Karneval / Fasching

Altweiberfasching ("old lady carneval") is celebrated under many different names in different regions of Germany on the Thursday before Lent begins. In regions that go all-out for Carneval (a.k.a. Mardi Gras in St. Louis... but without the boobies), the ladies officially begin the festivities at 11:11 a.m. on Thursday by toasting champagne and then walking around the office with a giant pair of scissors, literally cutting off "male power symbols" (a.k.a. their ties). If you don't want your tie ruined, you have to pay up - either in cash, chocolate or alcohol. In the evening, all the women (and some men) go out to bars or party in the streets, dressed in costumes of all kinds. The traditional disguise is a clown, but it's just like Halloween - as time goes by, young people find ever sexier ways to dress up as a banana, penguin, police officer, etc.

This year I attended the Altweiberfasching party in Beilstein with Margit and her friends (me and four women over 40). I dressed as a "cowgirl clown," complete with Fabi's hat and boots. Margit was the traditional clown & her makeup was so good that the newpaper basically wanted a private photo session with her. The other gals in our group were pirates and members of the band Abba... complete with rainbow-colored parachute pants. It was the first time I'd ever seen a disco ball necklace. (I'll post photos as soon as I have some!)

 

So we waltz into the Beilstein community hall feeling like, "yeah. We're awesome," order a bottle of champagne and gather at the bar to watch the different costumes walk by. I saw everything - Snow White, Aladdin, hippies, Mario & Luigi, babies, old men, men dressed as old women, cheerleaders, 1980's aerobics instructors, dictators, soldiers, the Blues Brothers, flappers, princesses, Baroque dukes, horses, rabbits, Jack Sparrow, and so on and so forth. We finished our glasses and hit the dance floor. The live band played a mixture of classic rock, modern pop, and "Schlager" music - the songs people chant while drinking in Germany. I could still remember some lyrics from the IFC, so I sang along and learned the motions.

THIS JUST IN:
We appeared in the Ludwigsburg newspaper on Saturday morning! Check it out!

 

In the middle of the evening, a Carneval danceline marched onto the floor in full costume. The first act was the "men ballet," six middle-aged men dressed in drag. Next came a group of teenage girls with a hip-hop routine, and then finally a group of 20 show girls in blue and quite costumes that resembled a mixture of an American cheerleader, a cowgirl and the prince from Cinderella. They looked a little like this. Their cheer-routine-ish river dance was incredible! When the crowd asked for an encore, they performed Gangnam Style. (Watch and revel in the ridiculosity!)

Around midnight, we remembered we all had to work the next morning, so we returned our bottles & glasses to get our deposit money back (they do that for beverage containers here), and made our way to the car. On our way out, a transvestite asked me if I had seen "his friend the raspberry" anywhere. Also a first.

 

My verdict: the Carneval celebration here is probably comparable to Mardi Gras in New Orleans - less crazy than Rio, more elaborate than St. Louis, and minus the booby flashing, which I'm perfectly okay with. The big parties start this weekend in most major cities, and on Saturday there will be a parade through the Bottwartal.