To many, the best part of it all is the Gässle, or wandering through the narrow alleyways. Masked individuals and groups roam through the streets of the old city, playing pipes and drums, with spectators marching in time behind them. Festivities go on until four o'clock in the morning on Thursday. Then another year must pass until the clock strikes four again on the next Ash Wednesday, ringing in the next, much awaited carnival in Basel.