Basel Fasnacht 2013

Last night I literally woke up in the middle of the night. Basel Fasnacht which is the grand and famous carneval of the city kick starts at 4 am. Seemed totally insane to get up at 2.30 am and get on the tram by 3 am, but you have to be on time and you must experience the magic of the Morgenstreich we were told. This is the pre-dawn opening of the 3 most magical days of Basel. All lights in the city are switched off at exactly 4 am. Over 200 themes painted on lanterns start glowing in the dark to the sound of hundreds of drummers and piccolo flute players that strike up in the same march. The air was filled with ooh's and aaah's as the city turned dark just before the drummers and flutes started playing their marching songs. All you see in the darkness are candles and the illuminated lanterns that people are carrying. Really cool!

 This is Switzerlands larges carnival and the only protestant one in the world. It goes back to medieval tradition of fasting at Lent before Easter. Fasnacht has been going on since 1376 in Basel and in todays version as of 1832. You are either part of the carnival or you chose to leave town. The streets were filled with people for the Morgenstreich event so you have to be on time to find a good spot. No flash is allowed when taking pictures at this time in the morning. Most of my pictures did not turn out great considering the difficulty of shooting in the dark at moving subjects. 

Me and C stayed from 3.30 to five am. We had our fare share and were getting too cold even if we were wearing warm clothes. Many bars and bakery's are open this early just for the carnival. Traditional "Mehlsuppe" is served, that is some kind of flour soup. C ordered one to try it out. It was not so tasty. It is basically warm broth with some flour in. I guess it is popular mainly because people need something warm to stay warm at this time of the morning.

There were no trams going back as the carnival was still going on around 5 am so we simply walked home. That is a great thing that we actually have walking distance from the city center home if needed. It felt great to crawl back into bed and under the warm covers and sleep for another few hours.

 

 So much confetti and candy paper everywhere. I have never seen this much confetti on the streets ever. Piles that you have to wade through with your feet. 


The angels of Death looked pretty grim and scary.

 Looked pretty cool with their white wings spread maching down the street as well.

 Not only tons of confetti but also heaps of flowers. Roses and mimosa flowers was seen everywhere. The fasnacht characters of the carriges throw out all kinds of things to people lining the streets. Candy, oranges, apples, flowers, beer cans, everything is thrown out or handed out.

 I returned down to the city center at dusk around 6 pm and by then I expected the party to be over for today. There is a Cortege starting at 1.30 pm  Monday and Wednesday afternoon. Even if the carnival is three days I thought the Cortege was going to be it for the Monday but I was soooo wrong. I am very happy I just happened to return down to the city center so that I could take part of the festivities going on. I guess Carnival time means party time day and night for 3 days perhaps. Everyone is off from work for the carnival Monday.

All kinds of treats are handed out and people are crazy to get hold of anything they can. It is all kind of like a huge Halloween party with the candy and the costumes. I got something better than the average candy from one of the carriges. I got a glass of champagne!

 These young men had a bathtub of white confetti into which they hauled young girls and soaked them in the confetti. There is a girl here in the tub and they are all busy rubbing her hair full of confetti. Then they would help her out and hand her a flower. Someone threw confetti in my face and then tapped my shoulder and gave me a yellow rose.

 Many restaurants participate in the festivities of the carnival and decorate their windows with serpentines like this.

Something to eat and all kinds of beverages are sold everywhere. Hot dogs, bretzles, gluwein, beer, all very popular. Many people stay up all night prior to the 4 am start of the carnival partying and drinking.

Drums and masks parked outside a restaurant.

The second day of the carnival is children's Fasnacht. Today also offers a special opportunity to admire the painted lanterns that are put on display on the large square opposite the large cathedral. You can tell there is a lot of work  and many hours behind the making of these lanterns and costumes.

The carnival then ends on Wednesday with the parade at 1.30 pm. Tonight I thought I'd thought I go and check the lanterns out at the lantern exhibition and tomorrow I will of course check out the final parade.