How would Harry react if he found himself in the middle of Cologne's Carnival celebrations without warning? Just imagine if he arrived at the central railway station on the morning of the Thursday before Lent, which is known as "Weiberfastnacht," or "Women's Carnival Day, and marks the beginning of six crazy days of partying. He'd see crowds of partying people from near and far – all dressed in a festive and colorful mix of costumes: clowns, witches, bears, pirates, you name it. The crowd would probably sweep Harry along to Alter Markt, right in the middle of the historic old city. There, in the center of the action, he would witness the official start of Carnival in Cologne at 11 minutes past 11 in the morning.

Likely bewildered and wide-eyed, Harry would quickly notice that without a costume, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Around him, people would be dancing, singing (in Kölsch, the local Cologne dialect), swaying, arm in arm with strangers and friends to the music – and drinking beer. At Carnival, it is usually easy to strike up a conversation with strangers. Someone might buy Harry a beer, maybe someone else would join him – and then he'd be swaying along with everyone else. Maybe he'd even come up with a costume idea – and maybe, just maybe, he'd decide to join in the festivities for the next five days.