2010 February | Maastricht Minutiae

Episode 20 of Maastricht Minutiae

Posted by Amanda on Feb 19th, 2010 in MM Podcast | 0 comments

Even dogs got into the act.

Welcome to another episode of Maastricht Minutiae! In episode 20 we talk about our adventures at Carnival in Maastricht and a bit more about my business; which we’ve finally registered with the city. Click here to listen to Episode 20 or download on your favorite podcatcher.

Topics this week are:

Carnival 2010 in Maastricht
Costumes
Drunk Bands
A mention of my new business: ParapluInfo (website coming) and Fallen Kitten Productions

Friday & Saturday: Pre-Carnival

Posted by Amanda on Feb 19th, 2010 in Events, Impressions | 2 comments

Although Carnival this year was officially February 14 – 16th, the cafes and pubs had already set themselves up to accommodate weekend visitors who wanted a drink on Friday and Saturday. Since Friday is the first day of the vacation weekend many people consider it the best night to go out and enjoy a little of the Carnival spirit before too many people get drunk.

Friday

With that in mind, Dan & I went out Friday night for a few drinks with some people from the University. The cafe had all the tables removed to accommodate the crowds and while it wasn’t bad when we first arrived when I left an hour later people were packed in like sardines. The Perron was offering a drinks deal (5 for 10 euros) and I was hard pressed to keep up with the fast pace our Dutch colleagues set. There were a handful of costumed revelers, but it was too early for most people. Colorful scarves and hats did make an appearance and maybe next year my own Carnival colors scarf is in order.

Saturday

Saturday the official “transfer of power” took place at the Town Hall on Markt Square after the Great Prince’s arrival in Maastricht. Control of Maastricht is ceremonially given to the Prince during Carnival as a symbolic role reversal between the ruler and the peasant. Dan and I went down to the Markt square to watch, but after some music and hanging a vegetable wreath around a Mooswief statue the officials all went inside to perform the actual ceremonies. A small group of other revelers had watched the parade and wreath ceremony with us and when they all left we knew it was time to go as well. After standing in the cold for an hour I was disappointed.

As a bit of an aside, it struck me then that the “official” activities of Carnival are something of a boy’s club; none of the Tempeleer members present were women. The Tempeleers are Maastricht’s local “secret society” which organizes Carnival every year. You can generally recognize a member from his red, yellow, and green jester-like hat during the appropriate season.

We also noticed that a lot of stores had not only shut down for the long weekend (Monday and Tuesday were days off for most workers), they also had boarded themselves up as if a hurricane was coming through. Clearly some years people can get out of hand. We saw a couple of police wagons and some security here and there later in the weekend but nothing else while we were out.

This is the first article in my Alaaf! Carnival 2010 Recap Series.

Alaaf! Recapping Maastricht's Carnival 2010

Posted by Amanda on Feb 18th, 2010 in Events, Impressions | 1 comment

A vegetable wreath

As promised on Monday, I’ve prepared a more complete report of our experience with Carnival 2010. I know it is long, but that’s why this blog is called “Maastricht Minutiae” instead of “Maastricht in Short, Vague Bits” (which probably would be easier to write for). Anyhoo…over the next week I will be posting a series of articles, roughly one for each day of Carnival.

As each post goes up I will link them here:

If you only want the photos, you can find my Carnival Flickr collection here.

And since I obviously can’t get enough of this subject, here are links to some other topical posts:

"Expat's First Carnival" at Maastricht Region

Posted by Amanda on Feb 17th, 2010 in Events, Impressions | 2 comments

As ‘t Mooswief doll was lowered at midnight, Dan and I stood and hummed along with the singing revelers commemorated the end of Carnival 2010 on the Vrijthof. Sure I didn’t know the song. Or what the Prince said. Or even who most of the people around me were. But as we walked home it occurred to me that Carnival has helped bring me closer to the city I choose to live in.

Read the rest of “Expat’s First Carnival or Why I Attend Cultural Events” at Maastricht Region: to Live

Carnival Colors: A Few Photos

Posted by locusta on Feb 15th, 2010 in Impressions | 4 comments

Maastricht’s Carnival 2010 took off brilliantly Sunday despite the cold and constant snowfall. I’ll send out a proper write up on Wednesday or Thursday, but for now here are a few pictures.

Too excited to sleep in, Dan and I changed straight into our costumes and headed out early.

On our way to the Vrijthof, the sound of drums and music lured us down a side street to the front of the Prince of Carnvial’s Palace (well, ok, his house). There we watched a short ceremony which culminating in the unfurling of a banner. There was a little technical trouble, but a trusty ladder was brought in and the problem resolved.

After that little ceremony, we slipped down the Vrijthof early in the, apparently mistaken, expectation that we would need to stake out a space on the square for the official opening ceremony. Fortunately that wasn’t problem and we had time to inspect the wide variety of costumes and get a front seat for the speakers.

The Mooswief was raised.

And the 11 cannon shots were loud.

A few hours later the parade began (at about 3 pm) and we watched from outside John Mullins. Many of the costumes were very interesting; although some groups were a bit dull. Several bands of the ‘drunken’ variety kept things lively.

Afterward we went out with several other expats and joined the revelers in the streets and pubs. I was amazed by the number of families with small children running in and out of the bars. Everyone was clearly having a wonderful time and we bar-hopped around Maastricht, enjoying the traditional music, food, and colors.