Badenweiler, German Roman Bath Town

In an attempt to make these posts more frequent, I'm also going to make them more casual. 

Today, we went to a little town 30min from Basel, called Badenweiler. We originally found it when we were looking for a place with thermal spas but we didn't make it there that time. Nor did we make it to the baths this time, but we saw them and they looked great. 

The town was adorable! It was a picturesque town in the hillside behind a castle. People come here for a weekend getaway and I can see why. It's not your typical "beach town" or fantastic destination but the whole area had such a calming vibe and friendly vibe that I think anyone could appreciate. 

Now for the pictures! ...plus, we had a little fun playing around in the castle 

Fasnacht: Morning 1 - Morgenstreich

Originally, I had this in the same post as Chinebase but then I realized the fire would trump everything else, so I decided to split them. :)

Next event on the docket, is the Morgenstreich on Monday morning at 4am.  Sorry, big man, mommy wanted to go so you didn't get to miss this one!  I was an overly optimistic mommy and thought we'd just wake him up at 3:30am, pop him in the stroller and he'd fall right back asleep. Well... this didn't happen in the slightest. However, he was still a trooper and was wide eyed throughout the whole experience.  (We did put on his baby headphones to protect him from the noise.) We walked down to the city center around 3:35am, along with everyone else who lives in Basel. We popped into a little cafe for a hot tea and then a little before 4am staked out our spot on the cobblestone streets in a little shop doorway. 

Promptly at 4am, all the city lights turn off and the Morgenstreich begins. The only light or sound coming from the lanterns and music of the Cliques. 

Morgenstreich Setup

The streets were filled with spectators like us but more importantly the Cliques! The Cliques are mini marching bands playing drums & piccolos. They have "lantern" floats they roll along with them or little lanterns attached to their heads.  There is no particular path or route and each Clique roams the streets, playing their own (discordant) tune. If they encounter another Clique, they pause & let the other pass. Each Clique has members of all ages, including kids. 

Video of the Cliques

Potentially my favorite of the "Lanterns"

Clique masks

His expression for most of the morning

Cliques playing piccolos

Lighting up the city

The whole experience was particularly moving & beautiful as you could see the excitement of the city about what was to come. This was just the start of the next 72 hours of Fasnacht.

Fasnacht: Night 1 - Chinebäse

Let me start by saying, I officially have never experienced anything like this. 

Fasnacht is basically "Carnival of Basel". It's about 3 days & nights of celebrations of varying times, participants and activities.  I found the experience to be thrilling as the city of Basel truly came to life and you could see a true local passion for the festival. There's no real way to describe it other than to walk through the events. This is going to require multiple posts.

The week of celebrations actually begins in the outer suburbs, town of Liestal, on Sunday evening at an event called Chinebäse. This is NOT a baby friendly event, so monster & I sat this one out while Matt went with a buddy instead.

While I can't exactly explain what is happening here, Matt described it as rolling bonfires. Mainly large wooden floats / torches being set a flame and paraded / rolled through the town center. 

The gates & arches (through which the burning floats passed) where first doused with water. Safety first! He arrived home covered in at ash and with his eyes a little red. I can't imagine why!  

The conversation with every American we talked to since goes something like this,
Friend: "Did you go to fire thing in Liestal?"
Matt: "Yes! It was crazy!"
Friend: "There is NO Way that is safe. How has that city not already burnt to the ground?!"
Matt: "No way would that be allowed in America"

See for yourself:

WHAT?!?!

Ugh, I can't figure out how to rotate this. Any Blogger experts?  ;)