Life: Idiotropic

Photos: 1) The first tractor "float" of the parade followed by group of Robin Hoods 2) A group of kids behind the Hansel and Gretel float. If you enlarge it, you'll see the one boy is smoking and the other is drinking beer. Not illegal and quite typical.

Today the party came to our house. We'd decorated with bright balloons and streamers in our front windows and like the rest of our neighbors, we put balloons on the upstairs windows as well. I made cookies and put out a few snacks. We served hot chocolate with marshmallows and Bailey's on the side.

Photos: 1) A group of people in front of our home. 2) Luci in the crowd with Kirk as a monk in the background
And then they came. Most of the Gillrath Americans live in the neighborhood behind us, but from all corners, Americans came to perch themselves in front of our home (not because we're so special, but because our home is conveniently located right on the parade route within easy walking distance from most of their homes) to watch the first Gillrath Karneval parade in 26 years. It was an effortless party thrown by the town so we just served some cocoa and enjoyed. We had over 53 friends in front of our home most of the parade with a constant flow of people in and out of our home. A couple times I turned around to see people I didn't even know walking in our front door. Kirk told me later that he'd escorted a couple German neighbors in to use our bathroom.

So, it was lively. The kids ran in and out of the street yelling, "ALAAF!" and gathering up all the candy they could to fill their baskets, bags, and inverted umbrellas. The adults watched the parade and other spectators with amusement visiting with each other and making funny faces for the cameras. The parade was fantastic - but NOTHING like anything we'd ever see back home.

The had floats, music, and a band. They had themes and wore costumes. They threw A LOT of candy. All that is pretty normal, right?

They also walked the parade while drinking beer. Many smoked. Many had a beer in one hand and a bottle of liquor under one arm and a stack of disposable shot glasses in the other hand. Many gave out shots to the adult spectators. I even got a shot of chocolate Bailey's from a chicken. There was no rowdiness... no obvious drunken behavior. They were relaxed and smiling and having a good time. They had no trouble walking. But - alcohol was prevalent, accepted, and handed out for free. An orange faced witch gave beers to a couple of the guys in our party. Not normal? It is here.

Photos: 1) The chicken who also gave a shot of Bailey's to me 2) A couple blue bears? Notice the bottle under his arm and the Bitburger beer bottle and shot glasses in the other hand.








Another "not normal" thing -- it wasn't just candy and shots. One green bear passed out cubes of cheese. He just reached out with a bag and you had to reach in and grab one. Our local produce guy passed out potatoes. Arianna and Luci both got apples and oranges in their baskets. Popcorn was popular too. And, the cooking group passed out soup mix, heads of lettuce, carrots, and other ingredients including little cocktail wieners on toothpicks.

Photos: 1) Sorry for the sideways photo - too tired to fix. This is Tinny with her head of lettuce she got from the parade folks and a small cocktail wiener in the same hand. 2) The green bear passing out cheese






Arianna, Luci, and Elise all had a great time running all around, playing with friends, and gathering treats. Arianna yelled "Alaaf!" as much as she could thinking it would bring her more treats. Elise spent most of the time with her best friend, Hattie. And Luci, my adventurous girl, was in and out of the street grabbing any candy between groups that had dropped short of the crowd. The yellow hat came from some one in the parade, so once she got it, she wore it the entire afternoon.

The clown and the tourist are Mike and Karyn - a fabulous German couple that lived in the states for a while, own a guest house and rental home in Gillrath and are very friendly and well-known among the Americans. They were at our house too.

The talk in Gillrath is that if this parade is successfull (and I think it was), that they'll do it again next year. And, if they do it again, you know who will be in the parade??? Yep. The Americans are going to put a float together... but I won't be passing out cheese and potatoes.

Note: After writing this, posting it, then finally going through the basket of candy the kids brought in, I must laugh at the absurdity of some. Obviously not all the things thrown are for kids. I enjoyed several Turkish coffee candies. And, in this pile of odd things I'll throw away, I have several "Rooibos Tee" tea filled candies, a couple cough drops, a "Classic New York" pear flavored chew, a hard candy labelled "golf son gual," several from "WWK Versicherungen," and one called "Air Liquide."