Fasnacht Diary 2010 - Tuesday
Did not sleep a lot the previous night having got to bed after 1am – a combination of too much alcohol and my son waking up just before 6am. In an attempt to kill the hangover I had a big bowl of porridge and went for a jog along the river – which sort of worked. By 11am I was in costume – the Hawaiian shirt combo from a couple of years back – and heading to the bus stop with my “head” under one arm.
Click the thumbnails to view full size.
Clique business started with the traditional Pfyffeanggeschnitte or break-away group with the piccolo players meeting at the Ticinese restaurant Locanda near Holbeinplatz. (Ticino is the Italian -speaking part of Switzerland).
The food at the restaurant was alright but lacked imagination I think. For example I ordered a rocket and goat’s cheese salad which was simply a pile of undressed rocket on a plate with bits of cold goat’s cheese. I would have expected the goats cheese to be warmed or grilled and some kind of dressing on the leaves – it does not take much to lift a simple dish. I hate it when the best a chef can do is send a bottle of balsamic to the table – salad dressings are not difficult to make.
For main course I spotted what was advertised as Tortellini with peas, ham and cream – which sounded nice. When it arrived, I was a bit confused as it was just tortellini on a plate with a bit of cream and a few chives – no peas or ham. I assumed they had brought another dish from the menu which was just tortellini with cream. I asked the waitress to check she had brought the right thing. Turned out that the peas and ham are filling for the tortellini. I have to say, the ham was in low proportion as I could not taste. Never mind. Anyway, the guys call me Erbli (little pea) from now on.
After the meal we gathered under the passage where Amalfi used to be and to the tune of Alte Schweizer marched down to Markplatz and the town hall to play a march in the courtyard – makes a great echo. As usual for Fasnacht the steps through the back of the town hall up to Martinsgasse were open so we climbed up – encountering a Waggis clique on the way who provided us with an unofficial apéro.
After that it was on to the Münsterplatz where we took in the Ladäärne exhibition and then to to St. Albans Stübli for a drink and a snack before marching on via Aeschenpassage to Rosarios. My wife and son were at Rosarios – my son tucked in to Määlsuppe (a real Basler) and was a real hit with the guys dressed in his Waggis costume.
After dinner it was on to the Löwenzorn where we picked up the Stamm, marching to Schauspielhaus for a beer then through the Gässli to Blumenrein; where I happened to bump into and old colleague from work, who happens to to know Gusti – Basel is a village posing as a city sometimes.
After a beer at Schifflände we headed with the Stamm to Petersplatz for the Ladäärneliverbrenne – which is where an Ladäärne is set fire to while a poem is read remembering clique members who are no longer with us. Then the march “Pfeiffer Tagwacht” is played – which is quite haunting.
With the lantern burning complete it was onward march to the Kornhuus for drinks and Ziibel / Käsewähe before we parted company with the Stamm. We had a few more drinks then to the tune of the Luuser we wound through the old town streets back to the Löwenzorn for a final nightcap.