A Georgia Girl in Germany

Ramstein-Miesenbach held a Fasching parade back in February, and since we enjoyed the one we attended in Esslingen with the Stonemarks two years ago, I figured we’d see how this one compared. Besides, the kids were out of school that day so we needed to find something to do -- the buses couldn’t run their routes because of the parade, so they canceled all schools on-base that day.

Fasching is roughly equivalent to Mardi Gras, and is also held on Fat Tuesday. People are supposed to wear costumes to ward off evil spirits, and the Fasching parades are chock-full of all kinds of characters. Benjamin decided to wear his Halloween bear costume again. Unfortunately, the zipper broke when he tried it on the day prior, so I had to safety-pin him into it (after questioning him many times about whether he needed to go to the bathroom first).

We found a spot on the parade route right next to the Rathaus (city hall), so we had a front row seat on the burgermeister’s commentary (although I didn’t understand much of it other than a few chants I learned at the Volksfest and Frülingsfest).



The kids enjoyed standing along the parade route waiting for candy to come hurling at them from some of the folks in the parade. However, this parade was MUCH more tame than the Esslingen parade we went to. The kids had to fight off vexes to keep the candy they’d collected that year. I don’t recall seeing a single vexe this year. There were many cheerleader-types, smurfs and even a group of Elvises. But no vexes.



It was a bit chilly outside, so the kids didn’t want to keep their hands out of their pockets if they didn’t have to (like when they were picking up candy). Zachary even fashioned his hat into a bowl to try to catch candy as it was thrown his way. I don’t think he actually caught any, but he thought it was pretty ingenious.



We didn’t stay for the entire parade -- they started getting cold, and after a while the parade looked the same. After an hour or so, we made our way to our van and headed home. Benjamin claimed to be tired, so he persuaded me to carry him on my back (the only way I can carry him any more) about halfway back. It was a nice mid-week day off, and a relatively relaxing getaway.

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Zachary