The Coca Cola Christmas Trucks were in town, and it was, kind of a disappointment (compared to the years 2009 and 2010). In fact, it was only one truck, placed on a, what I call, a carnival and not a Christmas market, between a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster. But after they completely skipped the last year, it was at least something.
Tag - Carnival
Four days of celebration with a major parade to end it all. It’s the time, where the The Karneval der Kulturen (eng. Carnival of Cultures) takes place in Berlin and 5.000 dancer watched by 750.000 spectators walk the about 3,5km long road from Hermannplatz to Yorkstraße, while dancing and celebrating the most joyful day of the year.
People from all over the world come to Berlin to take a look at the colorful costumes and cheerful performances.
The idea of a carnival which presents the cultural and ethnic diversity of Berlin was developed in 1995, as a consequence to the political and economic changes since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of the two German states, to highlight the cultural richness of Berlin and the often hidden treasures of its international cultural scene.
After four days, the Carnival of Cultures 2011 ended yesterday with a big parade from Hermannplatz to Yorckstraße. About 4.800 participants organised in 93 groups and about 700.000 visitors changed Kreuzberg into a sea of colours and ideas.
The street procession focussed on the cultural richness of Berlin, and also highlighted the often hidden treasures of its international cultural scene.
I took about 1000 pictures, but sadly I can’t show all of them, so I think that 29 pictures will be enough to give you an idea of what happened yesterday.
After the Narrenbaum was erected, the city was ready for the big Night Parade. Led by a couple of marching bands, thousands of different Narren (as I said yesterday, Narren are something like a jester or Joker) ran through the city. Jumping, laughing, whip lashing and tangerine throwing, it was a fascinating moment.
Every city has their own traditional costumes, first you will see the city of Rottweil with their Federhannes, Schantle and Gschell. If you can sing a well known carnival quote, you will be rewarded with a handful of candy.
Last weekend, I took a plane to Stuttgart , to watch an event which only takes place every 3-4 years, the Narrentag (which probably means something like “Day of the Jester”), organized by one of four famous carnival cities; Rottweil, Oberndorf, Elzach and Überlingen, all of them part of the Viererbund, a union between these four cities since 1958.
This year the parade took place in Oberndorf (Black Forest), about 1 hour away from Stuttgart.
As an opening ceremony, a decorated tree, the Narrenbaum, was erected, as a symbol that the Narrentag has officially begun.