good fun! The test that evening wasn't all that great, but grades come first in this situation.

All weekend there were parades and everyone was dressed in costume. Five whole days of costumes and going out and having a great time. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there were more parades around Bonn and Koln and Sunday was the day I got to participate in a parade. AiB was asked if some students wanted to help a group of disabled individuals in a parade. Our theme was people of the world/Pippie Longstocking. Everyone was dressed as a cultural person or Pippie herself. I decided to be Pippie which I regretfully don't have a picture of. The parade was an experience I won't forget. We paraded through the streets throwing candy at all of the spectators who were lined up for kilometers. Karneval music was blaring from the van that was in front us. I've had these songs stuck in my head for the last three days now.

Candy hall from the parade.

The Karneval season ended with Rosenmontag or the closing parade that went through all of the major streets of Bonn. I literally stood in a crowd of people for three hours catching candy that was being thrown at me from above, below, and to the sides. It was incredible and I now have a whole bag full of goodies that I will get to snack on whenever I wish. Giant tractors had to maneuver floats through tiny streets that carried people and loads of goodies. Many of the parade participants were dressed in a traditional guard outfit while others were dressed to represent an organization they were apart of. There were all a lot of horse drawn wagons as well. All in all, this was an experience I will never forget and definitely want to participate in again.