Carnival Explained?

For those of you who might be wondering what the hell was going on in the last few entries and why are the German's dressed in their Halloween best in the middle of February, let me explain.  From what I understand, the week before Lent, everyone lets loose (kind of like Mardi Gras minus the nudity) in an event called Fastnacht.  Seenarrentreffen, which is the parade photographs from the past two entries, marks the beginning of Fastnacht.  It is where all the locals gather and present their individual villages in parade form with different costumes that are sometimes traditional and sometimes fun (which is why most of the photos don't have any rhyme or reason I just wanted to showcase the wide variety of outfits).

Now depending on the weather tonight (if you haven't heard it's been EXTREMELY cold) I will be heading down to Radolfzell to take more photos of an event called Hemdglonkerumzug or "Fancy Wednesday" where everyone dresses up in a white nightgown and, from what I understand,  go bar hopping.  I figure with a couple of glasses of Glühwein (a warm red wine cocktail) I should be all right for at least an hour of picture taking!

What else is on the schedule for the rest of the week?

Schmotziger Dunschtig means BIG party day!  This will be happening tomorrow (Thursday) morning when the Schlosshexen (witches) storm the castle and Institute (where Scott works).  At that time, everyone will be released from their responsibilities (this also happens at the schools) and a party immediately follows with the locals.  Once again, everyone will be dressed in costumes and I'm super excited to see what they will be!  From there, we will go to Radolfzell and watch the erecting of the carnival tree followed by more partying and parading in the big town of Konstanz.

On Sunday, there will be even more Carnival parades (with costumes) in both Radolfzell and Konstanz.  On Monday, there will be a Fair in Radolfzell and finally, on the last day (Tuesday) there will be a bonfire that marks then end of Carnival season.

Hopefully most of my information is correct.  I'm sure I will be posting updates on things that I learn along the way, but I hope this will help for the past couple entries and the upcoming ones.  I'm not very good at describing photos (and I know many of you have told me that while the pictures are pretty, you have NO idea what's going on) so from now on I'm going to try and do at least one non-photo post to kind of explain upcoming blog pictures.  A new year means a new blog format!

So here's to 2012 and all the great things to come!