reblog

It is 8:28am and I am just back from the post-Morgenstraich breakfast in the Löwenzorn. I’ve been awake since 2am – when my almost three year old son decided to come and share our bed. It took long enough to get him to sleep – he was constantly asking about the Waggis and the piccolos.

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I can never quite figure out how to handle Morgenstraich – do I have breakfast when I get up (I only went to bed about four hours ago and didn’t really sleep anyway). I went for the chemical equivalent of electric shock therapy – extra strong coffee from the mocha maker. My wife was wide awake anyway so she helped me on with my costume.

Getting the mask – or Larve – sorted out was a bit of an adventure. In previous years I have used a Larve borrowed from Lorenz as it has a hole ready to screw in a head-lantern (or Kopfladäärne); however being fitted to Lorenz’ slightly finer napper, I always had problems seeing through the eyeholes. This year I decided to get clever so armed with a Black and Decker I drilled a hole through the top of last year’s clown mask and bolted the Kopfladäärne into place. What I had not reckoned with is a mask that fits me perfectly suddenly became a liability when the weight of a rather precarious lantern was added to the equation. It took a lot of adjustment before I was not blocked from playing the piccolo.

At about 3.15am I emerged onto the street. As is the case every Morgenstraich there was a fine drizzle (“Billinge Rain” they call it where I grew up) and I prayed that my papier-maché Larve would not dissolve. I pushed my way through the waiting crowds to the Löwenzorn where I found the gang all ready to go.

After what seemed like an eternity – about fifteen minutes – we formed ranks and got the lanterns lit. The lights went down and it was suddenly four o’clock – Morgenstraich! Vorwärts Marsch. As usual it wasn’t until about halfway through the Alte Schweizer (which is a bloody long march) before we were into Rumelinsplatz. A few marches later, we were outside Papa Joe’s where we went in for the annual Pinot Grigio at 4:30am. I sat next to Peter, Erich and Erich’s wife, Madeline – who has a great sense of humour.

After Papa Joe’s we parted company with the Stamm and headed over towards Schifflände and after coffee at Bachmann’s bakery it was back to the Löwenzorn for the obligatory breakfast. For some reason, I was reminded of the breakfast we got after my first Holy Communion when I was about six years old. After a final coffee and Gipfeli I bid farewell to the chaps and headed home through the drizzle.

Next stop the Cortége.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 7:51 am and is filed under Basel Life, Fasnacht. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.