Fastnach Fun!
This weekend is Fastnach, otherwise known as Carnival, otherwise known as 4-days-of-mayhem! Though Mainz hosts one of the three largest Carnival celebrations in Germany, their big bang is on Rosen Montag (Monday) so Riki and I opted for the lesser-scale-but-just-as-riotous version in the next town over. On Saturday we walked over to watch the parade: a four-kilometer long affair with much alcohol-consumption and candy-pelting (usually one the cause of the other, in that the parade participants were soon so hammered that they hurled their candy treats at the crowd, full-force). Like a 4-day Hallowe'en, Fastnach is an excuse to dress in the craziest costume one can find and party the weekend away; there are fairs, special markets, parades and parties throughout Germany for this, the biggest non-religious celebration of the year. Basically we spent the afternoon yelling "HELAU!!" (the traditional Fastnach greeting) back at the paraders at the top of our lungs.I love an excuse to drink beer on the sidewalk.
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