The End of Krapfen, the Beginning of Starkbier

While the Brazilians were dancing the samba and the Americans throwing beads, the Germans were wearing costumes, drinking in the streets, and having one last krapfen. Yep, Faschingdienstag...at least here in Munich...other regions call it by different names.

The Fasching center of Germany is in Köln and Düsseldorf, but it still is celebrated throughout many cities. In Köln, the Fasching season begins at 11:00 on November 11th, though the big celebrations take place the week or so before Fasching Tuesday.  In many ways, it's similar to the non-tourist part of Mardi Gras....committees, a ball season, etc.

In Munich, one of the Fat Tuesday traditions is the Dance of the Market Women (Tanz der Markt Frauen) which takes place at 11:00 in the Viktualienmarkt (farmers market). It began in the early 1900s with the women dancing in front of their stalls in the market, and now is a small show performed on the site of the Viktualienmarkt beer garden. The rest of the area is filled with stalls selling food, beer, champagne, and cocktails. Most people come out in costumes and enjoy a lovely Tuesday morning party. Many shops close early for the day and I doubt productivity is high in most offices.

As I was waiting for a package to be delivered, I wasn't able to get there early enough to take good pictures of the dancers. You can find photos from several years on the city of Munich's site.

The scene in Marienplatz and most larger squares was similar - food and drink stands, stages with performances and music, and the stone plazas covered with confetti.

It was a beautiful day and for a few hours midday felt like spring had come.

 

Then at night on Marienplatz, the Fasching decorations came alive.

 
In the spirit of learning about new cultures, Herr J and I went the French and British route of "Pancake Tuesday."

Though many villages in the UK and Ireland have all kinds of fun festivities and traditions such as pancake races, what is common is eating the last of the starchy, fatty, tasty things that you will be foregoing dring Lent. We made crepes and used bad stuff from our cupboard....ham and cheese, followed by Nutella crepes. We were too lost in the joy of Nutella to take pictures. Sorry! (Plus, my crepe-making skills are not so pretty yet)