The Fasching Party

As I have previously stated, we were the only Americans invited to the party. Therefore, we were naturally excited, and anticipating the evenings events. This was all a new experience for Lee and I. We had never been to The Mardi Gras and had no idea what to expect. That evening was the first and ONLY time in over 50 years that I convinced my husband to wear a costume. Since a costume was requested I felt that it would be insulting to our host if we did not oblige. It was a wonderful experience for our girls too. They loved wearing costumes and making new friends. The food and wine were abundant, and our German hosts were very welcoming and cordial. I engaged in a rather heavy conversation with a lovely lady named Brigitta. She was from the northern part of Germany where the people were not as Americanized, and therefore spoke very little English. It was amazing really how the delightful German wines improved my ability to speak German, and Brigitta's English so that we could carry on a meaningful conversation. The year was 1978, it was right around the time when the Mini Series about The Holocaust aired on American television. Surprisingly, Brigitta introduced the topic which rather caught me off guard, I would not have broached this subject because I thought it was taboo. She was concerned that Americans hated the German people because of the Holocaust, and verbalized that Americans probably knew little else about her country's people. I assured her that my generation did not hold the sins of the past against the people of the present. She had tears in her eyes as she talked about the youth of Germany, and how they had voiced their disdain, and accused her generation of "turning a blind eye" on the torture and disappearances of the Jews. I felt privileged then, and have a renewed sense of gratitude now that Brigitta confided her feelings to me. She went on to explain that "Yes, we knew that our neighbors were disappearing, and being taken away, but we kept our eyes straight ahead, fearing for our own lives, and the lives of our family, every day." It was painful to witness how the weight of that terrible event has taken its toll on this lovely lady. She suffers her private "hell" as do many of her generation, and is ashamed of the terrible deeds which occurred under the dictatorship of Hitler.
The celebration was delightful and somewhat mild, according to some of the tales that were revealed that evening. Apparently, the serious revelers take an "anything goes' attitude regarding their behavior, even going so far as taking a paramour. These short lived associations sometimes resulted in a pregnancy, which from all accounts was accepted. Risky behavior facilitated by the ever present libations, which are ubiquitous at these festivities.
I must confess here that this is the one, and only time of my life that I imbibed lets say a "trifle" too much. We drove back to our trailer, we were camping in the Switzerland Alps. It was late February, so quite nippy, but beautiful still and the sky was clear as a bell. The party was to be continued the next day at Lore's sisters home, but not before we all attended the 0900 parade. When I awoke the next morning, I thought I was near death. Actually, I thought death would be the better option as my head was absolutely pounding! Lore' was absolutely incredulous that I was ill. Why? she exclaimed, "the food was gut, the wine was gut?" Yes, it was, but I was a novice in the wine drinking department, and I did indeed learn my lesson from that experience.
The hour is late, so I bid you goodnight.
Carol