Fasnacht 2015 In Photos

Pretty clogs all lined up in a row.

Confetti cannon.

A mimosa bouquet.

Bad weather didn’t stop Baslers from enjoying the parade.

Confetti umbrella.

Writing down the scores.

The Fasnacht Committee acknowledging the passing Cliques.

Some of the themes can be political.

A little leopard on the prowl.

No bag? No problem.

Mimosa galore.

Waiting to dump confetti on an unsuspecting victim.

The view’s good from here.

Lovely mimosa to brighten up the home.

The loot. No need to go grocery shopping for a while.

My favourite Fasnacht snack: Fasnachtskuechli.

The lantern display at Munsterplatz.

Social media was a popular theme this year.

A member of the crowd admiring a lantern.

More Fasnacht treats: Fastenwähe and Zigerkrapfen.

Morgenstreich 2015

The alarm went off at 2:45am. I climbed out of bed, walked over to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on to my face. I changed into my day clothes, taking care to put on extra layers. At a few minutes after 3am, we left the house and walked to the Bruderholz tram stop in the freezing cold. Thank heavens for the extra layers.

When we got to the tram stop, I couldn’t help but smile. The tram was full. At 3am on a Monday morning. There were no seats left, and people were standing. We got on and squeezed past the standing passengers towards an empty spot by the window. I looked around; parents with their young children, elderly couples, grandparents, teenagers; the entire neighbourhood was here. Some were in costumes, others were in plain clothes. Almost everyone had their Blagette pinned onto the lapel of their jackets. Nobody looked sleepy or drowsy, not even the kids. The lady standing next to me had even taken the effort to make herself up: foundation, mascara, lipstick – the works. Dedication, I think to myself. Or vanity and insecurity? It didn’t matter. Everyone was there for the same reason: Morgenstreich.

Blind Date

Don’t judge a book by its cover. We’ve all heard it before, and we all know what it means. Honestly though, how many of us can truthfully claim to be impervious to beautiful – or interesting – cover art on a book? I’ll be the first to admit that when in a book shop, my attention is automatically directed towards those books with whimsical or attractive illustrations. I obviously don’t purchase a book based solely on the merit of its cover art; and whether or not I find a book good or enjoyable has very little to do with a beautifully-illustrated cover. But does cover art influence me in any way, when picking up a book for the first time? Of course it does.

So imagine how intrigued I was when, as I was browsing in the book shop yesterday, I saw this display:

A Day At The Zoo

There are a lot of things you could do on a cold, mid-winter Saturday morning. Going to the zoo is one of them.

Because if you do, you get to see this:

Soliciting at a Tram Stop

Look who I found at the tram stop today.

One of the neighbourhood cats decided to get some free chin and back rubs from the locals.

Who said she can go and get on the tram? My chin can’t rub itself you know. Tsk. Humans.

He was still there when I got back from town. Maybe his humans aren’t home yet.

I’m guarding my fan mail. Shoo.