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CARNIVAL IN DUSSELDORF
Yes We Can! on Königsallee
Cologne’s
Carnival is probably more famous and was the first of the Rhineland
pre-lenten
celebrations, but the street party in Düsseldorf is bigger.
Officially
Karneval, the European version of Mardi-Gras,
begins the "foolish
season" on the 11th of November, the eleventh month at 11:11 am
when the Fools call out the mayor in ceremonial jibberish and he must
respond in kind, but the real festivities are in February on a long weekend
before lent from the Thursday Women’s Carnival ‘Weiberfastnacht’ with
its traditions of tie cutting and men switching roles, leading to the
big parade in costumes on Rose Monday “Rosenmontag.
Dusseldorf Carnival 2012 - February 16-22
Beginning
with the ‘Möhnen’,
when mad and wild women carnival revelers will take over the town hall,
cutting men’s
ties and symbolically taking control of the city for one day. Some gamely
men of courage secure in their sexual identities will wear high-heeled
shoes along the Königsallee rather of carrying them in shopping
bags for their wives’. At 6 p.m. is the Queens Run “Tutenlauf” perhaps
for the not so secure - which I’m sure had a slightly different
meaning when the tradition started - where men in women’s clothes
try to score winning points by weaving the fastest through a laid out
course. The victor is the one with the highest heels, the flashiest dress
and the most flamboyant performance. All other festivities are in February.
Carnival
Sunday in Dusseldorf is the big day of parades in
the different areas of town. The carnival parades wind
their way
through the city with garish
floats, marching bands and dancing groups. Carnival reaches its peak
with the ‘Rosenmontag’ parade. The big parade, put on by
60 different carnival clubs, with almost 70 floats, 40 marching bands,
80 groups of walking revelers is watched by almost a million spectators
lining the streets every year, showered with sweets thrown from the floats
while shouting the traditional greeting of “Helau!” The parade’s
course leads through the Old Town, past the historic town hall Rathaus,
along Königsallee and into Friedrichstraße. Revelers in costumes,
mostly clowns and 
colorful
wigs, gather in Konigsallee and the streets of old town to meet friends
and strangers in costumes and have a grand
time. For drinking, Dusseldorf and the North Rhine has its owned famed
variety of dark beer called “Altbier” which is pretty much
the only one that is expected to be guzzled. Order a wheat beer or a
Pilsner and you get the true glare of disapproval! Perhaps get even more
that your tie cut off, though you can drink the traditional liquor, Killepitsch.
Traditional food is the Rhine Sauerbraten and a mustard roasted steak,
Düsseldorfer Senfrostbraten. Parties are held throughout the season,
public and private. Party Events Calendar
The Carnival season ends on Ash Wednesday when the carnival fools burn the “Hoppeditz”, a jester figure in front of the town hall from where it was erected back in November to start the season. Dusseldorf is only a half-hour from Cologne so it is possible to try out events for both if you've a mind (see Cologne Carnival Crazy Days).
If you haven’t
had enough drinking and partying in Germany, after lent you can head
down to Munich for the Strong Beer Season (see Strong
Beer Munich). Or
in Dusseldorf in July you can check out the "Biggest Funfair on the
Rhine" in Rhine meadows of Oberkassel, its not Karnival but plenty
of beer,
fairground rides and fireworks. © Bargain
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These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Carnival photos courtesy German Tourist Board.
See Also:
DUSSELDORF'S SUMMER KIRMES CARNIVAL
KOLN'S KRAZY DAYS KARNEVAL FESTIVAL
SCHLOSS BENRATH PALACE AND GARDENS
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