Advent

Dear Friends and Family,

Advent greetings from upper Styria! I've been busy the past couple of weeks going to Christmas markets and getting used to cold and snow. Above is a picture of Pürgg, a very romantic town very close to my home in Irdning. I went to an Advent Market there a couple of weeks ago, where they had craft demonstrations and sales. They also had the obligatory "chestnuts roasting on an open fire."

Everywhere there is mulled wine and Punsch (any hot fruity alcoholic drink with fresh fruit) to wash the chestnuts down with. In Vienna last weekend, I drank lots of Punsch at a Christmas market with friends Kurt, John and Christina (not pictured). And I had Schilcher Glühwein which tasted just like Sturm and strawberries!Then I went to the Austrian Open Air Museum (Freilichtsmuseum) in Stübing. They had all sorts of crafts and also folk music and poetry readings in original 18th-19th century houses. Lots of mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, Krapfen, gingerbread to eat too! Here, a veteran lace maker shows a young girl how to make lace:

And here a club for the preservation of Austrian dialects reads Peter Rosegger! Check out the Herrgottswinkel (household shrine) in the right top corner!
P.S. Today is my name day, and the birthday of my friend Marilyn!