Here is a whole-day party experience worthy of inviting all of your friends for! Fasnacht in Lucerne and Basel.
For the uninitiated, this is a Mad hatter's day cum Wicked Witch's world cum Red Riding Hood's dream come true... well, basically Carnival day is the day when all your cartoon dreams come alive.. and how !
You have to see this to believe it... There are all your favourites - Alice and Witches and devils and the messengers from Satan and the Hell's Angels! hehehhee... what about a few mis-shapen heads and green hair and really really make-up... what about a huge nose for a add on and some green lip stick for the halo-effect!
Anyways, on the 3rd March, we scooted off to Lucerne - Basel Fasnacht was starting from the 14th; we couldn't wait - so went to the Luzern Fasnacht that started on the 3rd March. Well, we had combined a few other things in the packed day schedule- that included a day trip to Zurich. And we arrived at around 10 a.m. at Luzern to find a cacophony of characters - the most humorous of them being the witch. Now the witch dress is a truly intriguing dress that includes a multitude of things to come together in harmony to produce the surreal effect - the wig, the eyes, the retina, the broom, the dress and the most important of them all - the hooked nose. We saw a few almost perfect caricatures. The most amusing of them also had a few children in the tow!
Well, a little Bit of History - just to add a little bit of perspective. Fasnacht is a celebration almost exclusively in the Catholic Germanic regions - Basel is the only Protestant region to be celebrating Fasnacht to this day. And it symbolises the same story - Triumph of Good over Evil. The Carnival starts with all devilish characters having a free run of the place - on a Monday, and ends on the Ash Wednesday. That means that come Wednesday and all the evil is burnt at stake... so for 3 days you will see all over the town - starting from the old town to the alleys of the central station and ever beyond. The men of vice parade themselves in their regalia for 3 days only to be consigned to the history books on Ash Wednesday... But if you look at the celebrations - you will know why it is fun to be on the 'other' side of good! Boy, it is mesmerizing :)
In Luzern, it was a party all right. From the old town to the Chapel bridge and then all the way to the Lion monument and beyond - even extending till the Jewish quarter, they are like emerging from various alleys - singing the same mesmerizing tune and drumming the intoxicating band. In their odd assortments, Lucerne is an unforgettable carnival.
Back To Basel. After the unforgettable experience in Lucerne, Basel Fasnacht was something we were eagerly awaiting for.
On the 14th March, we were up at 3 a.m. to be ready for the Morgenstreich and parade - due at 4 a.m. sharp. It was absolutely dark, and all the street lights had been shut off to create an eerie dark atmosphere. All lights in the city centre are switched off, and over 200 Fasnacht themes (Sujets) painted on lanterns start glowing in the dark, and the signal is given for hundreds of drummers and piccolo players to strike up the same march – a magic moment. The Fasnacht tune is simultaneously heard from all directions, and it marks the beginning of 3 days of Carnival. What a sight! We we cuddled against each other on Hammerstrasse near to Clarastrasse, and as if by a Pied Pipers cue - started following the band and their haunting tune and the lit caravans. The entire crowd in Basel was marching as if in an trance... and we followed the troupes across the MittlereBrucke and into the old Town in front of the Rathaus. What a grand sight it was ... There were 3 or more different streams. The Cliques, Guggemusik bands and other participants marched, or were carried on floats, past the many thousands of spectators. And It was a haunting scene and mesmerizing. Look at the photos and you will know what I am talking about!
Around lunch, we went out again for the Parade at 1 a.m. across the old town. This was the grand parade and there were thousands of Cliques and more... they were all over the place and they represented various themes, including medieval witches and also including Saddam Hussein and modern day evils! It was fun. There were children of all ages and men and women of all sizes wearing the Blaggedde (Fasnacht badge). Some had come dressed up in evil costumes as well...
However, it wasn't as gaudy as those in Luzern... The fun element was a little more in Luzern - for one, the people were more appropriately dressed (!) and more important - there were less stuff being collected.
In Basel, the parade were distributing goodies like sweets, candies, flowers, even, beer! It was such a compelling sight that everyone got behind the parade in order to make the most of the collections. Look at the sight. It was absolute pandemonium. And we did collect quite a few candies, mandarins and flowers... and yea we were all covered with the little pieces of white paper being thrown around. We had a couple of beers and were fully immersed in the Fasnacht spirit.
A good fun day we had - it continued for another 2 days and eventually concluded on the Thursday at 4 a.m. after 3 days of riotous fun. Basel was transformed from a sleepy town to a tourist destination for the 3 days.
