Carnival season kick-off, Cologne style

Cologne Carnival (Köln Karneval) season (aka ‘the fifth season’) starts at 11.11am on 11 November. It is suspended over Christmas time and then starts up again after 6 January, but particularly in the “the crazy days” leading up to the start of Lent.

In Munich there isn’t much of an event to mark the occasion but one of the clubs holds a party to celebrate.

We lined our stomaches with burgers (& cocktails!)…

…before heading to Gecko club at Maximiliansplatz.

We got a little dressed-up for the occasion…

And drank the Cologne speciality beer Kölsch. It’s served in Kölsch-stangen (glasses) which hold just 0.2litres of beer - much more manageable than Munich’s Oktoberfest litre beers (maß).