New Years Eve in Kiel was a very very interesting experience, and one that was completely different to anything I have experienced in Australia.
In August I remember saying to Britty that I really wanted to go to Berlin for New Years, however because it was most likely going to be Britty’s last New Year in Germany for a few years, we decided to celebrate it in Kiel with many of Britty’s friends. I guess Berlin can wait until next time!!!
The night started pretty early by Australian New Year standards. We kicked off the party at about 6pm with a dinner at Britty’s friends Marcus, and Danni’s flat. The idea for the evening was to get dressed up as pirates, or sailors, and go around to peoples houses, knock on their doors and then start singing. I guess it was like trick-or-treating on Halloween. I can’t remember what the song was called, and I didn’t know the words because it was a German song, but I tagged along holding a skull and crossbones flag waving it in time to the song. I also started with a hat but unfortunately it was extremely windy on the night, and it kept blowing off my head.
You might ask what is the point of this? I guess there is really no other answer than to get completely and utterly blind! What happens is after you have finished singing, you then hold out a plasitc shot glass, and the person will fill it with something! Normally the person will give you some type of alcoholic drink, and in most cases it is very very strong. I think during the night we were given, wine, vodka, bourbon, and countless other drinks, which most of them I had never tasted (or even new existed). All I know is a lot of them were lethal, and by the time we got back to the flat, most of us were very drunk. Some more than others!
When we got back we then started the count down to new year. As it got closer, completely legal fireworks were going off everywhere. All of which were bought from local supermarkets for less than 1 Euro each. When midnight hit the fireworks went nuts! People shooting them all at once, the noise was pretty incredible, and colour filled the sky in no matter which direction you looked.
After the midnight celebrations, many of the others at the party had decided to go to a night club in Kiel to continue to party. Britty and myself however decided to give it a miss (mainly because of the price, about 20 Euros each). Yeah Yeah I know this is boring, but sometimes you just need to save some money!!
I took a few photos on the night. I have posted a few below and the rest can be found here.
That just about does it for New Years. It was a completely different experience for me, and one that I really enjoyed.