The streets wore a different colour - that of little paper pieces of all shades and colour. The people threw all caution to the winds - and even the famed BVD trams and buses had altered routes for the 3 days to accommodate the parade.
Questions remained about the authenticity and originality of the parade - but the continued enthusiasm of the Fasnacht Comite year after year must be appreciated. It was a fantastic event and a wonderful celebration. And the haunting tune continues to mesmerize us till today.
For the uninitiated, this is a Mad hatter's day cum Wicked Witch's world cum Red Riding Hood's dream come true... well, basically Carnival day is the day when all your cartoon dreams come alive.. and how !
You have to see this to believe it... There are all your favourites - Alice and Witches and devils and the messengers from Satan and the Hell's Angels! hehehhee... what about a few mis-shapen heads and green hair and really really make-up... what about a huge nose for a add on and some green lip stick for the halo-effect!
Well, a little Bit of History - just to add a little bit of perspective. Fasnacht is a celebration almost exclusively in the Catholic Germanic regions - Basel is the only Protestant region to be celebrating Fasnacht to this day. And it symbolises the same story - Triumph of Good over Evil. The Carnival starts with all devilish characters having a free run of the place - on a Monday, and ends on the Ash Wednesday. That means that come Wednesday and all the evil is burnt at stake... so for 3 days you will see all over the town - starting from the old town to the alleys of the central station and ever beyond. The men of vice parade themselves in their regalia for 3 days only to be consigned to the history books on Ash Wednesday... But if you look at the celebrations - you will know why it is fun to be on the 'other' side of good! Boy, it is mesmerizing :)
In Luzern, it was a party all right. From the old town to the Chapel bridge and then all the way to the Lion monument and beyond - even extending till the Jewish quarter, they are like emerging from various alleys - singing the same mesmerizing tune and drumming the intoxicating band. In their odd assortments, Lucerne is an unforgettable carnival.
Back To Basel. After the unforgettable experience in Lucerne, Basel Fasnacht was something we were eagerly awaiting for.
On the 14th March, we were up at 3 a.m. to be ready for the Morgenstreich and parade - due at 4 a.m. sharp. It was absolutely dark, and all the street lights had been shut off to create an eerie dark atmosphere. All lights in the city centre are switched off, and over 200 Fasnacht themes (Sujets) painted on lanterns start glowing in the dark, and the signal is given for hundreds of drummers and piccolo players to strike up the same march – a magic moment. The Fasnacht tune is simultaneously heard from all directions, and it marks the beginning of 3 days of Carnival. What a sight! We we cuddled against each other on Hammerstrasse near to Clarastrasse, and as if by a Pied Pipers cue - started following the band and their haunting tune and the lit caravans. The entire crowd in Basel was marching as if in an trance... and we followed the troupes across the MittlereBrucke and into the old Town in front of the Rathaus. What a grand sight it was ... There were 3 or more different streams. The Cliques, Guggemusik bands and other participants marched, or were carried on floats, past the many thousands of spectators. And It was a haunting scene and mesmerizing. Look at the photos and you will know what I am talking about!
Around lunch, we went out again for the Parade at 1 a.m. across the old town. This was the grand parade and there were thousands of Cliques and more... they were all over the place and they represented various themes, including medieval witches and also including Saddam Hussein and modern day evils! It was fun. There were children of all ages and men and women of all sizes wearing the Blaggedde (Fasnacht badge). Some had come dressed up in evil costumes as well...
However, it wasn't as gaudy as those in Luzern... The fun element was a little more in Luzern - for one, the people were more appropriately dressed (!) and more important - there were less stuff being collected.
In Basel, the parade were distributing goodies like sweets, candies, flowers, even, beer! It was such a compelling sight that everyone got behind the parade in order to make the most of the collections. Look at the sight. It was absolute pandemonium. And we did collect quite a few candies, mandarins and flowers... and yea we were all covered with the little pieces of white paper being thrown around. We had a couple of beers and were fully immersed in the Fasnacht spirit.
A good fun day we had - it continued for another 2 days and eventually concluded on the Thursday at 4 a.m. after 3 days of riotous fun. Basel was transformed from a sleepy town to a tourist destination for the 3 days.
hi!
ReplyDeletei liked your post! if we can go either to luzern or basel - which would you recommend?
You could go to the Luzern one if you want to dress up yourself and have a party. The Basel one does not encourage the crowd to dress up, but is much grander than the Luzern Fasnacht.
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