Batería Altona

Or, to give them.their full name, Batería Altona Escola Percussao, from Hamburg. I think they were dressed as penguins.

Bremen has hosted a Samba carnival in February for over 30 years. It's the largest event of its kind in Northern Europe. Samba Bands come not just from Germany, but from overseas. I saw one from Cambridge, for example. The fancy dress theme was Nature this year: the stilt walkers and SBA band members all dress up, but the observers tend not to. My friend Kim, however, is from the Rhineland carnival tradition, so we did wear costumes. When I get back to my Laptop I'll post an extra of us in our attire: Kim.as a tiger, Mari as a pirate, and me as a black cat.

We went out to watch the procession at about midday, and took up a spot that we occupied for several hours, just watching the bands, the stilt walkers and the performers go past. It was cold in the shade, but we found a sunny spot, and topped up our body heat with mulled wine from stalls. When the parade finally finished, we followed behind, dancing with the street cleaners, (who were picking up garbage, not dancing). Eventually the procession dissembled, near the stages and the food stalls. We got some Balinese street food, and after more mingling and dancing, we made our way home through the side streets. By this time we'd acquired an extra child, from the neighbours.

Later, we took the ferry across the river Weser, to a place where there is a beach, a cafe, and rows of what Bremers call allotments. In the UK we'd call them gardens with well-built summerhouses. You don't have to grow produce on them, they can just be gardens for townsfolk. Kim is going to get a shared one, so we hung out there for a bit, and the kids played on the swing and climbed trees. It was cold, though. 9 degrees maximum. We walked back to the cafe, but it was fully booked for parties of what are called "cabbage tours". These tours involve rather more drinking beer than eating cabbage, but it does make the ferry crossing lively. Since I didn't know any German cabbage tours songs, I sang a Scottish football song. Bremen's football team was not playing at the home stadium, but had recently had an away win. They're having a winning streak.

At some point, Mari suggested a sleepover, so we left her next door with the neighbours, and got ready to go out. I'm terrified of urban cycling, but realised that Bremen is a safe cycling city, so I donned a helmet, got on a sit-up-and-beg bike (very odd, no crossbar) and cycled to the town centre with Kim, to a pub in the oldest part of town. As we approached the tramlines, Kim shouted,
"You know about crossing tramlines, don't you?"

"No!"

Fortunately, it seems that the practice is not too difficult: simpluy cross at right angles, to avoid getting stuck in the grooves.

After an excellent meal, with personalised wine tasting, and food that wasn't German at all (sorry), we cycled to the main concert venue, the Schlachthof, for the samba concerts. There were three stages, several bars, and hands playing into the small hours. Mostly we stayed in the cellar bar, in the mosh pit, until the crush became unbearable. Bands came and went. We danced and danced. Then we headed off to the main stage, where there was a rapper-type entertainer that we didn't like, so we rounded off the evening with Brazilian cocktails in the bar. A band called Sambatida, from Göttingen, was playing, with a mellow singer, as well as the drums. A fine way to round off the evening before cycling home: fortunately the cocktail hadn't been that strong, and we didn't have to cut me all the way through the centre again. We did go through a tunnel lit with pastel-coloured LEDs, which is called the "tunnel of peace". I liked that. (Cue Dire Straits music, c. 1981, "The tunnel of love").

Kim was surprised to find that the falafel shop was shut as we cycled by, but it was after 2am! After refusing a whisky back home, I stumbled into bed with a herbal tea and Miffy the toy rabbit (lent to me by Mari) and bid a happy good morning to the world.