Carnival is definitely not my kind of holiday, but the weekend was entertaining nonetheless! What the video doesn't show is the endless street party that goes on from sunup until after midnight. The entire city is out at the pubs, both the young and the old, dancing to horrendous sounding music and drinking more beer than I could ever imagine seeing. No thank you, I'll pass.
Festivities began Saturday morning with the arrival of the Prince of Carnival at the main train station. A parade led him from there to City Hall downtown, and then men in kilts proceeded to stand around a fountain as a band played nearby. The Prince then climbed a ladder to put a wreath of vegetables around the statue's neck, and then kissed the stone face... a little odd, but I'm sure there's some sort of symbolism there.
On Saturday night, Kaitlyn and I decided to get brave it by dressing up in our crazy costumes and going out with everyone. I was a little apprehensive to say the least but I'm glad I went out to experience how a different culture celebrates. The locals were dancing and drinking in the streets, and each pub was playing different music that was not "dance-able" by any means. I had to hold my breath to avoid inhaling smoke and at one point I was standing in a puddle of beer. I kept thinking to myself, "do people really think this is fun?" I began to miss the so-called "Baylor bubble" and the innocent parties and get-togethers I enjoy. We all decided to get a chocolate covered waffle, continued people watching, and then called it a night.
This morning we went to see the traditional Carnival parade down at the Vrithof Square. Everyone was in costume which was fun to see. Families were dressed alike, there were sequins and glitter everywhere, and people were already drinking - no surprise there. The floats were very tacky and seemed to have been put together overnight. They wouldn't have stood a chance among the Baylor homecoming floats! It was a fun spectacle to watch, but after about an hour of standing on the streets, we decided we'd had enough.
I feel like the whole holiday was a little overrated. We were told by one of our professors that going to the pubs was a family occasion and that we'd see young kids with their parents. She even said that being drunk was not socially accepted, which made me feel comfortable to think I could go out without seeing any of that. But I suppose this was just one more eye-opening experience, and I'll come home a little wiser because of it.
As Carnival celebration continues, we have the rest of the week off to travel. Tomorrow we'll take an overnight train to Prague and spend two days there. Wednesday we'll go to Vienna and Thursday night we'll go to Budapest for the rest of the weekend. I'll be back in Maastricht next Monday morning, but I hope to have Internet access during the week to update you on my travels.
To everyone at Baylor - good luck with Sing this weekend!!
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