ZURICH - Guggenmusik bands worked Niederdorf and the lower Niederdorf alleys on Tuesday, the last night before Ash Wednesday. Bars put extra staff on the door. Police said the evening was loud, wet in patches, and within the usual envelope of complaints about fireworks thrown into courtyards.
The city treats Fasnacht as an import that students and commuters enjoy and that some residents endure. Both groups were present.
Tomorrow the lights go out elsewhere
Basel waits until next Monday for Morgenstreich. Zurich will be back at work. The two calendars are the cultural map in miniature, a point our Basel opening story will make at 4 a.m.