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Published: March 9th 2010
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Double decker train
we're up there, I swear We’ve been blessed with another long weekend! This time it’s for Maria Empfängnis (The Immaculate Conception). So we spent the first part of the weekend (Fri.-Mon.) in Munich, and then we headed back to the Salzkammergun in Austria for a Krampus Perchtenlauf. Krampus is the evil counterpart of Nikolaus (St. Nick), and instead of elves, he has little demonic Perchten as followers. At the Perchtenlauf, boys dress up in costumes and masks and parade through the town with horsewhips that they brandish to excite and terrify the crowd. Sometimes, they also take little kids from their families and carry them around in baskets on their backs for the remainder of the parade. It sounds pretty creepy, but the idea is basically to chase the evil spirits out of the mountains before St. Nick and Christmas come…and to scare kids into being good.
It was more intense than I thought it would be—after the parade, when the Perchten ran wild, it was actually quite stressful and scary. But it was definitely worth seeing once. I’m glad now that I had to go a little out of my way to find a Perchtenlauf, because it means I won’t have to worry about
Outdoor ice-skating
at the rink in Karlsplatz in Munich any crazy Krampussen running around Kirchdorf when I’m not expecting it. The parades and big Krampus celebrations take place mainly in the mountains.
Munich was a much more fantastic experience overall. We were there for the Christmas markets that covered most of the inner city, so roasted Maroni (chestnuts), crepes, and Glühwein (mauled wine) were rampant. We also tried these potato pancake things called Reiberdatschi, which I highly recommend. They were a bit too greasy, but still delicious, and served with apple sauce or Tzaziki. In Munich, we also visited the Englischen Garten (kind of like Central Park in NYC), and we saw these guys surfing in manmade rapids near the main art museum (Haus der Kunst). It was really impressive, and I so want to try it now.
Aside from that, we visited most of the touristy sites in Munich, like the Frauenkirche, Old St. Peter’s, Viktualienmarkt (biggest open-air market in the city, and oldest), the Glockenspiel, etc. It was really nice to go back to a city that I already knew fairly well. Most exciting of all, I bought a Dirndl! I’ve wanted one for awhile, and I found a nice one for a reasonable price
Glockenspiel
on the New Town Hall (new meaning 16th century) at a Tracht (traditional clothing) store in downtown Munich, so I bought it! Now I can dress up for the festivals here, and I’ll have a Halloween costume for the rest of my life. I think I might even wear it to Christmas dinner, since it’s new and exciting right now.
Now I have a two-day work week behind me, and it was the second to last week before I leave for Christmas. I’m almost finished with my Christmas shopping, so the only thing I have to worry about right now is my application for grant extension for next year. That’s not really that stressful either, except it means that I have to think about what I want to do. Originally, I was planning on moving to Linz for my second year, so that I would still be close enough to visit my friends here, but I would be living in a city. I still may do that, but I’ve been rethinking it lately. It would be really nice not to have such a long adjustment period at my schools next year, and I do really like both of my schools now. If I moved to a new school
in Linz, I would be anonymous in Linz again for awhile. So I thought about commuting to Kirchdorf and Kremsmünster a few days a week from Linz next year. I know it’s bearable because assistants before me have done it, but it would be a really irritating morning commute. It would also be fairly expensive on top of more expensive living arrangements in the city. So right now I’m considering staying in Kirchdorf next year and commuting to Linz a couple days a week for classes at Uni and to teach classes again like I am now. In any case, I’m fairly sure that I want to stay at my same schools next year, so I can fill out the extension form, and then make the final arrangements later. I know it sounds completely bizarre that I would voluntarily choose to stay in a town of 6,000 people when I could move to the city, but I think Kirchdorf has been really good for me. I’m completely immersed in Austrian life, with no other Americans around on a day-to-day basis, and I’ve also made some good friends here. It would be much easier to stay close to them next year
if I were in the neighborhood. So that’s what I’m thinking now…but nothing’s set in stone!
Happy Advent!
Meg
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