Viva Colonia!

What Oktoberfest is to Munich, Carnival is to Cologne.

Viva Colonia! I made it through my first Carnival season – a little tired and with very sore feet and a slight headache from all the chocolate (or was it the Kolsh?). Carnival "officially" started on November 11 at 11:11 (known in German as elf die elf) but events really start kicking off the week before Ash Wednesday.

This year I went to a concert at the Cologne area featuring umpa cheerleaders, mini kegs, old ladies with Kolsh koozies (knitted necklaces to hold their beer glasses), and everyone -- I mean everyone -- in costume. Being in costume is an essential part of Carnival. Even Grandmas on the bus were decked out in their clown costumes with full face make-up. On Thursday was Weiberfastnachte, otherwise know as the woman's carnival. We started drinking well before noon -- all things carnival seem to start at 11:11. For hours on end we danced to Carnival music and most people sang.

Parades and drinking (in costume) went on all weekend. Even our little town of Bad Godesburg has a parade. On Monday, know as Rosenmontag, there was a big parade in Cologne. And, where the people in New Orleans throw beads from the floats, the people here throw chocolate and flowers. This was great, but also a little scare because sometimes the boxes of chocoate were pretty big and looked like they could really hurt someone. People in the windows of the buildings used umbrellas to catch the chocolate from their windows.