Working in Cologne on Karneval -- I made it!

I would be severely remiss if I did not tell you what it's like to be in the city of Cologne today, Weiberfastnacht, or, Fat Thursday.


I also am very aware how little I know about it, so I'm not sure I'm qualified to speak (Help me Wiki!) but I had a lot of my questions answered today. Here is a great article summarizing it.

Cologne is Karneval central for the country of Germany. Half of my company did not show up today, and won't be around until Tuesday. Monday brings the parades, but today was the start of the Big Finish of the season.

I am amazed we made it through the day without God smiting this city off the face of the Earth. Surely he's considered it more than once over the last 200 years of insanity.

As soon as I passed my first bus stop in our village I had to do a double-take when I saw all the costumed people, at 9 am, already drinking.

The autobahn was eerily quiet, this is something Germans do very well: there is virtually no drinking and driving problem here (OK, in comparison to the states). The busses, taxis, and trains today are maxed out.

Our office was decorated with streamers and in our lunchroom a PC was tuned into the Simfy Karneval Party station all day long. I'll show you THE song at the end of this post.

The colleagues who showed up, many of them were in costume. At 5 pm they were all going to hit the streets together. I have to admit, I finished up my work and ran out of the building and very very carefully drove around the very-drunk-by-then people to get the heck out of there. Teenagers in costume were walking around with mostly empty bottles of wine. Grown men costumed as police officers were swigging Koelsch, the local Cologne beer. I imagine today if I were to ask for a Duesseldorf beer I might get hurt. (I made that mistake for the very last time last week.)

I was trying to do my work and the drunken singing and too-loud laughter was distracting. Germans are normally very quiet. I'm on the first floor (second in America) and it's really loud in my office when I have the window cracked. At one point there was a large crowd of Jecken* out there and the only time the noise let up was when they all did shots. This was directly out my window: )

*I learned this word today. It means someone who celebrates Karneval.

My colleagues explained to me that today is Weiberfastnacht, and today the costumed women swarm into town hall and cut the ties off of the businessmen. I've never seen this happen but I'd love to!

Then commences 4 days of non-stop street partying and Monday there will be parades. Even our little village has one, and if you've been reading my blog long enough you'll remember it.

Tuesday, they tell me, they burn a straw puppet and bury it to represent the end of good times (!?), correct me if I'm wrong. Again, I'd love to see this!

When invited to go out tonight, I had to decline. I don't live in Cologne, and I drive.

I'm also very intimidated by all the insanity on the streets. My goodness, people were just placing their empties on cars as they walked down the sidewalk. I was so glad my car was tucked away into that robotic garage!

See the famous Koelner cathedral in the background in this photo? If my family is watching this, the Starbucks is right behind these people. *lol*

Also, if my family is reading this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISE, my goodness what a birthday you have in Germany!





It was 2005 when I first heard the song Viva Colonia and I wasn't anywhere near Cologne. Hi Kerstin!! *wave* I guess the song is a hit nation-wide, even though only locals here can decipher the dialect. Koelsch (the dialect) is nowhere near normal German. I have no hope. But the song is really catchy.

It was played all over the city and people toasted this old Roman city with "Koelle Alaaf" which means Cologne Above All. (Does that sound familiar?)

Even the newspaper today was speaking a dialect I did not understand, and I had to go to the dictionary a few times when colleagues sent emails around with this funny speech.

My man and I both laughed at what the guy on the radio said tonight (we were both driving home at the same time). He said, "Hallo, Alaaf, or Guten Abend --anyone who might care about what this program will cover tonight is not actually listening to the radio right now!"

And so it begins! Please click below to watch the video and understand this song of devotion. I swear, America needs more songs about its cities and their characteristics. For example, a song about Seattle and its needle and ferries and dripping moss and volcanic dust...wouldn't that rock?

Check it out, Cologne's theme song. Near the end, the little girl on the mic even knows the words:



We are there! That is fantastic
Long live Cologne
We love life, love and lust
We believe in God and are always thirsty





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The photos were taken from our local Cologne newspaper, and they were all taken today. I sure hope Koelner Stadt Anzeider doesn't mind my borrowing.