When it comes to Carnival, the German cities of Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf readily spring to mind. But it can also be fun to see how smaller places mark the day. Although my former hometown of Griesheim, just outside of Darmstadt, in Hessen, has no strong carnival traditions of its own, by riding my bike just over to the next village, not more than five kilometers away, I was able to witness a parade of over one hundred floats. There are carnival events aplenty; you just have to know where to look. (The town I visited, incidentally, was Büttelborn, and in 2009, its parade will be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, starting at 2:11 p.m.)

If you click on most of the links throughout this entry, you will be brought to Web sites in German. If you’re struggling with the vocabulary, visit about.com’s useful Glossary of Carnival Terms.

It’s not just the city of Mainz proper that parties down. Different sections of the city, including Hechtsheim, Gonsenheim, Bretzenheim, Finthen, Drais, and Mombach hold street fests and parades throughout the weekend leading up to Rose Monday- click here for times.

Other parts of Rheinland-Pfalz might not do it up quite as much, but still, you might find a good day out in any of the following localities: Bad Kreuznach (parade Sat., Feb. 21, 1:33 p.m.); Bingen am Rhein (parade Mon., Feb. 23, 2:11 p.m.); Koblenz (parade Mon., Feb. 23, 12:11 p.m.); Trier (parade Mon., Feb. 23, noon), or Worms (parades Sat., Feb. 21, 2:11 p.m. in Herrnsheim and Sun., Feb. 22, 2:11 p.m. in Abenheim.)

If you just want to do a general search for all carnival-related happenings in the greater Main and Rhine river areas, here’s a great list of events from the portal for the Gross Gerau and Rhein-Main region.  

If you’re in the Black Forest area, the information provided by the Baden-Wurttemberg tourism and marketing organization makes a useful tool in the hunt for Fasching fun. An entry titled Alemannic Fastnacht suggests that Constance, Rottweil, Villingen-Schwenningen, Breisach, Schramberg or Elzach would be amongst the best places to view authentic Fastnacht celebrations.

To search what carnival fun is on offer on a particular day, see the Web site’s Veranstaltungensuche, an event search engine, click on the “Fasnachtsveranstaltungen” option, enter the date of your interest, and off you go.

Oddly enough, a small town in Bavaria celebrates carnival with an Asian twist; see Stripes “Fasching with a Chinese Accent.” Elsewhere in the state, particularly in the Allgäu region, carnival revelry will take place in the towns of Fischen im Allgäu, Pfronten, Steinau an der Straße, Rieden am Forggensee, Stadtlauringen, Immenstadt, Lauf an der Pegnitz, Ebern, Oberstdorf, Wertach, Hollfeld, Neunkirchen am Brand, Dettelbach, Kleinheubach, Bad Wörishofen, Sulzberg, Blaichach im Allgäu, Oberstaufen, and Sonthofen. For details, go to www.bayern.by and search "Veranstaltungen" with the term "Brachtum" for event details.

I probably won’t make it there this year either, but the carnival event I really long to see is Basel, Switzerland’s“Morgenstraich.” It starts at 4 a.m. on the Monday following Ash Wednesday, and features oddities such as discordant music, a dance of death, darkened streets, and the eating of soup in the early morning. Maybe next year!