Fasnacht
ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT 2010 KRISTY MAY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
After the Morgenstraich kicks things off, the streets of Basel are neither quiet nor empty for the next 72 hours. There are parades day and night, some organized, others spontaneous. Specialities like flour soup and cheese and onion tarts are consumed along with lots of beer. Music of popular tunes on brass instruments to war hymns on drums and piccolos fill the air as does confetti!
Basel Fasnacht
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Waggis are mischievious characters who lure people in with the promise of a flower or a rose and then dump confetti on you head.
Confetti throwing is especially beloved by children.
Teens attempt to put confetti down a girls pants.
On Tuesday night, all the lanterns are exhibited.
Basel is full of little alleyways and steep winding corridors.
The Rätz clique in 2005. Rätz means "good drumming".
The Rätz clique in 2009. The theme was based on the idea of Basel making a bid for the 2020 Olympics.
Mama Mia themed character in one of the afternoon parades.
A reveler dancing in the street with a tray of Cafe Lutz, a coffee and liquor drink.
Fasnacht masks in marzipan.
The eyes of a drum major.
The little bottle opener.
Gugge music groups play brass instruments and popular music, as opposed to the cliques playing drums and piccolos.
Rätz clique Basel 2020 Olympics theme in 2009. Drum major Stefan Ospel is underneath the enormous costume.
Entrance to the Rätz clique cellar outfitted from an old bomb shelter.
Inside the Rätz cellar, the clique eats a meal before heading out again for a night parade.
The Worms Cellar, the tiniest of all the clique cellars only hold a handfull of people, but is never lacking in festive spirit.
Most restaurants are reservation only come Fasnacht and often host clique dinners.
Cliques take many stops while parading, including trips to local watering holes.
One of my favorite Fasnacht memories from 2004 was when I encountered these two devils in a cafe about 3 hours before the end of Fasnacht.
