Meredith Lemke '23: Photos and Videos from Study Abroad - Kirmes!

One of my favorite, underrated, and seldom talked about German festivities are the traveling carnivals called a “Kirmes!”

Starting around September, at least in Nordrhein-Westfalen, most cities and even tiny towns will have a funfair for a couple of days or weeks. Similar to the Christmas-Market season in Germany, the Kirmes-season lasts for about a month of fall festivities. Little festive huts that sell candies and toys line the streets. Town squares get filled with dangerous-looking, fun, and sometimes-nauseating carnival rides. Booths where you can play games are interspersed with stands selling “American Hotdogs,” German Wurstbrötchen, popcorn, cotton candy, and Döner. Kirmes’ are truly filled with a lively, hectic, and just-plain-fun energy!