Fasnacht

Today was Fasnacht! Well, the first day, at least. Things got started here at 6 AM, but we showed up a few minutes late. The big attraction that early in the morning is Guggenmusik. It's a bunch of people wearing colorful costumes blaring away in a little marching band-esque ensamble. It's pretty cool, and I really liked it! There are a lot of little troops that come and play on the stage for 5 - 10 minutes, and then the next group takes their turn. After the music was done, my roommates and I (and some one of my roommates' friends) went out for breakfast. At 8, I caught the train to work!


After getting off work around noon, I made my way to Luzern, where they have a rather big celebration. They have an even bigger Morgestraich (party at 6 AM) than St. Gallen, but that would have been tricky to make. However, they had a parade today at 1:45 PM, so I went and watched that. It was my first time in Luzern, so that added an extra level of excitement. Here's a map, and I was at point B. The parade sort of reminded me of the May Day Parade back in Minneapolis, but at the same time, it was completely different.

Here are some pictures, as always!




























This last picture is back in St. Gallen at the end of the day - this is just one of the several stages around the city, but as you can see, the festivities in Luzern were much bigger!