Fasching!

Prost!

Mardi Gras is celebrated here in Germany too. In the Munich area the season starts in early January and ends with Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. During the "season" there are balls, there are both costume and formal dress parties. I did not know about these parties, I know, I can't believe it either. So I will now add it to my list of things to do next year. Always something new to try. Really.

The last three days before Ash Wednesday, Munich turns into one big party. This culminates with the "Dance of the Market Women" on Shrove Tuesday and a big costume party. Steve and I didn't experience any of this last year so we decided to check it out this year.

On Tuesday we headed into Munich at 9. We were drinking Prosecco by 9:45. Oddly enough this was recommended by Rachel's orthopedic doctor, she and I had seen him that morning (by the way she is FINALLY healed) and he has said it's more fun to watch the show if you've had one or two glasses of Prosecco. We always try to follow doctor's orders.

We watched a float make it's way through Marienplatz, we later realized it was carrying the Burgermeister, aka the mayor. And yes, Burgermeister is the word for mayor, just like in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Do you remember, "Bugermeister, Meisterburger"? We walked over to the Viktualienmarkt, which is a huge open market, to wait for the performance.

While waiting, the people watching got better and better as more people turned up in all sorts of costumes. Also, everyone was drinking. We were surprised to see that many of the shops and market stalls had added tables out front that they had lined with drinks to sell. Butcher selling meat? Not today.

The performance started and it wasn't with the market women but with the Prince and Princess of Karnival and a troop of dancers. They did dance performances to music from the 50's all the way through current time. Once they were finished it was time for the Dance of the Market Women. We then realized these are the women who run the stands in the markets all dressed in fancy costumes. They performed a great dance to what was clearly a traditional German song since the entire crowd was singing!

Afterwards we spent time in the crowd taking in the costumes and revelry. I've included some of the best costumes here. We didn't stay long into the afternoon but we could see that it was going to be a fun, fun all night party!

Serious Witch Costumes

Who you gonna call?

There are FOUR people inside this VW!