Adventures + Travel

A glimpse of Morocco

Marrakesh is a confounding place. Pick a superlative; they all work. It’s both extremes, simultaneously. A crazy, beautiful, chaotic, fascinating place. To me, Marrakesh is this picture.

Matt relaxing on the roof of our luxurious riad. Beyond the wall a roof of plastic tarp, old tires, a clothes line and a sea of satellite dishes in the distance. Palaces and shanties.

When someone asks how our trip was, it’s hard to answer. “Interesting” doesn’t cut it. Maybe the question should be, “Would you go back?” Absolutely.

I’m afraid I won’t have time to sort thru the 1000 odd photos I took before we venture off again. But I’ll get to it while my mind is still full of tips and thoughts on what was and what was not true in what we read beforehand. Matt’s number one tip: wear sneakers. The shoeshine guys are relentless.

Shrove Tuesday Carnaval in Binche, Belgium

Carnaval in Binche, Belgium is a really different experience. I’ve wanted to go since seeing pictures of these guys—the Gilles. Imagine 1000 of them in those creepy masks…

The masks are wax and, according to the tourist office web site, worn on Shrove Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Eight-thirty, a two-hour drive away, after a long weekend in Hamburg wasn’t happening so we went for the afternoon parade. I had hoped for the scary masks, but they are only worn in the morning. Big ostrich feather hats are in the afternoon. Still, no less cool. Look at this thing!

The history of carnaval in Binche is little unclear. It’s roots date to the 14th century, and it has been recognized by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” The festivities run Sunday to Tuesday, culminating with a parade and party thru the night.

We arrived in Binche roughly as the parade was starting. There’s no real advantage to getting there early, as the groups are all dressed the same, and the procession lasts close to 3 hours. Except maybe for parking. People park crazy and everywhere, but we found plenty of space in a dirt lot by a roundabout on the outskirts.

Gilles of all ages march in the parade. I just love this little guy (and in case you missed it, this mustache guy):

The Gilles dance to drums and brass bands, then throw blood oranges to (or at) the crowd. It’s difficult to tell. The oranges fly fast and hard. (Don’t stand outside a bar; drunk people seem to be a popular target.) You really have to pay attention or keep your head down or, better yet, stand at the front with kids where they hand them to you.

We came home with a couple dozen blood oranges. The oranges are considered good luck. People who needed the most luck had nets.

At one point Jacob said, “Can we go home? It’s raining.” Nope, orange juice. We stopped in a restaurant and when someone opened the door an orange flew in, hit a table and hit a table and hit me on the back. Easy to see why they put chicken wire over all the windows. Note the screened in balcony in the last pic below.

I’m a bit disappointed that we won’t be able to go back. If we were moving to Belgium, we’d be very close to Binche, and I’d be there next year at 8:30 a.m. Stupid Nato restructuring.

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From Shrove Tuesday Carnaval. Shot Feb 12, 2013 in Binche, Belgium

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Now that’s what I call a mustache!

It’s funny when you see someone in crazy costume and they have a crazy mustache. This was one of the guys at Carnaval in Binche, Belgium. Look for more pics and a post on that soon.

Netherlands: Children’s Carnival parade in Sittard

Sunday was the Children’s Carnival parade (Kinderoptocht) in Sittard in the Netherlands.

During Carnival season, a parade is held for and by children—usually the day before the big parade on Carnival Monday/Rosenmontag. The kinder parades are more “kid friendly” (read: less pushing…slightly) with various school groups participating. Children of all ages dress in costume and march in the parade.

Sittard’s 2013 children’s parade was February 3. This was one we’ve heard about since we moved here and watched once on their web cam. And it gets a nice write up on a local (living GK) blog. It was, however, in Jacob’s words, “horrible.”

Our expectations weren’t high, but one thing we were expecting: CANDY. No candy was handed/thrown out. Very, very, very different than Cologne last year where Nicholas (even being younger and slower than the other kids) came home with a sizable bag of candy.

Jacob was sick and missed Cologne. In Sittard, he was expecting candy. Lots of it. So were we all. Imagine him in his blue bunny ears, angry face, holding an empty bag as the parade marched by. I felt so bad. So afterward we went to the store and bought candy. Poor guy.

Lesson learned: Parades in the Netherlands are “horrible.” At least that lesson only cost us 2.20€ in parking (and considerably more in candy).

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I did go back and check that blog. They did say “treats” were handed out. I knew I read that! Of course they also said parking was difficult, which it’s not.
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Now to find another parade for the kids (in Germany, with candy). We’ve planned to go to the Shrove Tuesday Carnival in Binche, Belgium, but don’t think they give candy either.

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From Sittard Children's Carnival Parade. Shot Feb 3, 2013 in Sittard, NL

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London’s Christmas market

Christmas market season is here! A good list of European Christmas markets is available here.

Of all the Christmas markets we’ve been to, my favorite has to be London.

We visited two years ago on the “preview” night before the Christmas market officially opened the next day. (If the kids look small, that’s why; they were.) It was the last night of our first trip to London. This was the most grand of all the Christmas markets I’d seen—there were elaborate set ups, crazy-big carnival rides and vendor booths that stretched over and along the bank of the Thames. After a week of hotel beds and lugging a stroller up and down tube steps, we were beat. So we stayed in the park had a pint on cask, cotton candy and gummies. Jacob desperately wanted and was so happy to get a Sponge Bob balloon. I thought we’d deflate it and take it home the next day, but he let it go when we got back to the hotel.

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From London Christmas Market. Shot Nov 19, 2010 in London, England

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Cockburn..hehe

It’s pronounced “Co-burn” but that’s not near as funny as Cockburn. Especially when giving directions that start with “go down Cockburn…”

Yep. Mature. Very mature.

Think warm

It’s sweater, snuggle-up-under-a-blanket weather here in Germany. (Already, ugh.) Okay, it’s not that cold—51 degrees— but the air is snappy and the leaves are turning. And we’re to the point where you give up hope of a few warm summer-ish days and start baking just to stand by the oven door.

My current strategy for beating the chill: think warm. It’s failing miserably, btw. But here is one of my favorite warm-weather pictures. Sunset after a stormy day in Sant’Agnello, Italy.