European Narrenfest

Narren (fools) from eleven countries will clebrate the traditional street carnival in the Bad Cannstatt part of Stuttgart, 23-25January. This will give insight into the customs of mask usage in Europe. On Sunday, 25Jan, will be a parade through the streets of the old town of Bad Cannstatt.

Information can be found at www.narrenfest2009.de . Information on Stuttgart is at www.stuttgart-tourist.de .

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Cool! Thanks for the hint! This is really to be taken into consideration.

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Thanks again!!!!!! I did indeed go. It was just crazy... amazing... unbelievable.

Some 400 photos to sort now...

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My wife and I unfortunately had to miss out on the market on Saturday, but went to Bad Cannstatt at 9AM on Sunday to see what was happening. There were just three groups who went through town performing which was enjoyable, but I really enjoyed strolling through the deserted streets of the Altstadt at this time of the morning, I had forgotten how nice it was. We also used our time to check out the Klosterle, a Weinstube in Bad Cannstatt%26#39;s oldest house from a former convent. We defininitely will return to eat there.

We returned at 1PM for the parasde and the crowds. We enjoyed the event. My Swabian wife likes to stand away from the participants hiding behind others as she doesn%26#39;t like being attacked. However, a few participants penetrated the crowds and she was surprised and got confetti%26#39;ed and pig bladdered, as I also did. She has always mentioned to me how unpleasant it was being struck with a pig bladder, but I wearing my moose cap didn%26#39;t even feel it, and neither did she as I saw her strruck and she didn%26#39;t even know that she had been hit! I liked the strawmen from England, and interestingly, I noticed a fire extinguisher in their wagon!!! As my wife never dresses adequately for the cold, we left a little early and I watched the rest of the parade on TV when I got home.

Now, for the international Guggenmusik festival in Schwaebisch Gmuend 14-15Feb!!!!!!!!! That%26#39;s the only thing I can fault the Cannstatter Narrenfest for, no Guggenmusik!

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I arrived around 9.30, walked a bit round to see the place (I had never been to Bad Cannstatt before) and joined the church service at 10. Afterwards I watched some of the dancers performing.

For the parade, I had the perfect spot for taking photos on a sunny street corner, the outer side of a turn, facing the street they were coming along, with the sun in my back, in the front row. I secured that spot an hour before the parade began. Standing in one spot for all in all four hours was hard, though, I could hardly walk afterwards... That meant a little confetti and some witch embraces but so what. Pig-bladdering wasn%26#39;t bad, after being to Elzach four times I am used to *quite* a bit more...

I loved the straw bears, too. And the fir trees. But those Slovenian and Croatian groups were the most amazing of all!!! The bull herd with the skulls! And that Austrian Muller group. Seeing all those Swabian guilds was also interesting.

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P.S. The next big event on the timetable is the Breisgauer Narrenzunft anniversary in Freiburg next weekend with a big parade of many, many guilds from Freiburg and the Black Forest on Sunday, Feb 1, starting 1.30 p.m.

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%26quot;I loved the straw bears, too. And the fir trees. But those Slovenian and Croatian groups were the most amazing of all!!! The bull herd with the skulls! And that Austrian Muller group. Seeing all those Swabian guilds was also interesting.%26quot;

Yes, those former Yugoslavian animal groups were interesting, and also extremely overheated, as they all took off their masks after performing and were perspiring as they continued on. I even got to lock my moose cap horns with one of the goats! I have to give credit to the Tyroleans, Lederhosen!

I%26#39;d be interested in seeing your pictures if you post them anywhere.

Unfortunately, except for the coming Guggenmusik festival and the Stuttgart parade, I think that I%26#39;m all carnivaled out for the year. My wife, however, wants us to go to a village just south of Freiburg, Stauffen, for the midnight washing of the wallets in the town fountain.

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Photos will probably be on my VirtualTourist pages soon, I%26#39;ll post the link here when they are.

%26quot;All carnivaled out%26quot;? Ah no, this was just the warming up, hehe...

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I see in the paper today there were 270,000 spectators and they took two years to plan it. Unfortunately, there are no plans to hold another one.

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So it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we were there!!!

Maybe a different place picks up the idea in a couple of years.

It must have been an enormous effort to plan that meeting. I also heard that they paid the travel costs for all the guest groups. With the help of sponsors, of course.

I had no idea before that, for example, Croatia, Slowenia, and also places in Italy had such amazing traditions... Must do some more research.

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It has been a wonderfull event...

I%26#39;m of an Italian group, from Comelico, Dolomiti, and meet so many persons of so many different places has been very very exciting...

I%26#39;m searching material, video, photos, of this fest... If someone has it, could he send us? Our mail is gruppocandide@libero.it

and our site is www.gruppocandide.it

Thank you!