Krampus Redux

It's that time of the year again!

Until this week, the most popular posts on my blog(s) were found by googling the terms "Louisiana gecko" "forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit" and "In Cold Blood vocabulary." But as of today, the search term "Krampus" has found my blog 111 times in the past week and I'm at a loss to understand why! My blog pops up immediately on an image search for the other terms.  But how do people find my blog when it doesn't appear in the first ten pages of an "Everything" search and this picture only shows up on page 6 of an "Image" search?

Here's a lovely video (not mine) of the sights and sounds of Krampus:

On this, St. Nicholas Day, I confess that I miss Krampus night. I miss the brioche Krampusse with their red ribbon tongues and the gingerbread Krampusse from Cafe Mitter.  

Brioche Krampusse - Thanks, Ingrid!

Gingerbread Krampus - Thanks, Caitlin!

And I miss the real Krampusse with their bells and masks and switches! 

Dueling Krampusse

I especially miss the Goaß! 

Biscuits for Breakfast!

Will y' look at dem dere biscuits?!

Until I find an apartment I'm staying with dear friends in the Baton Rouge area. Yesterday morning I woke up to fresh, flakey southern-made biscuits, which we ate with homemade apricot jam -- from Vienna! I guess that's what you'd call a cross-continental breakfast!!

Happy Father's Day!

Joey and DoD's EXCELLENT Adventure
(in about 50 Words Per Day!)

May 26: The adventure begins! Party at Stainach for Joey's last day (with champagne between classes!). Arrived in Bavaria for dinner at Haus Brannenburg and planned to spend the evening on the balcony relaxing. Dramatic windstorm -- went to bed as soon as the drama could no longer be seen from my window!

May 27: Joey up before 6:00 – walked 25 minutes in the rain to train station. Met DoD on time at Munich airport – relief! Rented Mercedes (!) from EuropCar after Budget lost reservation. Drove to Brannenburg. Ate lunch, walked into town, had coffee, took pictures, walked back to hotel, ate dinner. Admired the view!

May 28: A gray day. Breakfast, then off to Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee where authors Ludwig Thoma and Ludwig Ganghofer lived and are buried. Made pilgrimage to Thoma house, now a private home. Lunch, then on to the Ennstal! DoD safely ensconced in Glitschnerhof – a working farm. Soup and salad at Im Dörfl.

May 29: Early sun. Coffee in Aigen. Spent the morning in Pürgg visiting church and chapel with 11th-13th c. frescoes – Beautiful, but cold and windy! Lunch in Aigen after rain began. Joey tutored some folks in English, then her friends joined us for dinner at Im Dörfl, a 19th c. style inn.


May 30: Another gray day. Coffee in Aigen. Early start to author Peter Rosegger's stomping grounds. Lunch in Krieglach. Curator of country house remembered us from four years ago. Rainy and cold visit to the church and cemetery in St. Kathrein. Lots of slugs! Fabulous dinner in Alpl. Slept with the heat on!













May 31: 35º F! Climbed 1.8 km (600 m!) to Rosegger's birthplace; sun burned off lingering fog. Visited Rosegger school. Paid respects at Rosegger's grave. Returned to Ennstal, ate ice cream. Walked around Putterer Lake. Saw ruins of St. Aegydius church. Drove Mercedes on cowpath high above Donnersbach in vain search for food.

June 1: Rain in the morning. Coffee in Aigen. Friend Brigitte led tour through Trautenfels Palace – natural and social history of Ennstal in one cool building! Special exhibit on birds. Lunch at fish restaurant. Coffee with friend Sigi in Irdning. Dinner in Pürgg at Krenn, a very cosy inn with a view!

June 2: Our day in Admont, which boasts the largest monastery library in the world. Adding to the newly refurbished library frescoes, goldleaf and sculptures, is a special exhibition of manuscripts, some dating to the 11th century. Back to Irdning so Joey could tutor, then dinner at the fish restaurant with colleague Bernhard.

