New Year's Eve in Germany

Joe and I were all set for a quiet New Year's Eve at home. We bought a bottle of champagne at the local grocery store, and while we were there we noticed they were selling fireworks. I was looking for some party poppers, but there were none to be found. Apparently, shooting off fireworks is a tradition.

When I was growing up we would buy fireworks for the 4th of July at set them off at my Grandma's farm. She lives near in Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, and PA sells fireworks. Regardless, the most dramatic fireworks our parents would buy us were roman candles and bottle rockets. But here, in Germany, people were setting off legitimate fireworks. They looked like real fireworks, but they were smaller.

When I say people, I mean random people. This was not official. It was just everyone in the area. We were completed surrounded by fireworks. Our balcony connects two buildings and either side of the balcony people were setting off fireworks. People on the floors above us were setting off fireworks. People in the balconies across the street were shooting off fireworks. The air was so thick with smoke visibility decreased to 500 feet.

Also, being on the 5th floor, the fireworks were not that high above us. In fact, firework detritus was falling on areas of the balcony. Luckily, we also had a roof, which we were able to hide under when the explosions got too crazy. So our night was pretty far from quiet, but it was lots of fun. All the neighbors were outside talking and enjoying the fireworks.

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Pictures from New Year's