Carnival

In Germany, the most enthusiastic, famous and widely attended traditional festival is Carnival. Cologne is one of the three major carnival celebration centers (the other two are Mainz and Dusseldorf), and holds a grand parade every year.

The date of Carnival changes every year, depending on the morning and evening of Easter. Easter is a festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus three days after his death. It is set on the first Sunday after the first full moon is seen from the vernal equinox (March 21), so its date moves between March 22 and April 25, changing every year. There is Lent before Easter, and people always have a carnival before Lent, thus giving birth to Carnival. The Carnival parade is scheduled 48 days before Easter. This day is usually in February or March, also called Rose Monday.

However, as early as 11:11 on November 11 of the first year, Cologne announced that it had entered the carnival season, which people called "the fifth season." Various civil groups began to prepare for celebrations. From New Year's Eve (December 31) to the Carnival Parade, Cologne holds more than 500 celebration parties and costume parties, and the carnival atmosphere becomes stronger day by day. People also elected the three stars of Cologne's Carnival, namely the "Prince", the "Virgin" (dressed by men), and the "Peasant", and made the final preparations for the parade in full swing.

Starting on the Thursday before Rose Monday, Carnival enters its climax. Thursday is Women's Carnival Day, when women rule Cologne for one day. Women who usually behave dignifiedly put on strange clothes on this day, smeared their faces with colorful paint, and paraded in groups, dancing and making noise. Some will give the audience an unexpected kiss, and some will use scissors to cut a man's tie. Experienced Cologne people deliberately put on an old tie on this day. On Saturdays and Sundays, small demonstrations are held in various neighborhoods.

Rose Monday, the day of the Carnival parade has finally arrived. Cologne is immersed in a fanatical festive atmosphere. The whole city is empty, and people flock to the streets to wait for the long parade of costumes. Coming! , teams wearing colorful and strange costumes, wearing masks or facial makeup, accompanied by a band, came over. Some of the marchers dressed up as circus clowns, some as cats and dogs, some as warriors with guns, and some as knights with swords, walking around, singing and dancing, and the audience also He will sing or shout along with the rhythm of the band, and his mood will be extremely enthusiastic like crazy. Various floats were interspersed in the parade, which marched slowly. Some floats even had caricatures that satirized certain politicians, making the audience laugh. People on the floats also kept throwing candies to the audience. For a whole three hours, the candies kept scattering and tossing, like a goddess scattering flowers. It is said that dozens of tons of candies are scattered at every carnival, and hundreds of thousands of people can pick up happy and lucky candies. Whoever picks up the most will be the happiest...

The scale of Cologne's Carnival parade It is a grand event with a long history. It has been held since 1823 and has become a tradition and famous throughout Germany. Many outsiders and even foreign tourists come here to spend this unforgettable Carnival in Cologne. Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Germany

Repertoire introduction: The troupe was founded in 1923. It is the first classical symphony orchestra in the world composed of 34 musicians to use modern instruments to perform music of the Baroque period. A well-known London newspaper commented in 1937: "A refined and great orchestra.

Since 1964, when Helmut Müller Brück served as the conductor and artistic director of the orchestra, the orchestra has The group has made unprecedented breakthroughs. Miller Bruck, a musical genius, has conducted in-depth research on the performance methods of Baroque music, and made breakthroughs in order to allow people to listen to Baroque and classical music vividly and perfectly in modern music halls. Overcoming the limitations of music performance in the Baroque period and taking advantage of modern instruments, he gradually opened up a new world of music performance.

In the late 1960s, Miller Bruck recorded Haydn with classical instruments in Vienna. He became famous for his works. In 1976, he founded the "Morishima Spring" International Classical Music Festival.

From 1988 to 1998, he began to perform a new series of "Selected Songs by Classical Masters" using modern instruments. More than 700 CDs and records have been published. This is the world's first classical series of albums. It has been promoted by the famous Naxos audio company around the world. Their performances in famous theaters such as Cologne Concert Hall and Vienna's Prince Theater have been well-known. worldwide. Telemann's "Tamstadt Overture" performed by the group won the "Golden Disc Award" of the Cannes Classical Music Series for the 18th Century Symphony.

Mr. Miller Brück is a good friend of the Chinese people. He once led the group to participate in the China Art Festival. He believes that this trip to China will win more Chinese friends. Papa Joses Bier Salon

It is directly behind the city hall building and very close to the cathedral. There are often 2 to 3 types of automatic organ music playing in the store, and sometimes there is a live band playing. The dining table was converted from a sewing machine table. The cobblestone streets and dim street lights outside the window make you guess: maybe this is what a pre-war German tavern looked like? It is located on Am Hof ??Street in the opposite direction to the station, opposite the cathedral. A variety of sausages are sold in the store. One special recommendation is the Schlahat Prati, which is a little more expensive but the sausages made with pig blood and lard are especially delicious.

Cafe Reichard

Cafe Reichard, which uses large pieces of marble as its interior decoration, is considered the most beautiful coffee house in Cologne. Moreover, the food is single, including various cakes and snacks, and the content is very rich. In particular, a special German cake roll called Bomkehan is a masterpiece. It is located in front of the cathedral, and there is a greenhouse-like balcony at the door. You can tell at a glance.

Alt Koln

An ancient bell is decorated on the outer wall and is easy to find. The use of ancient cooking utensils as interior decoration is truly unique. Some seats are located inside wine barrels. A kind of boiled bacon (pork shank) called H?msche is very delicious and highly recommended to you. It's a big portion, enough for two girls. This restaurant no longer existed before December 25, 2009, and the big clock could not be found on the wall. It was changed to another restaurant, and its name seemed to be "Kolsch".