Morgenstreich!

I think the best way to describe Fasnacht is to simply describe the events in the order that they happen, or are supposed to happen.  Soooooo.......  That leaves me at the beginning with the Morgenstreich (morning strike).  Fasnacht in Basel begins at precisely at 4:00 AM on the Monday morning following Ash Wednesday.  I was staying in a hostel a bit of a walk away from the old city center.  After going to sleep around 10:00 PM on Sunday, I set my alarm for 2:30, although I really didn't sleep much at all.  Woke up, got dressed, and walked down to find a good spot on the crowded streets close to the center, but not directly in the center of the Marketplatz or any of the other main squares.

The street lights and shop lights were all on, and the cliques and 'wild' groups prepared for the march.  At 4:00 on the dot, all the lights in the entire city went completely dark.  I had a small moment of panic since I was in the middle of crossing the street to get a better view.   But after a few seconds, the lanterns came on and the piccolo playing commenced (it was not to stop until 4:00 AM on Thursday morning when the carnival came to its official end).

The rest of the morning was filled with official cliques processing around an prescribed path through the city on both sides of the Rhein, and the 'wild' groups marching (and also playing piccolo, accompanied by drums) on the streets in between.  During the Morgenstreich, all participants wore masks with lanterns attached on their heads.  Some groups also carried smaller lanterns on poles or on backpacks.  Each group also had a giant lantern decorated with scenes depicting political themes ranging from the local to the global.  Not living in Basel and also speaking neither German nor Swiss German, I know I missed a lot of the political commentary.  Even so, I was able to pick up on a few of the critiques.  Among the themes I thought I understood for 2011 Fasnacht were:

• The Gulf Oil Spill and a critique of BP
• Something about gambling and casinos in Switzerland
• The financial disaster in Greece
• Child abuse in the Church
• Some kind of statement about the police in Switzerland
• And more...

Here are some pictures!

Clique's lanterns on poles

A 'wild' bunch marching with lanterns and masks

Toxic baby formula lantern

This is the giant lantern from a group dedicated to the Gulf Oil Spill.  The front of this lantern had a big pelican on it.

Pelican -shaped lantern hats following the giant lantern

At about 6:30 AM, my friend and I decided that it was time to have the traditional feast of Fasnacht, mehlsuppe and waihe (flour soup and onion tarts).  We found a restaurant that was serving them.  It was interesting that there were many restaurants actually open throughout the early morning, but their windows were completely covered, so that the light wouldn't interfere with the procession.  Coincidentally, that is also why many of the lantern photos are blurry - no flash photography allowed because it can disorient the masked, marching piccolo players.

Mehlsuppe!

An onion tart from the vendor at the Munsterplatz

When we finished our breakfast (what else do you call a meal eaten at 6:30 after being up since 2?), we emerged from the restaurant to find that the sun was rising.  But the groups were still marching and the fife and drums were still playing, and the lanterns were still lit, even in the early morning light.

Wild clique marching over the Rhein at dawn

Another wild clique processing over the Rhein in the early morning.

At about 8 we decided to head back to the hostel to try to get a little nap in before the afternoon festivities got going.  Things seemed to be settiling down, but that may have been a misconception on my part.  Throughout all of Fasnacht, just as I thought the processions must be winding down, another giant clique would come around the corner and the carnival spirit just kept on playing - to the tune of 'Dixie', I might add.  Also heard a lot of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'.  There were other piccolo tunes playing throughout the week, but these were the two I recognized.  Maybe 'Dixie' was chosen as a part of a general theme for the Southern United States and Louisiana suffering from the oil spill?  Maybe 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' was playing because of the unrest 'On the shores of Tripoli'?  The uprisings in Libya and Egypt and the disaster in Japan were too recent to make it into the lanterns.  Perhaps the music was pointing at current events of the week.  

We took our nap, and made it back for the Guggemusik bands in the afternoon.  More on that next time!

Morgenstreich!