Helau!

What everyone shouted during the Karneval procession on Monday. It sounds something like "hello" with the "o" a little drawn out.

So I'm back in Hamburg after a couple of festive days in Düsseldorf. Karneval in Düsseldorf rocks!!! As a journo I find it especially stimulating since many of the floats are commentary on current affairs (check out the pictures to see what I mean), but lets begin at the beginning.

I arrived on Thursday evening to many people in costume and some puke in the tram - to give you an idea of how far-gone people were at 18:30. Thursday things officially start with women (in costumes) going up to the local authority and confiscating the keys to the city. Now the city was being run by women and the craziness could start. This means people dressing up in all kinds of costumes and hanging out mostly in the bars and getting sloshed. Your day in the pub/bar can start as early as 9 am. It's not officially a holiday, but employers are clever enough to know that if they don't give the people off they'll have a lot of absent workers. According to radio presenters people take Friday a little bit more easy since they can look forward to at least three days of partying, so they have to pace themselves a little. My Friday was spent going shopping with Alex (my gracious host) for Saturday's party at his place. Later that day I met up with Joan, the American doctor I met the last time I was in Düsseldorf. We went to the Düsseldorf Hafen (if you remember the city is situated on the Rhine river, so it could have a harbour). It is a very spiffy place with many contemporary building and trendy restaurants. We decided on Mongo's where they serve a buffet, where you choose your own ingredients for a stir-fry and marinade and they prepare in front of you. They had exotic meats like zebra and crocodile. I sipped on a South African wine whilst going back three times for a different mix of veggies, meat and marinade.

The next day Nenske (my gracious hostess) was assisting Alex with the prep for the party, while I worked on the assignment due for Monday. That evening Alex and Nenske's family and friends came together (not to celebrate Karneval), but to celebrate Alex's birthday and their housewarming. It was very "gesellig" and the food was great. I could really appreciate it because I know how Alex slaved away in the kitchen for two days preparing the food - 'n Man so na aan my hart.

The next day would be my introduction to Karneval in Düsseldorf. First we stopped off at Anja and Clemens', friends of Alex, to get our costumes (see below for the results). Then it was off to Düsseldorf Altstadt. Sunday people stand on the street and drink and eat. The vibe is great and it's not because everyone is drinking. Some people really go out of their way with their costumes and one can just stand and gawk at these individuals for hours. People are so relaxed and everyone speaks to everyone else - it's really great and festive. The cherry on top was the fact that we didn't have to queue with the masses to get to a toilet. One of Anja's friends had a key to a building on the street we were standing on and we just used the clean toilet there. What I also found interesting was the fact that all the shop windows were boarded up. We were on THE trendiest street in Düsseldorf, with all the top fashion brands, so these merchandisers took looking after their merchandise quite seriously. Some of the interesting costumes we saw were variants on the theme of Satan and a Urukai a la Lord of the Rings. The Urukai was very well done, the guy's face was covered in black paint, he had a animal skin rug on and false fangs. It was very cool! We left the drinking early since we knew we were going to come back for the procession the next day.

The next day I was given a lift on a bike for the first time in more than 20 years. Alex had hired these high tables for his party and they needed to be taken back to the shop, but Nenske had the car and would not be back before midday when the shop closed. Alex and I then loaded the tables onto Nenske's bike and pushed it to the shop, which was down the road. We then cycled back with me precariously perched just behind the saddle. It was quite an experience. When Nenske came back and I had dispatched my assignment (which I miraculously finished on time) we headed to the Altstadt for the Rosenmontag (translation: Rose Monday) procession. We didn't dress up, but drew on our faces with lipstick to get into the carnival mood. The procession surpassed all my expectations. To top it all off the people on the floats throw candy and chocolate and sometimes toys to the public. So it's constantly raining sweets and the kids stand around with huge bags, which they eventually fill. Of course we had our own bag, which was quite full by the end of the procession. The photos say more about the procession than my words can ever say. Although I want to add that I was mightily impressed with the vibrant colours, which really stood out against the grey sky.

So there you have my account of my first Karneval weekend. I hope to come again, but then I'll bring my nieces with because carnival is great for grown-ups, but it's really great for kids and one should experience something like it at least once in your life.

This week I sadly, sadly bid farewell to lovely Hamburg and the people I got to know here. I partied until 6 this morning with one of the Americans, who's leaving today. I've got all kinds of farewell trips planned for the week as well as yet another assignment to complete.

Keep well