I've had quite the time here in Deutschland these past few weeks. I've had fun, met some new people, and been academically productive. Score one for me!
About a week and a half ago, a few of my friends here in Kassel suggested that we go to Köln (Cologne) for Karneval. As you might be aware, early February is the time for Carnival all over the world, the most famous being in Brazil, and of course Mardi Gras in New Orleans. But in the area around Köln and Düsseldorf, Germans do their best to rival the insanity in Rio. Karneval actually starts in November, but the second and third week in February is the pinnacle of mayhem. Jehona, Eduardo and Natalia and I took the train out on Thursday, and I tell you, as we got closer to Köln, the outfits on the train got weirder and more intricate. After a while, we didn't really notice. A bear, a king and a vampire? Sure, I can make some space for you to sit down.
We arrived in Köln at about 4 pm, and Jehona's friend (and our host) Redon met us at the train station. It was a bit difficult to find him amongst the marching bands, moose, dinosaurs, royalty, indians, Elvises and other revelers. We found him eventually and followed him to his office building nearby to drop off our things. We had a beer with his colleagues in the office and then set out in search of some sort of costumes and food. We found both in short order:
Natalia loves Döners.
I hate wigs.
We made our way to a bar owned by a friend of Redon, and spent the evening there. It was packed with people, and if you can imagine, most peoples' helmetry was more ridiculous than ours. The music was fantastic, mostly of the Bavarian tuba-heavy variety. We danced, pretended to sing along, and made "bar friends" with a lot of the idiots there, including this character who ate a sandwich that he found on the floor:
We went back to Redon's place around 2 AM and fell onto beds, couches, and chairs right away. We woke up well rested on Friday, and because Redon's roommate had guests coming that day, we set off in search of a hostel for Friday night. We found a "Hostelling International" with lots of space so we checked in and then made a mad dash for some Mexican food. It was delicious.
On our walk around Köln on Friday we crossed the railroad/pedestrian bridge that crosses the Rhein River, and it was a very cool sight. But there's more to this bridge than you might think! There is a fence separating the pedestrian walkway from the railroad tracks (thankfully) and locked to the fence are hundreds of thousands of locks. The tradition apparently comes from an old movie, but the point is this: you and your beloved carve your names or initials into a padlock, lock it to the fence, and then throw your keys into the river. And then that is it, you are in love and it is never going to end. I wonder how many of these couples are still together, (some of the locks were incredibly old) but the sentiment is wonderful. In fact, as we crossed the bridge, I witnessed a couple dressed in full Karneval costumes throwing their keys off the bridge. They were so giddy and in love I couldn't help but be touched. Of course, I've got a streak of romantic in me anyway so it isn't too hard to bring a tear to my eye.We also managed to stop inside the famous Köln Dom (Cathedral), and it was not a disappointment.
Aside from the splendor of the Dom, we also found a HUGE Karneval costume store. Jackpot!
We made our way to a new pub that was packed with people and music, a bit of an older crowd, but perhaps even more animated. I was struck by how many "older" people participate in the Karneval festivities. You could tell that many of these old geezers had been celebrating Karneval for decades, and would continue to do so for as long as they could.
In fact, I would argue that their costumes were more elaborate than any of the younger crowd.
We were told about a huge party in the neighborhood and so away we went. Regrettably there are no pictures from this party. Or perhaps this is lucky, considering the utter insanity. The camera might have melted from sheer overload. Suffice it to say, I have never seen such a spirited, decorated, multi-national and completely sloshed group of people in my life. And I doubt I ever will again.
We made it home from Köln on Saturday via an afternoon in Düsseldorf, which was quite nice. There were celebrations in Düsseldorf as well, but they didn't come close to the debauchery in Köln. But to be fair, it was only the afternoon. Maybe the place heats up after sundown.
I was mildly productive over the remainder of the weekend, and then attended another module this past week. It was the sixth module, and I'm currently finishing up my fourth paper. Not great, but not bad either. The modules are packed close together this month, so I expected to fall behind a bit. My current paper (subject: ethics of indigenous health research in Australia and New Zealand) has blown wide open and I'm writing furiously. Except now when I'm updating this blog. I've got a lot of preparation to do for the next module, which will be the first week of March. I've also got a tandem language partner, so one or two afternoons per week are spent in bi-lingual conversation. It's exhausting, but I think it will be extremely beneficial. My German teacher told us that we will never be able to improve if we don't speak. I knew he was right, and so I've got to make sure I work hard with my tandem partner, because she happens to be his wife. Talk about pressure.
That's about all the news I have. I've got a lot to get done this week, so if I am a bit reclusive please forgive me. I hope everyone has a good weekend, and a wonderful end to February.
Viel Späß!
