The Germans know how to party!

I'm back!

It's been well over a year since I last posted something here, but as they say it's never too late to start again! I recently quit my full time job with several hours daily commute to the office, sold the house, sold the car, sold and boxed most of my possessions, packed my bag and said good bye to England! I'm living the life of a nomad, roaming the earth, a life now rich with experience and well worth relating!
I recently stayed in Germany for a while, where I have been charmed by the warmth of the people, despite a glacial winter, and the vibrancy of their culture. Right now it's Carnival season, or Fasching as they call it. A medieval tradition which takes place over a period of 6 weeks before lent, and to sum it up, they all get very drunk, eat, and indulge in lots of naughty behavior! Every weekend in all the villages, there are huge parades and parties with thousands of people all dressed up in a traditional gear, masked beasts, wolves, witches, ghouls, huge brass bands, and they dance, play, throw sweets or kidnap young maidens from the onlooking crowds. At the end of the parade everyone parties well into the night, with grilled Wurst, mulled wine and beer flowing freely to a sort of aprés-ski disco. Now that's what I call a party! And what a great tradition and way to liven up the dead months at the tail end of winter!

Every village has a signature, traditional attire, passed down over the years, sometimes from as far back as the middle ages.

Every detail of the masks, clothes and "character" has some form of significance, and relates to the village it comes from..

Some are darker than others....

Whilst some masks, mostly carved from wood and hand painted, are over 200 years old!

For every village there are is also a brass band, and every group of devilish monsters is accompanied by his own set of musicians.

Some of the instruments are so vast, they wrap round the musician in tight rings of sonoric metal. How they carry the weight, (and in this case it was -20C), I just don't know! (lots of mulled wine helps!)

It can be quite disconcerting, stepping out in front of 20 witches to get a good shot, white eyeballs glaring and teeth a gnashing!

Spot the maiden.... If you're fortunate to be young and sexy, you will no doubt end up in one of these compromising positions with a bunch of horny drunken bears piling up on top you...