Dusseldorf, Part II

I left off yesterday after the first parade. So, after the break we were off to the city so that the Musikzug could play at a church. It was quite interesting since we had to walk through the city and see all the party goers. Let me tell you, that was pretty interesting. Everyone was dressed up. We saw a guy dressed up as a bride (and the next day in the Bild Zeitung, we saw him in the paper as having the highest blood alcohol content of those surveyed). There were many dressed as clowns, which I think is a normal costume.

Back to the church. It was quite interesting. It was called the "Jazzkirche". It was pretty interesting, and a lot different than a Catholic service, and I kind of liked it. The guys that were playing the sax, piano, drums and bass were absolutely amazing. The Musikzug wasn't too bad either. They did a rendition of "My Way" that was really good.

Well, after the church, it was time to take on Dusseldorf. First things first...FOOD! We were all hungry, so we had to find something quick. We had decided earlier to go to Hooters (baby was craving chicken wings), so that is where we went. Unfortunately, it was quite disapointing. I have to write a whole other post on it later though...it was that disapointing.

After the disapointing meal, we headed back to the streets. It was quite fun I must say. Even though I wasn't partaking in the drinking activities (but who really wants to drink a beer that smells like dirty socks?) I had loads of fun. We were dancing in the streets to many fasching songs...they were quite funny. However, you had to be pretty careful. There were lots of broken glass pieces on the ground, plus there were loads of little schnapps bottles (think airline size) everywhere and a crazy amount of trash. I was wondering how they would get it all cleaned up by the next day. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of that amount of garbage! It was quite impressive. And, they did get it all cleaned up. They had these teams of street cleaning trucks that were out in droves that night.

Ok, back to the evening. After dancing in the streets for a couple of hours, we decided to move on to a bar. However, the thing is that in Dusseldorf, people can smoke in bars. Luckily, the bar that we went to had an outdoor area with heaters, so that is where I was with some of the others. The waiter was pretty funny. One of the girls that was with us tried to speak high German to him, but he could tell right away she was from Bavaria, so I tested him to see if he could tell I was from the States. It was pretty funny. He was like, "You're from the North, no wait Denmark, no wait Berlin, no wait the West." Finally I gave in and told him I was from Texas. He got a laugh out of that. Then I ordered an Apfelschorle, and he said, "What, you come all this way from Texas and you just drink juice and not our wonderful beer?" I then told him it wasn't wise for pregnant women to drink beer. So he brought the apfelschorle for the baby.

By about midnight, I am pooped, but I didn't want to make Markus go home early. So I had him put me into a taxi and send me home. That was nice. I got home, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I didn't even hear the other when they came home. I was that tired.

The next day, Rosenmontag, was the big Faschings Parade in Dusseldorf. Luckily, we didn't have to leave until about 11, so everyone got to sleep in just a bit. After everyone was dressed, the Musikzug played a bit for the Priest and the priest's helper (the dudes that allowed us to stay at the youth center). That was nice. Then it was off to the big parade.

The parade started at 1:35pm, but it took about 45 minutes until the Musikzug could start marching...they were number 33.12 in the parade...there were lots of people in the parade. It was quite nice (I'll get pics posted later) and luckily, it didn't rain during the parade, just a bit before. We marched for roughly 7 kilometers, but it really didn't feel that long. We were on TV, however, I don't know how long, or who exactly was on TV, but nonetheless, we were on TV.

The best part about the parade were definitely the kids. They were so freaking cute. All dressed up and screaming out "Hellau" (it's what they say in Dusseldorf during Fasching). They were quite disapointed that we weren't throwing candy, but, they were still cute nonetheless. The best costume that both Markus and I saw was this little kid dressed up as a kangaroo...and in the pouch was a little kangaroo. Our kid will definitely be a kangaroo in the future! Another awesome part of the parade is that I found 20 Euro on the ground! Woohoo! That was pretty great.

So, all in all, Dusseldorf was a great trip (minus the Hooters). I would recommend going to the Dusseldorf Fasching Parade...but be prepared for lots of drunken party goers.