Liam's Karneval

Karneval is finally over! Those 6 days can really drag on if you are a no-fun poopy-pants like me. (oh heavens, Jeremy is gone and I really don't interact with many grown-ups at the moment...)

But the fact that Karneval drags on so long is what makes it so surreal-- I love it when I get on the subway with other people going to work, etc, and one or two people will be decked out in clown make-up or have butterfly wings on or somebody is wearing a pink wig and no other costume parts. The whole thing must be some kind of color theapy for gray Cologne.

Anyway, I can't tell any stories about the riotous time Liam had going back and forth through the purple spangly streamers at Jeremy's lab party because I was on the party train. Toot toot! Picutre this-- a refurbished old tram car with bar, bathrooms, tables, and, well, a hundred Ladies of a Certain Age. Dressed as Clowns. Drinking Kölsch and Schnapps. Let me tell you, 45 minutes into that ride two bathrooms were not nearly enough.

On Saturday- after Jeremy left to go to Chicago- Liam and I went to the playground. Now I thought that Saturday was one of those in-between Karneval days because the HUGE parade is on Monday. But as we played, we kept seeing groups of people walk by dressed in extravagant costumes. So I made a quick decision to run home, throw on our costumes and go see what was happening.

Oh no! Liam's deer costume was still wet! I had to think fast--- I duct-taped some of his foam letters to our jackets, put some red circles on our cheeks-- we were the Letter Clowns! Spelling is so Funny!

It turned out that Saturday was the Cologne Schools Parade. Liam and I hung out at the beginning of the route with the other little kids where it wasn't so crowded. Children came up to Liam and handed him candy.

Sunday we avoided the big parade.

Then on Monday, we went to the neighborhood parade. More kids throwing candy! That's when Liam learned "Kölle Alaaf" and "Karmelle"- two very important words to know in Cologne.