Signs of Fastnacht in Mainz!

When I was visiting Mainz in Monday, signs of the upcoming Fastnacht celebrations were present throughout town. Fastnacht, also known as Karneval or Fasching depending on the region, is the giant party before Lent starts. I wrote about it last year, as well.

I saw the first indicator of the upcoming celebrations in the Hauptbahnhof. Look at all those fun colors and decorations! Red, white, blue, and yellow are the official Mainz Fastnacht colors and I saw them all over town.

 

In the Old Town area, I saw a costume shop. One could buy scarves, gloves, and other brightly colored accessories to fit in with all the celebrants. There were also costumes, too. My friend says that the Karneval season is kind of like the Germans' version of Halloween. In many ways, especially with all the candy and costumes, it is.

However, Fastnacht has a dark side.

Da da da...(said ominously):

arrrggh! Zombie-like, super freaky clown figurines were in the store outside the Mainz Cathedral! Don't look into their blank eyes for fear of losing your soul! 

Braaaaaaaaaaaaaains! Heleau! We mean, um, BRAIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNS!!!

Don't throw us candy, throw us your BRAIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNSSSSS!

But hey, they're dressed in Mainz Fastnacht colors, so they're festive, right?

Right?





BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNS.