Dear All,
After a week of festivities, celebrations, and »Ekstasis«, calm is gradually returning to the streets of Cologne. Every year, after the burning of the Nubbel, we reflect on what this event means for Cologne and its carnival audience. With our last newsletter, we hope to have offered a glimpse behind the ecstatic facade. Carnival is not just a celebration of ecstasy—it embodies tradition, culture, religion, and politics.
We’re particularly excited about June, when we’ll explore new dimensions of carnival through the international framework of the IFTR. We look forward to building transnational connections and gaining fresh insights from the dialogue between carnival, the carnivalesque and global festivals, rituals, and celebrations.
On this note, and in light of today’s date – when festivals like Holi and Purim are celebrated worldwide – we hope to find the familiar in the unfamiliar, and vice versa.
With this in mind, we would like to use our Fool of the Week to highlight an exciting juxtaposition of two cultural traditions and to emphasize the importance of intercultural dialogue. The Mongolian postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Germany. As a striking example it parallels »Cologne carnival« and »Khuree Tsam«. The later, a mesmerizing dance, is the center of the Danshig Naadam-Khuree Tsam, a festival that blends religious and traditional elements and will take place the weekend after the IFTR2025. Khuree Tsam, a masked performance depicting deities, heroes, and mythological figures, creates a visually stunning spectacle, while still carrying deep religious significance and reinforcing Mongolia’s Buddhist heritage.
While the commemoration of diplomatic relations is important, for us, this stamp also commemorates an academic relationship established with five Mongolian universities over the last five years through the Artest project. The University of Cologne has coordinated this exchange, facilitating mobility for lecturers and students in both directions, and fostering sustainable development in teaching and research. Our colleague Enes Türkoğlu has played a key role in the project. We were delighted to welcome Mongolian delegations to TWS for workshops and to have had the opportunity to visit them in Mongolia.
CC: Another festivity that will closely accompany IFTR2025 is the Pentecost. A particularity of Cologne is that the city is almost never entirely asleep. So, if you are wondering where to eat upon arrival on Sunday, rest assured – the city won’t let you starve to death, even on a public holiday. You are more likely to win the fierce battle against hunger in the city centre, at Cologne central station (Köln HBF). Here you will find a supermarket, such as REWE or Rossmann. Also look out for Kiosks and snack stands, locally known as Büdchen. For the big appetite, whether you want to go full Rhinelander with endless ›Kölsch‹ refills, pork knuckle and blood sausage, or take a more global approach with Falafel or Pad Thai, Cologne has you covered (e.g.: Brauerei Pfaffen, Thai-Viet Street Food)! Bakeries are our last mention of todays newsletter – even on Sundays and Whitsun you will find a great deal of options during the first half of the day; an exception is Whitmonday, as mostly all bakeries remain closed. In short: Don’t worry about feeding yourself, but don’t forget to carry some cash next to your card to make sure you can always pay for your meal… (Jeanne Lopata)
Alaaf – meaning as much as au fou de partout, to fools everywhere, we greet you!
Sona Petrossian
for the Cologne Team