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Thursday, February 14, 2008

TT #87

Thirteen Photos of the
Fasching Parade in Michelstadt, part 1

with footnotes!

As I promised on the weekend update, here are some of the dozens of pictures we took at the Fasching parade in Michelstadt. If you missed it, there are a couple more pictures in that post, too.

As always, click on the pictures to see the larger version.

1.
lots of groups of girls dressed like this, but these were the only ones we saw dancing
2.
a club of witches. also, a decent picture of Manfred
3.
more of the witches--they had great costumes. you'll probably have to click on the picture to see it clearly, but hanging between them are the remains of all the ties they cut.*

4.
one of the many marching groups--they're not bands, they just dress up, march, and occasionally yell "Helau!"**
5.
there were quite a few kings & queens on cars--reminiscent of US towns' homecoming parades. these were unusual in this parade because they were kids

6.
we had to take a picture of this huge Dodge Ram truck pulling the party float.*** You almost never see them here. ****
7.
this is a very typical float from a local bar. the guys on it just ride along, drinking beer and occasionally shouting "Helau!" and throwing candy.
8.
these are the more "dignified" floats--business and government figures, I gather. They're dressed fancier, but they're still shouting "Helau!" and throwing candy.


9.
more nicely costumed marching girls--you'll have to click on this one to see it more clearly. the younger girls in front, the older ones in back
10.
quite a few of the parade entries had to do with the recent ban on smoking in restaurants,***** both pro and con. The sign warns that the ban will kill small pubs.

11.
there were quite a few men dressed as women. these are riding on a float made to look like a prostitute's camper. on the side, it says "Love you can buy."
12.
more chickens.****** This was the second group we saw. It appears there's a humorous attempt to be educational. Or vice versa.
13.
another float of civic and business leaders--presumably from a smaller town.

* Look under "Rhineland" in Wikipedia's Carnival entry for an explanation--though this was in Hessen, not Rhineland, so it's a little more widespread.

**
"Helau!" sounds very like "hello!" It's not "hallo" which is German for "hello" and which I don't hear very often. As far as I can tell, it's the "fools' call". Here's the translated
German Wikipedia page explaining it.

***
This picture from the Weekend Update.

****
They have started selling US imports more in Germany--something you really didn't see 20 years ago. Here are a
Chrysler-Jeep dealership and a dealer with a list of American cars you can buy in Germany. (in German, but the car names are the same) Click on the make, and they'll give you a list of the models they have for sale. Remember the prices are in Euro, which is currently worth *wincing* $1.46. So add roughly half to the prices to get them in dollars. Not surprising that you don't see that many.

*****
News article about the smoking ban (note: the "states" in the article's title refer to German states)

******
the first group was in
this photo on the Weekend Update.


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

  1. what Di loves
  2. Melody: Booking Through Thursday
  3. Tilly Greene: Milano
  4. Janet's photo sets
  5. Morgan Leigh: conspiracy theories
  6. Harris Channing: celebrity crushes
  7. Susan Helene Gottfried: Shapeshifter and love songs
  8. Chuck's memoirs
  9. Renee Lynn Scott: Valentine's Day
  10. L.A.Day: Valentine's presents
  11. Jennifer McKenzie: free romance ebooks
  12. EllenB: Beatles debut
  13. Babystepper: new lingo
  14. Dane Bramage: romantic tips
  15. You're next!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




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Comments:
I....love a parade! I especially love parades that take themselves quite seriously. Happy V-day.
 
I'm not sure how seriously they take it--a lot of the parade participants are just walking along or riding and drinking beer. :)
 
Enjoyed the pics, Darla. And I love all your TTs buttons!

Happy Valentine's Day!
 
Thanks, Melody! I always have a lot of fun making the header.
 
Don't you love a parade?!? This looks like it was quite a bit of fun, although that bright blue sky said frigid to me...glad to hear it wasn't so bad.

Oh man, the euro makes traveling in Europe difficult. It's hard not to do a rough exchange rate and think, crap, I'm not paying $3 for a can of Coke!

Get your backside down to Milan! Oh, and if you want to see the Last Supper, you need to book it well in advance [they're almost booked through June now] or take a tour of the city. I'm not keen on organized tours, but it might be the only way you'll get in :-)
 
LOVE #7! That's the float I'd be riding on ;-)
 
Tilly, it was in the high 30s--cold, but not frigid.

Thanks for the advice on Milan.

Janet, there were a lot of floats like that: just a bunch of people hanging out drinking beer. Or walking along drinking beer. Or dancing and drinking beer. Or... well, you get the idea. :)
 
beautiful pictures. :) thanks for stopping by! happy tt!
 
What fun! I remember hearing about Fasching when I lived in Germany but don't remember experiencing it. (I was ten when we left). Looks like a lot of fun!

~Harris.
 
That looks like a great way to spend the day! Nice weather and all! :-D
 
Thanks, Morgan!

Harris, it's a shame you didn't get to experience it, because it's definitely kid-friendly. Costumes and getting candy thrown at you... it's kind of like Halloween. :)

Lynne, it was nice. Just the right weather, and just the right size parade and crowd--enough to be lively, but not so much that it was overwhelming.
 
Cool. The last parade we went to, one of the points of it was to make a costume that fit the theme. It was spectacular. But not quite as much fun as this, I don't think.
 
Neat!! I just spent some time out of the country and thought I would just be staying home today. Happy day to you and thx for the visit :)
 
Nice TT. I love parades too. We try and go to the St. Patrick's one every year.

I'll know have to do some research on Fasching, but that's something I love to do.
 
Great pictures.
Happy V-Day
 
How cool! Thank you so much for sharing them.
I love seeing things other countries take for granted. I didn't know anything about this. Thanks for the info!
 
That looks like a fun parade. If I had to be in a parade I'd want to be in the beer float...
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/thursday-thirteen-21-the-beatles-usa-debut-1964/
 
Interesting insight into a completely different culture.
 
I haven't attended a live parade in years. This looks like it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for visiting my 67th edition 13 Romantic Tips (from a single man's perspective)
 
It looks like a fun place to visit! Happy Valentine's Day!
 
What fun. I love parades but sadly Israel doesn't really do them.
 
How completely fascinating, Darla! Thanks for posting these. Seems this time of year is ripe for carnivale all over the world, for varied reasons - except it seems the real reason is to have an outlet for going a little bonkers for a bit.
 
This comment has been removed by the author.
 
Sounds like it was a fun event. Great pics as always, Darla!
 
Love the parade pictures Darla! How long did you said the parade lasted that day?

If you've ever been to Mardi Gras Parade, you will see it whole lot of different games all together LOL! Wild but fun. Although I haven't been in parade in long times now :)

By the way Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you and Carl have great day together :)
 
The witches are great! i wonder if they are real witches, or just pretending.
Thanks for visiting my poem TT!
 
I haven't been to a parade in decades. But can I say I LOVED #11! *Grin*. It looked like so much fun!

Happy V'Day/TT

~X
 
What fun! Thank you for sharing with us.
 
Hmmm... interesting, great pictures.
 
Hey Darla! You're tagged. ;)
 
Oh, fun, a Dodge Ram in Germany! Happy TT!
 
Looks like fun!
 
What great pictures. Thanks for sharing. I want to ride on the bar float: drinking and throwing candy.
 
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