Viva Colonia

My past two weeks overseas have included excitement as well as difficulties. I have enjoyed the experiences I had during Carnival and have continued to meet new people and see new places here in Europe.

I was very impressed by the grand scale of Carnival. In its anticipation I received constant information, you might even say warnings, of what I was to experience but I could not be prepared, and am afraid I will not be able to fully describe the events that occurred between Weiberfastnacht and Rosenmontag.

On the first Thursday of Carnival, which is called “Women’s Fast Night,” (and I am not quite sure why), I was woken up by a marching band dressed in White and Blue, French Revolution style army costumes. I arrived at school dressed in the plastic Knight suit I purchased the Monday before at a Carnival costume store. I was very impressed by the costumes that students and teachers came up with. One student in my class was dressed up as a public bulletin board and had various advertisements that he had collected stapled to his outfit. There were several clowns and pirates and I was quite impressed by the Native American chief sitting in the spot where one of the other student teachers usually sits. After struggling through a lesson in Evelin’s 13^th grade English class, I went with Kara to the auditorium where the entire student body was gathered for a costume party and talent show.

After school, Peter had invited me to go to his workplace for a party that was much more traditional. We were entertained with live music and were honored by the presence of the Prince, Jack and Virgin who are the figureheads of the Carnival season. These three people change every year and pay upwards of 50,000 Euros for the honor. Afterwards, I went out with some friends from Kolpinghaus and was again blown away by the amount of people who were occupying the streets. There are no open container laws in Germany and this was quite evident that night. There are laws against littering but one could not tell by the amount of broken glass from beer bottles that lined the curbs. Carnival songs such as “Viva Colonia” and “Hey Kölle,” that I have actually downloaded off iTunes could be heard booming from the bars, each one complete with a long line of costume adorned Kolners waiting to step inside.

On Sunday afternoon Evelin invited me to come to her house to watch the Effern parade. I quite enjoyed meeting the guests she and Chris had over and the wonderful meal she prepared. The parade, about an hour and a half long, was good practice for the six hour parade that awaited me in Cologne a day later. Both parades were filled with music, elaborate costumes and lots and lots of “camela” or candy that was thrown nonstop during both. On Rosenmontag or “Rose Monday” Rafael and I went outside to watch the parade at around 10 a.m. We met up with some people who I had met earlier in the weekend and watched the parade throughout the day which was broken up by a few breaks at Kolpinghaus and lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken which was, by the way, nothing like KFC in America. No biscuits! At the parade I found that I was quite good at catching the candy with my long arms and am now well enough stocked up on sweets to last me until my trip back home.

Over these past two weeks I have at times felt isolated by the language barrier that has been a constant presence during my stay. Over Carnival Kara was with her parents in Berlin and I realized how much I took for granted having someone else who spoke English around me. People like Rafael and Peter, who have not looked down on me because I do not speak German have been a blessing throughout my time here in Cologne.

This past weekend Kara and I took a flight to Vienna. We had quite a good time finding our way around the city. Upon our arrival we checked into our hostel and ventured outside where we stopped for dinner at an Indian restaurant. There were quite a number of Indian places around the city and we were both very pleased with the food. The bill on the other hand offered an amusing surprise when we found we had been charged a Euro a piece for a “Gedeck.” We asked the waiter and he informed us that he added a charge for the napkins. I found it quite funny that only when he was to ring up the bill did he bother to find out where we were from. Perhaps the charge was more so because we were American but I can only wonder.

On Saturday morning we walked around downtown and visited an outdoor market where I had Weiner schnitzel for lunch. Afterwards we visited a few of the cathedrals including St. Stephens Cathedral which has a beautiful mosaic on its roof. We climbed up to the top the tower which was well worth the view of the city and the Alps in the background. Further into the day we visited Belvedere Palace which is now a wonderful art museum. I can now say I have seen, in person, some of the works of Monet and Vangoh. The two paintings that I recognized at the museum were, first Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David and second Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. In the evening Kara and I went to a coffee house before attending a concert that sampled some of the pieces written by Motzart and Strauss. The venue which we went to once held a concert by Motzart when he was still a boy.

Sunday was rather relaxing. We rode on the Ferris wheel which was a bit of a disappointment but spent the rest of the morning relaxing in Starbucks before catching our flight back to Cologne. I thoroughly enjoyed Vienna and am looking forward to visiting other cities in Europe while I have such a great opportunity to.

I will spend this next week in anticipation of Caroline coming over during her Spring break. I am very excited about showing her my life here in Germany as well as traveling back to Paris with her on March 13!