Maybe some carnival-goers are in such a good mood out of relief. Because pinning your nose, hopping into a kangaroo costume and letting life’s worries wash away on a bright red rubber boat might be possible in Cologne. In Munich, just getting to the festival is difficult, unless you have found one of the few celebration locations or are even invited privately. Of course, there are safe routes, such as the one to the Viktualienmarkt or to the unmissable giant stage at Marienplatz, where the Mallorca-experienced Mickie Krause will perform on Tuesday at 5 p.m. after he played at the Stachus at 3 p.m.
But people who don’t just have to take out the costumed whining children because their daycare closes on Tuesday at noon are now increasingly looking for private parties, which are again in Funkenmarie-delicate trend. And so, for example, last Saturday on Munich’s streets you finally saw some predators sneaking along the sidewalks among many clowns and sailors. The density was so high that normal people without costumes eventually stopped paying attention to their colleagues wearing makeup.
Anyone who arrives at one of the festivals will notice an astonishing appetite for seasonal self-packaging in the over-50 category. This can also bring with it hitherto unknown disadvantages, for example if, as a skeleton, you put so much make-up on your face that the smartphone that just brought you there safely refuses to give you Face ID.
Otherwise, despite all the world’s heaviness in living rooms and ballrooms this year, the urge to escape into the simple life of a lion, an angel or, if in doubt, a prisoner is quite obvious. Donuts, punch, hits, make-up – sometimes that’s all you need to have a carefree evening. It’s only helpful if you don’t let your cell phone in during that time. On Wednesday you can use this device to completely remove your make-up and look for self-optimization and life coaching seminars in peace and quiet over a fish roll.