A Little Holiday Spirit

Here's a glimpse into some recent happenings.  

In late November, Glühwein and Punsch stands began springing up around town.  Glühwein is a type of mulled wine that's perfect for cold nights.  Punsch comes in many flavors and it's made from rum, red wine, spices, and fruit, and it's delicious.  My favorite is baked apple, but there are still plenty of others to try!  We've gone to the Treml Winter Lounge a few times and getting a spot near the fire is choice.      

Another thing that sprang up is an ice-skating rink on Mozart Platz, which you can see in the bottom rightmost photo.  On this particular ice-skating rink, they use plastic instead of ice because it's more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.   

Last weekend, Ben's friend from his study abroad experience in Graz, Johannes, and his wife, Amy, came to visit us in Salzburg.  Leinie, their adorable whippet puppy, came too.  We visited the Christmas markets at Hellbrunn, walked around the Alt Stadt, played games, and ultimately had a grand ol' time.  We look forward to visiting them near Vienna for Christmas. 

On December 5, we went to Getreidegasse to see the Krampuslauf. Essentially, dozens of people dress up as the Krampus, which is a tradition in Austria and some neighboring countries.  They parade down the street in their costumes, complete with large bells around their waists.  Someone, somewhere, played a loud, deep drum.  The Krampuses (or Krampusi) don't just walk down the street; they form a large circle in the middle of the crowd and they cause havoc.  They pull people from the sidelines into the circle and then proceed to whip them with bunches of branches.  At one point, I saw a Krampus go up to an old woman, mush her hair, and then swat her.  I didn't get any photos because I didn't want to get too close.  Here's an idea of what it was like.

Strategically, on the same night, people protested in Salzburg, Vienna, and Innsbruck for lowering tuition rates for college students.  They had great exposure on the night of the Krampuslauf and everything was very civilized.   

All in all, an interesting night to be in Austria.

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The teachers at Ben's school have been generous with presents to celebrate this time of year.  This guy is too funny.  He's made of some sort of sweet bread and the ribbon tongue is detachable.

And these chocolate St. Nikolaus and Krampus by delicious, delicious Milka are everywhere.  We've been eating an embarrassing amount of chocolate since coming here, and we're pretty much set with these two and other assorted treats we've received.