Showing posts with label Glöcklerlauf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glöcklerlauf. Show all posts
Friday, January 14, 2011
Jingle Jingle Jingle!
Friday, January 23, 2009
And All That Jazz!
How do I keep getting so far behind in my posts?! I think I'm going to have to condense some things!
GLÖCKLERLAUF
Every year on January 5, there is a parade of lights and bells in Stainach. The participants are dressed all in white and wear giant bells around their waists (like Krampus). On their heads they wear enormous luminarias in the form of astrological symbols, flowers, stars, coats of arms, which are illuminated from inside with real candles, not with any artificial light source. It is by far the most romantic custom I've experienced in Austria!
SUPPENEINLAGE (video link)
The junior business league at Stainach sponsored a cabaret on January 8. The comedian started the show with the premise that his wife had divorced him and now he had to cook for himself. He talked about all the fad diets that his wife had been on, all of the weird health kicks she'd subjected him to, and statistics about world hunger. All the while, he is standing on stage slicing vegetables and making soup. At the end of the performance, everyone in the audience gets a bowl of the soup he's cooked. Ingenious!
RAUMBERG BALL (pictures and more pictures)
January 10 was the most anticipated ball night in the Enns Valley. The Raumberg Ball takes place at the boarding school where my roommate, Rob, is an assistant. The students transform the school and its classrooms into a paradise of discos, bars, and "exhibition halls" (pun intended... ask me about my wardrobe malfunction!) There were 3000 people there, and only two rooms were "smoke free". At the end of the evening I felt like I had passively smoked an entire pack of cigarettes! Saw lots of students, friends and colleagues, all dressed beautifully. It was quite an experience, but I think I prefer other venues for my dates: long walks, ice skating, quiet cafes, concerts, and....
EISSTOCKSCHIESSEN!
Last year I was introduced to Eisstockschiessen, which is an Austrian variation of curling. In my ever-increasing circle of friends (see below) there is one family with a curling alley in their backyard. I've been several times this winter, and evidently my success last year was no fluke... I'm actually pretty good at this! I also understand a lot more about the game. There are two teams. Both teams stand at one end of the alley, and the captain of each team tries to hit a 5 inch wooden block (known as the "cat") with an Eisstock (a flat disc of wood or plastic weighted with metal, and gripped by a handle on top. Looks like a big parcheesi piece). This determines which team shoots next. The object is to slide the Eisstock across the ice and come as close to the block of wood as possible. But because it's not fixed, the wooden block can wander all over the ice, often repositioning itself closer to an opponent's Eisstock. Strategy comes in when you have to hit your opponents' Eisstöcke out of the way so yours is closest to the cat. Got that? There will be a test!
P.S. I MAY NOT HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LETTER!
On January 8, an Austrian postal truck burned. A few days later, I received slightly charred envelopes with an apology from the Austrian postal service.
I'm beginning to see how I've gotten behind in my posts. I've been busy, busy, busy!
GLÖCKLERLAUF
Every year on January 5, there is a parade of lights and bells in Stainach. The participants are dressed all in white and wear giant bells around their waists (like Krampus). On their heads they wear enormous luminarias in the form of astrological symbols, flowers, stars, coats of arms, which are illuminated from inside with real candles, not with any artificial light source. It is by far the most romantic custom I've experienced in Austria!
SUPPENEINLAGE (video link)
The junior business league at Stainach sponsored a cabaret on January 8. The comedian started the show with the premise that his wife had divorced him and now he had to cook for himself. He talked about all the fad diets that his wife had been on, all of the weird health kicks she'd subjected him to, and statistics about world hunger. All the while, he is standing on stage slicing vegetables and making soup. At the end of the performance, everyone in the audience gets a bowl of the soup he's cooked. Ingenious!
RAUMBERG BALL (pictures and more pictures)
January 10 was the most anticipated ball night in the Enns Valley. The Raumberg Ball takes place at the boarding school where my roommate, Rob, is an assistant. The students transform the school and its classrooms into a paradise of discos, bars, and "exhibition halls" (pun intended... ask me about my wardrobe malfunction!) There were 3000 people there, and only two rooms were "smoke free". At the end of the evening I felt like I had passively smoked an entire pack of cigarettes! Saw lots of students, friends and colleagues, all dressed beautifully. It was quite an experience, but I think I prefer other venues for my dates: long walks, ice skating, quiet cafes, concerts, and....
EISSTOCKSCHIESSEN!
Last year I was introduced to Eisstockschiessen, which is an Austrian variation of curling. In my ever-increasing circle of friends (see below) there is one family with a curling alley in their backyard. I've been several times this winter, and evidently my success last year was no fluke... I'm actually pretty good at this! I also understand a lot more about the game. There are two teams. Both teams stand at one end of the alley, and the captain of each team tries to hit a 5 inch wooden block (known as the "cat") with an Eisstock (a flat disc of wood or plastic weighted with metal, and gripped by a handle on top. Looks like a big parcheesi piece). This determines which team shoots next. The object is to slide the Eisstock across the ice and come as close to the block of wood as possible. But because it's not fixed, the wooden block can wander all over the ice, often repositioning itself closer to an opponent's Eisstock. Strategy comes in when you have to hit your opponents' Eisstöcke out of the way so yours is closest to the cat. Got that? There will be a test!
