Fasching Parade Heidelberg 2010

So, yesterday was Fasching (Mardi Gras). I took the kids out of school early and we went to the parade downtown. I didn't feel like trying to find parking, so we took the Strassebahn (street train) directly down to the parade route start. Since we had time to kill and the kids were quickly bored we walked down the Hauptstrasse (pedestrian shopping street), but all of the stores closed at 1pm. The bakeries were open, so we grabbed a snack (I discovered a new pastry - Eric, are you ready for this - a pecan plunder which is a lattice top roll, like an apfel rolle, but filled with pecan pie filling and covered in clear glaze and glazed pecans. Hello, southern girl!) We claimed a spot in the sun around 1:30 for a parade that was to start at 2:11pm (it's very precise. All the parades start at 2:11pm. There is a reason, but I can't find it anywhere on line).

Time passed. It got more and more crowded. We had secured a spot at the edge of the sidewalk, but people just got in front of us, crowded us from all sides, and there we stood for the next 2 hours before we saw the first parade entry! It was a miserable 2 hours, especially for the kids.

Finally, it reached us. It was pretty much like a local Mardi Gras parade anywhere - local village bands, krewes throwing candy. Somehow the kids forgot the miserable 2 hours before and were very excited. Cheap candy and a few weird costumes did wonders.

Here are a few pics I managed to snap...

These guys seem to be having a great time. I love the jovial guy in the middle. He waited all year to wear that hat and throw candy!

A few more. These guys were pretending they had no candy. Then everyone yelled

"Hi-yooooooo" (each float would call that to the crowd and they'd all call back loudly - Hi-yoooo!) Then came the candy shower (which, for the record is more like a pelting when you aren't reaching up).

Very regal indeed.

This was part of a Gugenmusik group. It was huge (and they've got the warmest costumes). There is a big Gugenmusik festival each year. It translates as Happy Musik, and of the main elements of Gugenmusik is the elaborate costuming.

So, here's the parade holdup. This was a beer truck (free beer) in the parade. It slowed down and people crowded around. Now I know why it took the parade over an hour just to get from the start to our place 3/4 mile down.

There was also a soup cauldron being pulled by a wagon (Emily rushed out for that one and came back with a cup of navy bean and ham soup). And later a bakery truck came by throwing out wax-paper bags with a roll in each. For that I put down the camera and gave a Hi-yooooo! Hey mister, throw me some bread!