“Inconspicuous” is not necessarily the first word that comes to mind when referring to the street carnival in the Rhineland. But the first of the six particularly weird days was like that, the police say. That probably had a lot to do with the weather.
The start of the street carnival in the North Rhine-Westphalian strongholds of Düsseldorf and Cologne was largely peaceful and happy until the early evening. A spokesman for the Düsseldorf police called the first interim results “above average inconspicuous”.
As is to be expected at events of this size and with this level of alcohol, there were incidents that were reported. But the Düsseldorf officials had “nothing bad” to deal with. One reason was probably the extremely bad weather. That’s probably why there weren’t so many aggressive, drunk young people on the streets.
“The mood is not getting worse”
After the hours of rain stopped, people moved out of the bars and onto the streets. “It’s getting significantly more crowded now,” the Düsseldorf police stated in the evening. “The weather is getting better and the mood isn’t getting worse either.”
The police record in Cologne is similar. Arguments and fights increased from the early afternoon. However, no outstanding incidents were reported from the cathedral city until early evening.
Better weather when it’s too late for the Jecken
The interim results from Rhineland-Palatinate are similar: there was also less going on in downtown Mainz than in previous years.
The traditional highlights of the foolish hustle and bustle on the Rhine are the Rose Monday parades, which take place in large and small cities. Hundreds of thousands are expected in the three strongholds of Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf. They also have to be prepared to get wet. 8 degrees and rain are forecast for Cologne. The weather shouldn’t get better until after Ash Wednesday – when everything is over for the Jecken.