Dear All,

You can tell that Carnival is approaching in Cologne by the increasing density of fools and costumed people at all hours of the day and night. This week, however, our ›crazy activities‹ have been focused more on sending out Letters of Acceptance and clarifying important details. Hopefully, the emails that have been sent so far have arrived safely! If you haven't received yours yet, don't worry—more will be sent out over the next week.

It is now confirmed when registration will be possible. We thank everyone who was eager to register immediately and kindly ask for a little more patience. Please excuse the ambiguous wording in the Letter of Acceptance: we do not need confirmation via e-mail but rather wanted to address the registration. Registration will be possible from 1 March 2025. In the meantime, perhaps it would be a good idea to start looking for a nice place to stay in Cologne? We have reserved a contingent of hotel rooms until 10 March 2025 for IFTR participants, which can be found on our website, along with helpful links for anyone who may need a visa. 

Fool of the Week: At first the picture is confusing: a Gilles - or later also called Pierrot - with comic-like facial proportions. However, it is an anamorphosis whose image information is immediately distorted when viewed in a reflective round cylinder placed on the picture. Pierrot has been a figure of the Comédie-Italienne in France since the 17th century. He was once the antagonist of the Harlequin, later portrayed as more enigmatic or melancholic. Not only the film »Children of Olympus« by Marcel Carné (1945) is clearly inspired by it. The author and artist Wolfgang Hildesheimer saw the famous painting of Gilles by Antoine Watteau as a »victim of every observer«. The Gilles shown here is a victim of media technology before the circular reflection puts him in the right light for viewing. (Gerald Köhler)

Undoubtedly, the cathedral is the symbol of the city of Cologne, which is featured on our IFTR logo. It embodies some of Cologne's unique features: In addition to its unimaginably long construction history, which began in 1248 and ended in 1880, the Gothic-style cathedral is never seen without scaffolding, as it requires constant maintenance. Situated directly next to Cologne's main railway station, the more famous view, however, is from the other side of the Rhine, as featured in the magazine Kölner Leben in 1920. This view not only captivates with its reflections, but it may perhaps inspire you to plan a summer night walk during the IFTR days and to find accommodation on the »Schäl Sick« (»wrong or bad side«), as the people of Cologne call this very beautiful side of their city.

Alaaf – meaning as much as au fou de partout, to fools everywhere, we greet you!

Mathilde Frank

for the Cologne Team