In 2010 I was lucky to be able to see and take photos at a Spring Carnival In Germany. In the month of March, Germans have festivals in almost every village.
Knowing abut these festivals, we decided to go to the village of Gottenheim, in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. It was not too far from Freiburg im Breisgau where we spent some time that year. It was an easy trip by train, a very common and convenient way of transportation in Europe.
If you are not familiar with Germany and their lifestyle, I can tell you that these people really love to party. Everybody knows that Germans take their work very seriously. They are equally determinate when it’s about their free time 🙂
** I made digital painting versions of almost all the pictures for a more artistic look. I will alternate them, but you will have to click on them to see the whole gallery:
We found a very nice B&B, with wonderful friendly hosts who actually participated in the parade (the man), in an “Aviators” team (He’s the one on the left).
So, for two weeks the downtown streets of this village where very busy and a little (or more) chaotic, 🙂 But funny chaos is sometime so good! Lots of great vibes there…
We could watch many interesting characters – some fictitious, other representing cultures in the world. It was a festival of conflated cultures, so to say… 🙂
But let’s see some of the main parade. I cannot insert them all, but please click on the pictures to see more in my gallery:
These musicians were among the first ones.
Some Irish and Celtic kids were on the way up the road too
… And here come the street sweepers, part of the professional themes. Or maybe they were just witches…??
We have actually seen several teams of witches…
The ones I’m showing on the top banner were my favorites though…
Another favorite of mine was the funky drummers team 🙂
Here they are in the crowd:
I haven’t seen any gypsies since I crossed the ocean to North America. I had to come to Germany to see them… here they are 🙂
The Italians from Venice with their gondolas and masks where present too:
I’m not sure what these guys were doing…
but I’ve seen all kinds of funny masks, costumes and characters there 🙂
In the meantime, the submarine team of “Glug-Glug” was playing with a local that made the mistake of opening his window 🙂
Oh, I almost forgot about the Mexicans and their tequila fiesta 🙂
And talking about the American continent, here are the brave cowboys of the Wild West, with their Western Express train! 🙂
They were throwing confetti too
… and everybody was playing…
Bottom line, the spring Carnival in Germany was the funniest and most pleasant chaos I’ve ever seen. I hope you enjoyed my pictures 🙂
I think it is great to plunge into the culture and traditions of this people. It looks fun!
Thank you Rick! 🙂
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Wow, thank you so much! 🙂
Such colorful characters! I feel like this could be a children’s story!
Thank you Theresa – What a great remarque! – it was indeed a moment of return to the childhood for everybody 🙂
Such an amazing palette of colors 🙂
Thank you Hammad Rais! 🙂
Excellent excellent. Very colorful, obviously. Love it!
Thank you so much John! 🙂
Thank you Leya! 🙂
Extraordinary photos.
Thank you Fandango! I really appreciate your comment! Thanks 😊
Fantastic, Tatiana! What chaotic – but great scenes. Love your header and the horses especially!