Category: Carnival
In La Louviere, Belgium
La Louviere is not a place of castles or riches. It’s a former industrial town, thirty-one miles south of Brussels. Once burgeoning, now trying to find it’s way into this new century, like so many former industrial towns. No one would say that this town of 80,000 is beautiful, but the spirit [...] Read moreIn Basel, Switzerland
What is amazing about this Carnival tour is how each city has adapted rituals differently… no two celebrations have been the same. But all relate to the rituals of bidding farewell to winter and hello to spring. Basel’s Carnival, called Fasnacht, is one of the more unique Carnivals I have seen. Read moreIn Bern, Switzerland
Bern has one of the most beautifully preserved inner-cities that I have seen in Europe. UNESCO designated the entire inner city a World Heritage site in 1983. When looking at the city center from atop the Rose Garden, this is what I imagined European cities look like: an inner core of antique-shingled rooftops, puffing with [...] Read moreIn Sitges, Spain
This is the only carnival in Spain that dictator Franco did not completely stop during his reign. Or, was not able to stop. The Sitges carnival is such pageantry that it has become increasingly popular with locals and tourists over the past century. Read moreIn Ptuj, Slovenia
If you hear cowbells in Ptuj at this time of year, don’t expect to see cows. Rather, the clanking of bells can be heard from the large, monstrous costumes of Kurent that invade the streets. Read moreIn Viareggio
“Viareggio is dead in winter,” an Italian says to me on the train ride here, before quickly smiling and adding, “But wait, you’re going for Carnival, aren’t you?” Viareggio is anything but dead for 4 Sundays of Carnival. Read moreThis blog is recommended by Eurail.com.
