Alter Bruecke in Heidelberg
Train to Koenigstuhl
Up the Mountain to Koenigstuhl
Heidelberg from Koenigstuhl
Grace and I at Koenigstuhl
Grace and Abby and I at Fasching Party
Me and Barack
Joining the ParadeTuesday was a beautiful sunny day in Heidelberg, not to be wasted by sitting inside. Of course, Caro, unfortunately had to work and I was at home alone, STILL unemployed and on my long vacation :) It will be strange to actually have to go to a place of work 5 days a week starting in March since I haven’t done it in over 3 years! But who can really call going to a rockin’ grocery store, doing what I love, actually work? Gonna be great, after I get passed the new job jitters and get in the groove of things. Anyway, I started my Tuesday events by enjoying a little coffee with my American friends Abby and Grace at a cute shop at the back of the Hauptstrasse called Café Moro. We reminisced a while and Grace and I made a plan to do a little Touristy stuff as it is my last week here. We hopped the bus to Neckargemuund about 20 minutes away. It’s another little German town basically connected to Heidelberg along the Neckar River. We walked around checking out the architecture, taking pictures, and enjoyed the sunshine. Then we decided to catch the Bergbahn (mountain train) in Heidelberg up to the top of the mountain, a point called the Koenigstuhl. Even though I was a little nervous about the old box car train snapping the pulley system cable on the way up the steep track, the ride was quite nice. The view of Heidelberg was incredible from the top. It was a little bit hazy but still viewable. After a quick view and some pictures at the top we had to head down the mountain in order to make it to Abby’s before a big parade crowded the Hauptstrasse where the front window of her apartment over looked. Tuesday was the Fasching Parade and she was having a party at her apartment on the Hauptstrasse in honor of this well known German event.
What is Fasching you may ask? (Just like I did, of course.) Well….. New Orleans has Mardi Gras. Venice has Carnevale. Germany has Fasching. Around the world, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday mark a time of revelry, merry making, and celebration. Some places, more than others, seem to have the honor of hosting the grandest, most spectacular festivities. Fasching, as a term, is derived from the word Fastnacht, meaning "eve of the beginning of the fast." Linguists speculate that "Fasching" also developed out of the Middle High German "vaschanc" or "vastschang" (Fastschank), which means the last drink served before the Lenten fast. Let’s just say it seemed as though many really did think it was the last drink they would get for a while. Some stumbled down the streets while others crowded the bars. The main street in Heidelberg was crowded with people of all ages dressed as if it was Halloween, adults and teenagers “getting their drink on” and little ones dressed up in cute little costumes with bags or baskets ready to catch the candy thrown from the groups and floats in the parade. The parade consisted of all sorts of groups in elaborate costumes, marching bands, and decorated floats being driven down the street. Some floats threw candy, others threw bread and soft pretzels (I would expect nothing less in Germany, the bread capital of the world), and one of my personal favorite floats, the Heidelberger Braurrei vintage auto, threw beer. (Ok maybe they didn’t throw it and actually handed it out in a keg cup but it would have been pretty funny if they did.) An afternoon of adults getting drunk and kids in costume collecting candy was a slightly funny combo to observe and ponder about…just picture that in the States at Halloween…a ring at your doorbell…kids trick-or-treating and adults trick-or-drinking and at the end of the night candy and beer bottles strewn across the livingroom floor being separated out for trading and future enjoyment. “Hey daddy, how many Heinikens did YOU get?” “I’ll trade you 5 packs of gummy bears for that big pretzel.” Sorry got a little side tracked with that one…moving on… continuing my explanation of Fasching… it began as a blend of pagan traditions with new Christian customs. Dressing-up as fools, clowns, or comical servents is a common characteristic that stretches across cultural and political borders. Apparently, long ago, the lower classes used Fasching festivities to wear masks and costumes that mocked the clergy and aristocracy, using the celebrations to avoid punishment. Today, the costumes range from the traditional masks and fools, to contemporary pop culture references. You might actually think that Germany celebrates Halloween eight months early.
One of this year’s features was Barack Obama. I even have evidence of meeting the man himself (he’s just wearing gloves and kneeling down in the photo).
To join the festivities, I borrowed a Marti Gras mask from Abby, ate a little gumbo prepared by her Louisiana native husband, drank a few hurricane drinks and a couple German beers, and enjoyed the show, while also joining the parade from time to time. All together an eventful day topped off by a couple episodes of the Gilmore Girls at home in the evening. Caro introduced me to the series and I’m now slightly addicted. Good things she owns all 7 season although I’m not sure I can make it through 75 more episodes before leaving. Only a few more days left and then time to pack up for my flight back to the States on Monday :(
What is Fasching you may ask? (Just like I did, of course.) Well….. New Orleans has Mardi Gras. Venice has Carnevale. Germany has Fasching. Around the world, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday mark a time of revelry, merry making, and celebration. Some places, more than others, seem to have the honor of hosting the grandest, most spectacular festivities. Fasching, as a term, is derived from the word Fastnacht, meaning "eve of the beginning of the fast." Linguists speculate that "Fasching" also developed out of the Middle High German "vaschanc" or "vastschang" (Fastschank), which means the last drink served before the Lenten fast. Let’s just say it seemed as though many really did think it was the last drink they would get for a while. Some stumbled down the streets while others crowded the bars. The main street in Heidelberg was crowded with people of all ages dressed as if it was Halloween, adults and teenagers “getting their drink on” and little ones dressed up in cute little costumes with bags or baskets ready to catch the candy thrown from the groups and floats in the parade. The parade consisted of all sorts of groups in elaborate costumes, marching bands, and decorated floats being driven down the street. Some floats threw candy, others threw bread and soft pretzels (I would expect nothing less in Germany, the bread capital of the world), and one of my personal favorite floats, the Heidelberger Braurrei vintage auto, threw beer. (Ok maybe they didn’t throw it and actually handed it out in a keg cup but it would have been pretty funny if they did.) An afternoon of adults getting drunk and kids in costume collecting candy was a slightly funny combo to observe and ponder about…just picture that in the States at Halloween…a ring at your doorbell…kids trick-or-treating and adults trick-or-drinking and at the end of the night candy and beer bottles strewn across the livingroom floor being separated out for trading and future enjoyment. “Hey daddy, how many Heinikens did YOU get?” “I’ll trade you 5 packs of gummy bears for that big pretzel.” Sorry got a little side tracked with that one…moving on… continuing my explanation of Fasching… it began as a blend of pagan traditions with new Christian customs. Dressing-up as fools, clowns, or comical servents is a common characteristic that stretches across cultural and political borders. Apparently, long ago, the lower classes used Fasching festivities to wear masks and costumes that mocked the clergy and aristocracy, using the celebrations to avoid punishment. Today, the costumes range from the traditional masks and fools, to contemporary pop culture references. You might actually think that Germany celebrates Halloween eight months early.
One of this year’s features was Barack Obama. I even have evidence of meeting the man himself (he’s just wearing gloves and kneeling down in the photo).
To join the festivities, I borrowed a Marti Gras mask from Abby, ate a little gumbo prepared by her Louisiana native husband, drank a few hurricane drinks and a couple German beers, and enjoyed the show, while also joining the parade from time to time. All together an eventful day topped off by a couple episodes of the Gilmore Girls at home in the evening. Caro introduced me to the series and I’m now slightly addicted. Good things she owns all 7 season although I’m not sure I can make it through 75 more episodes before leaving. Only a few more days left and then time to pack up for my flight back to the States on Monday :(
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