German Gems

Forget Fasching

That's what we did this year.  Instead of celebrating the "fifth season" in Germany, we decided to take advantage of discount fares on Lufthansa and see how Carnaval is celebrated in Madrid.  The concept is the same, the execution is, as you would expect, somewhat different.  Since drinking alcohol in public is illegal, we didn't encounter any of the associated problems, which sometimes can make Fasching in Germany no fun.

Friday night the events kicked off with the typical speeches by local officials, dancing and a small parade of elaborate human-animal creatures.  It was followed by a very bad Cirque de Soleil knock-off show.

 

  Saturday night was the main parade.  It was a combination of ethnic dance groups, small floats and lots of mythological creatures that were more creepy than fanciful.  I was surprised by the number of people that showed up; five or six people deep along some parts of the route.  It seemed like the whole city was there; everyone from babies in carriages to senior citizens.  It was difficult to take photos, so I found these to give you taste of what it was like.  The first one is a quick look; watch the second one if you want to see more.

 

  

After the parade we watched the rich and famous walk along the red carpet of the historic Madrid Casino on their way to the masquerade ball.

The German "Rose" Parade

or the closest thing to it, was also this past weekend.  In conjunction with the four day Bartholomäusmarkt, the town of Bad Ems hosted what the promotional brochure says is the largest floral parade in Germany with over 1.5 million Dahlias and nearly 300,000 cut flowers. 

It doesn't quite compare to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California or the Bloemencorso that travels from Noordwijk to Haarlem in The Netherlands but what can you expect from a small town in the middle of no where?  There were 46 parade participants which included local entries, corporate-sponsored floats and some of the best marching marching bands we've heard in Germany. 

A special treat was the advance party of old horse-drawn carriages that walked through this once famous spa town that was frequented by royalty such as Kaiser Wilhelm I, Tsar Nicholas I and Tsar Alexander II.

   
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerchemer Bierwoche

is the name of a week long beer festival held in the Rheinland Pfalz town of Kirchheimbolanden.  "Kerchem" is the local dialect nickname for the city. Rheinland Pfalz is not known for their beer, except for maybe the ubiquitous Bitburger, so we were curious to see what this was all about.

This year was the 13th annual event.  It is only held every two years and includes informational lectures and cooking ideas in addition to the more traditional parade and party.  We stuck to tradition and a couple of weekends ago, went just for the parade and party.  Like the Geleit and the Weinstrasse Kerwe, this was an event where the whole town and the whole family participated. We were very pleased to find a large selection of local beers as well as some of the more well known brands. 

Along with a couple of wine queens, the sunflower seed queen and the bee princess, we also saw the crowning of the new beer queen.  In a grape-growing region, she has one tough job!

A town landmark, redecorated for the week 

 

 They start young

 

 It's not the Shriners, but it's close

 

 Can't have beer without a bit of Bavaria

 

 
The King for the Week

 

The Incoming and Outgoing Beer Queens 

 

 

 

Geleit

means "escort" and it is the name of a festival celebrated every four years in the town of Seligenstadt, not far from Frankfurt.  The festival is a reminder of the way business was done in the Middle Ages -- merchants traveling long distances to a central location to sell their goods.  The "escort" was thanks to the Emperor who protected the travelers.  Fellow blogger Resident on Earth gives many more details about the festival and its history.

The town was suitably decked out for the occasion with flags adorning nearly every building around.

   
The parade we saw last Sunday depicted the merchants leaving town and included brewers, bakers, printers, hunters, fishers, shoemakers, soldiers and just about every other occupation of the time.  Everyone in the family participated, including the children and animals. In addition to the expected horse drawn wagons, we saw dogs, cattle and goats.

  

A highlight of the festival is the induction into the salesman's association, which to Americans would look like an old fashioned fraternity pledge party.  Every four years, selected individuals get to join the elite crowd by chugging a liter (yes, an entire liter) of wine from a special spoon.  It is such an honor that spoons from previous festivals are on display in the store windows around town.  I also learned why the spoon seems to be the town symbol.

 

Now, tell me, is there anything, anywhere in the US that compares? 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

A Weinstrasse Kerwe

was held in conjunction with the Deutsche Weinstrasse being car-free this past weekend.  Like the Fachwerkstrasse and the Bergstrasse, the Weinstrasse is a scenic route desinged to attract tourists. 

The "umzug", or parade was led by the single men who belong to the town social club, carrying birch trees decorated with colored crepe paper streamers.  The trees eventually make their way to the entrances of local establishments, where they will remain for many weeks; long after you can no longer tell what color the streamers were.  Folklore says the tree will bring good business. 

It was quite a bit different than Wiesbadener Weinwoche.  Along the parade route, if you had a glass, the wine was free.