June 3: Visited Joey's school and met her colleagues. Joey tutored until 1:00 pm. Lunch in Stainach. Drove to Bad Aussee, the geographical center of Austria,marked with a giant Mercedes symbol. DoD bought Austrian jacket. Then to Wörschach where we toured the Wolkenstein ruins with Sigi. Dinner in Wörschach, house platter for three!









June 4: Late start. Leisurely coffee in Stainach. Visited Joey's school again. Friend and colleague Ingrid led us on a car chase to Öblarn where we met friend and colleague Theresia and husband for lunch, followed by a private tour of author Paula Grogger's house. Coffee at Ingrid's. Fabulous dinner at Brigitte's.

June 5: Bad Ischl – toured imperial gardens, ate at Zauner Restaurant AND Zauner cafe, which existed at Franz Josef's time. Paid homage to Franz Lehar at his former villa. Dinner at the Knödelalm with Irene and Rob. Dumplings filled with cracklins or spinach as entree, and with jam or chocolate for dessert!

June 6: Left Glitschnerhof mid-morning and set off to Radstadt in search of Roman milestones – which we missed :-( Had great lunch in Radstadt then drove to Munich to drop off Mercedes. Ate at sketchy inn where the proprietor looked like Mr. Allnut from the African Queen. Overnight accommodations in Schwaig.

June 7: Dawn broke at about 4:30 am. Joey escorted DoD to airport at 7:00 am and poured him onto the plane. Joey proceeded to Ennstal, and further to Salzkammergut where she attended a rehearsal of IRISHSteirisch and embarked on a short Austrian journalism career. Dad arrived safely in Moline at 5:05 CDT.

DoD,

Herzlichen Dank

für die wunderschönen Tage im Ennstal!

Alles liebe, Joey

Now is the month of May!

It's been quite a while since I wrote, eh? Shouting for updates, are you?! Well, my adoring public, your wish is my command!

Spring has finally sprung in the Enns Valley and not a moment too soon! Spring break began on April 4, when I traveled to beautiful Stift Göttweig for Literatur und Wein (Literature and Wine). For two evenings, my friends and I listened to contemporary authors read from their works, interspersed with musical interludes. Each author was sponsored by a different vineyard and there was wine tasting throughout the evening. On Saturday afternoon we toured the Wachau Valley, with vineyards lining the Danube River.

I spent a few days in Vienna with my friends Kurt and Annemarie. We played lots of games and spent hours on the terrace enjoying the spring weather. We also went out to dinner with friends Gaby, Artur and Kathi whom I hadn't seen in ages!

When I returned to the Enns Valley, Easter week was in full swing. On Saturday I ate two traditional Easter dinners. By traditional, I mean laden with cholesterol (mine is currently 258...)! It is traditional to go to church on Saturday morning and have meat blessed by the priest. This meat (various ham, smoked pork, and tongue) is then served with slightly sweet Easter bread and generous amounts of horseradish. There are also radishes and colored eggs... girls are supposed to give a red egg to the boy they like! That night, we had an Easter bonfire in Irene's Garden. On Easter Sunday, we repeated the process. The Easter Bunny had visited overnight and brought me a bicycle (I am one of the few people who actually forgot how to ride a bike... last year, I forgot to pedal and slowed down to the point that I just toppled over like Arte Johnson's old man character on Laugh-In!). But I've relearned the basics, and I have a helmet just in case. Now I'm a little more mobile!

A couple of weeks ago I spent a beautiful spring day in the south of Styria. I visited a colleague on his farm, then met up with friends in Leibnitz for the Austrian Blues Masters concert, headlined by "Sir" Oliver Mally. You know he's one of my favorites, and he didn't disappoint! I even got my picture taken with him before the show began (thanks!).

So what else has been keeping me busy? Last week, my students at Stainach and I presented an evening of theater, poetry, satire and lectures about women's status throughout the world. Entitled Pandora's Legacy, the program was was quite well attended and the students did a marvelous job! The people who attended said that they really enjoyed the topics and the high level of English that the students presented. I am so proud of everyone who pitched in to help make the evening a success!

This past weekend was May Day in Austria. For more, please see my Kleine Zeitung blog at www.meinekleine.at/gastspiel.