(l-r: Susi, me, Judith, Sebastian, Gerry, Yvonne, Raimund, Anita)
FRIENDS
Last year I lamented the lack of people my age in the Enns Valley. This year my handler, Bernhard, introduced me to his adult evening class in Aigen. These are students who will take their English matura in July. In exchange for speaking English with them, gently correcting their grammar, and giving advice on their special fields, they invite me to dinner, plays, day trips, concerts, and other excursions. They have also lent me their cars, welcomed me into their homes, and made me feel like part of the family.
BIRTHDAY
I am never going to talk about my age again. Ever.
That having been said, Wednesday Irene made potato gulasch and invited Rob, my yoga teacher and a close neighbor to celebrate. Thursday two of my classes made cakes for me, all of them sang happy birthday, I had a special birthday lunch at a colleague's house, and then bought myself a printer/scanner/photo printer to go with my new Canon IXUS 80 IS camera.
Last year I lamented the lack of people my age in the Enns Valley. This year my handler, Bernhard, introduced me to his adult evening class in Aigen. These are students who will take their English matura in July. In exchange for speaking English with them, gently correcting their grammar, and giving advice on their special fields, they invite me to dinner, plays, day trips, concerts, and other excursions. They have also lent me their cars, welcomed me into their homes, and made me feel like part of the family.
BIRTHDAY
I am never going to talk about my age again. Ever.
That having been said, Wednesday Irene made potato gulasch and invited Rob, my yoga teacher and a close neighbor to celebrate. Thursday two of my classes made cakes for me, all of them sang happy birthday, I had a special birthday lunch at a colleague's house, and then bought myself a printer/scanner/photo printer to go with my new Canon IXUS 80 IS camera.
P.S. I MAY NOT HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LETTER!On January 8, an Austrian postal truck burned. A few days later, I received slightly charred envelopes with an apology from the Austrian postal service.
I'm beginning to see how I've gotten behind in my posts. I've been busy, busy, busy!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Happy New Year, y'all!
I spent NEW YEAR'S EVE alone (by choice) after breakfasting with friends. I went shopping, made zucchini tea bread to give as presents, tidied my apartment, and then watched "Dinner for One" at 11:30 pm. This is a classic 1960s sketch about a woman celebrating her 90th birthday, who invites all her friends to attend her birthday dinner. The problem is, all her friends are dead, so the butler must play the role of all the guests. Mild hilarity ensues as he drinks four toasts to every one that the birthday girl makes. As the program finished, I put on my coat, put a piccolo bottle of champagne in my pocket, and planned to into town for New Year's fireworks. I didn't get that far, because I could see HUNDREDS of fireworks in every direction from my terrace. I stayed up til 2:00 am Skyping.
NEW YEAR'S DAY began inauspiciously. I broke a coffee cup while washing up the breakfast things. Later I used the coffee cup as a spoon rest, and while washing up a second time I cut my thumb on the broken coffee cup... badly. I thought I might need stitches, but I went to a neighbor's house and got a second opinion (I took them a zucchini bread!). This coupled with a burn I got while baking the zucchini bread made me a pretty sad little apple in 2008. But I'm happy to report that everything is healed... Gott sei Dank! The rest of New Year's Day was spent in front of the TV, watching the New Year's Concert from Vienna and about 3 hours of alpine skiing and ski jumping.
I spent the rest of my vacation sledding (an hour up, 5 minutes down) and entertaining K & A at the Stainach Glöcklerlauf ("Bell Run"). This is a romantic tradition in which participants dressed in white with bells on their hips carry huge illuminated forms on their backs (stars, city crests, etc.) They "run" through the main city square at night making the same noise as Krampuses but without the threat of thrashing and beating.
The video starts getting good at 00:08, when I zoom out to see the whole tableau:
.
And now everything is back to normal... all Upper Styrian assistants present and accounted for. We're planning to go to a Maturaball this weekend in Bad Aussee, and perhaps the Night Race in Schladming (World Cup skiing) on January 22. That would be a nice way to celebrate my birthday, don't you think?!
NEW YEAR'S DAY began inauspiciously. I broke a coffee cup while washing up the breakfast things. Later I used the coffee cup as a spoon rest, and while washing up a second time I cut my thumb on the broken coffee cup... badly. I thought I might need stitches, but I went to a neighbor's house and got a second opinion (I took them a zucchini bread!). This coupled with a burn I got while baking the zucchini bread made me a pretty sad little apple in 2008. But I'm happy to report that everything is healed... Gott sei Dank! The rest of New Year's Day was spent in front of the TV, watching the New Year's Concert from Vienna and about 3 hours of alpine skiing and ski jumping.
I spent the rest of my vacation sledding (an hour up, 5 minutes down) and entertaining K & A at the Stainach Glöcklerlauf ("Bell Run"). This is a romantic tradition in which participants dressed in white with bells on their hips carry huge illuminated forms on their backs (stars, city crests, etc.) They "run" through the main city square at night making the same noise as Krampuses but without the threat of thrashing and beating.
The video starts getting good at 00:08, when I zoom out to see the whole tableau:
.
And now everything is back to normal... all Upper Styrian assistants present and accounted for. We're planning to go to a Maturaball this weekend in Bad Aussee, and perhaps the Night Race in Schladming (World Cup skiing) on January 22. That would be a nice way to celebrate my birthday, don't you think?!
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