Kölner Karnival (Colder Carnival)

Ryo-Hei and Tomoya from Japan

Just before the beginning of Lent every year, Germany is filled with Karnivals. Generally, this is drinking and a parade. For one of the organized Eurobiz trips, we went to the Kölner Karnival. This means we all got on a train together and went to a big parade a few hours away. I spent most of the day with the two guys from Japan, Ryo-Hei and Tomoya. They were nice enough to make sure that when they wanted to go somewhere or do something they took me along so I wouldn’t get lost in a big drunken city. The Karnival itself was a little less than what I expected. I guess I expected some more festivities than just a parade, but no. Just the parade. Anyway, I bought a red, white and blue hat because most of the exchange students had painted their flag on their faces, but apparently the American flag is a bit more challenging. Especially when they don’t know how many stripes it has…thirteen, for those of you who don’t know. There is one important thing to keep in mind when thinking about festivals this time of year…this is not New Orleans. Germany is cold! I’ve now given it the spitzname (nickname) the Colder Carnival. Kölner…colder…you see the connection. If not, those Japanese guys sure seem to!