Fasching 2012 was a bit more um, colorful, than Fasching 2011.  At least for us.  Husband had read about the parade in Mainz and heard it was second only to the celebration in Koln.  It isn't all that far away and it seemed like something to to check off the bucket list while we were here.  

I did mention it to my German friends a few days earlier to which they both responded, "Why? They'll all be drunk," with a shake of their heads. Honestly, we took that with a grain of salt.  For one thing, all German festivals involve a fair amount of alcohol.  While drinking and driving is dealt with severely here, open intoxicants and drinking and walking are not considered a problem. So we expected some of that. But "all" sounded like an exaggeration.  Yeah.

It wasn't. 

I am just going to interject here that the little people generally get dressed up cute when going out in public. But sometime in those last minutes before we get out the door Brendan usually reworks at least part of his outfit. Today it was his cold weather gear. So. Back to your regularly scheduled programming…

We arrived an hour or so before the parade was set to begin and immediately found a parking spot.  Rare events such as these always make us pause and go, hmmmm <g> After scouring the street for signs to the contrary, we assured ourselves it was, indeed, a legit spot.  We headed down through the park to the city center. It wasn't hard to find.  You just follow the noise. 

The parade route was lined with beer trucks and pommes vendors, beer and french fries being standard festing fare.  People were milling about and just beginning to line up streetside. We took spots ourselves and settled in.  That lasted about 20 minutes, at which point a crowd of "young people" (ok, did I just say that?  I did.  I think I am very old….)  could be seen carousing down the street in our direction.   When they gathered on our corner and decided to stay I smiled pathetically at Husband and he moved us further down the road.  Right after I taped them. <g>  It's terrible video because you know, there is a fine line between getting footage of drunken revelry and being noticed getting footage of same. 

Untitled from Starry Sky Ranch on Vimeo.

 You get extra points if you can identify the song on that one.  If you watch international soccer you might recognize it.  Give me an H!

So we set up again and waited.  A long time.  Two more hours actually.  Which required some pommes to convince Abbie it was going to be worth it.  

The crowds grew to massive size by the time the parade reached our end of town. Like, massive. Like, the kind of crowds you see on the news massive.  The rest of the event could be summed up thusly: music, costumes, and public drunkeness.  All in large quantities.

You might think you have a visual, but if you haven't been here I am venturing to say you probably don't. I am not posting all my pics here (though several will likely end up on the website by the end of the week) because some were a little over the top. Like the guy dangling the little girl out of the window ala Michael Jackson.  Or the old folks in the parade chugging tiny shot bottles of vodka as they marched.  Or the bottles and broken glass that literally covered the streets like peanuts at the Organ Grinder.  (Did I just date myself?  Someone tell me there are still Organ Grinder restaurants someplace?)

(this was my little space before things got rockin'.  The dirty clogs are mine, the vodka wasn't though)

Don't get me wrong, it WAS a cool thing to say you got to see in person.  Still, we did form a human chain and got outta Dodge before the parade was over. Seemed better to leave before the crowd no longer had something to focus their attention upon.   Our German friends said this year was particularly rowdy and the news was all about it last night.  So Tina, if you are reading this – you were right!  

Anyway, I was pretty pumped that I did get to see those giant puppet head guys finally.   The kids mostly had fun – if sometimes in a deer in the headlights sorta way.  Always an adventure in this family. Always an adventure.  They will never be short on stories!

If you want to get a feel for the place and the day I made this slide video. The music is one of the party songs you hear at all these things.  I apologize in advance if you are singing "La, la, lalala" all day now. If it makes you feel any better it is stuck in my head now too.  "So a schöner tag…"  Remember I already explained this event so you know that this may be a PG show ok?  Ok. 

Untitled from Starry Sky Ranch on Vimeo.

Enjoy!  As for me it is four minutes to lent now.  Probably my cue to go to bed instead of sitting up snacking as though I was storing up til April.  Even if I maybe was. <g>   

If you want to learn more about Fasching in Germany you can check out last year's posts here and here.