"Marco Polo's Travels" brings the victory.

Grand Finale in the Venetian carnival with all its home-made garments is Tanja Schulz-Hess in the final for the best costume arrives - with friends and won for the third consecutive victory. The winning ensemble: an Asian potpourri.

 

Venice is contrary to all predictions cries as full as ever. On Sunday, the most important day in the Carnival of Venice, cavort around 125,000 people alone to St. Mark's Square in order to compete for the best mask of the Carnevale di Venezia to see. Against 14 clock stream the colorful and elaborately costumed participants towards the stage. From about 300 costumes of the preliminary rounds were about 80 selected for the finals. Only those who have a "golden ticket" has allowed in the restricted area around the cross-shaped stage in the baroque garden at St. Mark's Square for the guests to Umherwandeln was constructed.

Now that the most important event for us here crazy costume is over, I finally have all my costumes to tell: I have nine garments in the past year before the joy of making loud gebastelt, they were presented in the competition by friends of us. It was the "queen of the kitchen," Maria Grazia Caló wore.

The Italian is in their country is not unknown. They, together with a few other women from all over Italy on Sunday a cooking show on RAI, the national TV. Furthermore, it is a wonderful Bed & Breakfast and a cooking school where you can learn Venetian cuisine. It is a warm, lively and trendy Italian as it was presented and was perfect in the costume of the "Cucina della Regina."

So perfect, that the jury at the end only very slightly on the other hand, has decided it and the matching king the first prize for the best costume to enter. But Mary took it with humor and rejoiced very easy, in the person of their tailored costume umherzuwandeln between people and beklatscht them.

Since her husband is one of the Venetians, as the child already getting too much carnival and fled before the crowds, was the king to another page Marias friend of ours: Mirco Ferri, 35, from the foreshore of Venice. He is a policeman and made his case very well as a dignified mask makers - in his case, a frying pan with eye holes. And I thievish pleased that the choreographer Nikos this not as a costume and I saw Mary and Mirco really after their appearance and costume were assessed.

Special rates for the veterans of the carnival

Also all the other costumes, I still in the competition had arrived without my help to the finals and had the opportunity to get on stage at the beautiful weather to a lovely present. The finale was split into two rounds. All 80 were in small groups, the jury presented. After bowing before the jury and a walk across the stage to the audience were the costumes of the various assessment.

PERSONAL

Tanja Schulz-Hess

Tanja Schulz-Hess, 38, prefers it for ten years at the Carnival of Venice. 2007 and 2008 won the publishing business from Hamburg with their robes "Luna Park" and "Montgolfiera" each took first place in the competition of the costumes.
For online blogs, she reported in her diary from the tumult of the "Carnevale di Venezia 2009", about intrigue, rumors and the world behind the masks.
www.worldofcostumes.com

Three green cards of the jury, inter alia, the artistic director of the carnival, Marco Balich, and the Oscar-winning costume designer Gabriella Pescucci there, secured the final. In this last round were presented again the best of the best. After a brief counseling, the jury awarded prizes for the most original, the traditional costume and two special prizes for the "veterans" of the carnival - in this case to the over 70-year-old Venetian Mollinatti Rosanna and our friend, the 47-year-old from Bologna Alessandro Travaglini .

The highlight was of course the price for "best costume of the Carnevale di Venezia 2009". And the went - you will hardly believe it - to us with the costume "Marco Polo's Travels". "Us" means both of my good friends Raacke Horst, 37, and Jochen Schlüter, 41, and myself. Horst, actually a goldsmith, designed six costumes and I have two. Together with friends of them and me, we presented a group of eight Asian clothes, the cuts at the 18th Century were based. We therefore combined the old days with the here and now.

"Umbrellina" from eleven umbrellas

The jury also seemed to like it and went for Horst and myself - and the other of course - a dream come true. Horst got as a victory trophy, a beautiful Murano glass vase and the honor of the first winner of the competition. I am delighted with the beautiful red Samtkiste in which the vase was and that I actually managed to have a historic hattrick lie. Because three times in a row to win it here is unprecedented. In Venice are just a lot of dreams come true. Oh yes, we all also won a weekend in a hotel in Venice, that the organizers are still nice from two to eight people extended.

For my other friends, with the rest of the costumes, the "Umbrellina" - one of eleven umbrellas and 5000 Strass stones manufactured construction - the "Bionda Venexiana" - a dress in the style of the 18th Century, from the completely artificial hair has been made - and "La Scuola" - an ensemble of men and women, which I read in a school in Vicenza last summer with students and teachers had prepared - were in the finals, fulfilled the dream that once the Carnevale to experience and also in the finals on the stage to stand.

For me it was a dream, this unique carnival with so many friends and to enjoy and then as icing on top yet to win. Such things happen only once in a lifetime, and - yes - I am very grateful and happy that everything went very well despite a sore throat, antibiotics and other small disasters.