Perchten and Pro Hockey

Dragan, me, Erin, Laura and Almudena hanging out in the Kurpark before the Perchtenlauf.

Alright, I started this post on Thursday... and somehow I haven't finished it yet...

Last Sunday night was the Perchtenlauf in Baden.  The Perchten are demons from the Alps, I'm not really clear on the history and legend behind them, and my students are also rather unsure of what they are and where they come from.  The Perchtenlauf last year was a lot of fun, so this year Dragan, Erin, Almudena, Laura and I met up in the christmas market for Punsch and Perchten!  It was a fun (if cold) night and a couple Perchten hit us with their horsetail whips (without getting hit it's not a Perchtenlauf!).     Apparently a few people either die or are severely burned in their Perchten costumes because there are so many torches and fire breathers and when they catch fire they're trapped in an enormous fur suit.  Plus every year there are stories of people being badly hurt by the Perchten... so while it's a fun time of year, it's also a bit dangerous.

Perchtenlauf in Baden 2012

Perchten with a kettle of green fire on its back

This Perchten tried to steal my santa hat!

Perchtenlauf 2012

This Perchten's jaw opened and closed on its own!

Hauptplatz in Baden all decorated (and crowded) for Christmastime.

Erin and I have now been to the christmas market in Baden a few times.  One night this week we met up with our friend Steffi for some Punsch- it was so cold it was hard to spend much time there though!

Erin outside the Casino in the Kurpark.

On Tuesday night Erin and I had tickets for a professional hockey game in Vienna- the Vienna Capitals vs. the Salzburg Red Bulls.  Erin's a big hockey fan, and I like it a lot as well.  One of the main reasons we went was that Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins is now playing for the Red Bulls (because of the NHL Lockout).  We had a really good time- we were the only ones in the stadium with a sign, and we were sitting right behind the Red Bulls bench (we had crazy good seats, and they were only 20 Euro).

Johnny Boychuk (from the Boston Bruins) playing for the Salzburg Red Bulls since the NHL is on Lockout. 

Erin made a sign (I helped color it in) for Boychuk.  Since we were in the 3rd row from the Salzburg bench, and the only people with a sign, we really stood out!

In the end the Capitals won... but we had a good time cheering on Boychuk and Schremp (who we liked to cheer for, and then later found out is American).

After the game we even got to meet Boychuk!!

After the game I told Erin that we could probably wait outside the stadium and see if we could meet Boychuck, which clearly worked out based on the photo proof above!  He was really nice and we talked with him for about 10 minutes.  We also wanted to talk to Schremp, and when he walked by us he said hi, but didn't stop, and we didn't know that he was American at that point.

The HAK had their christmas party on Friday night, and since it was in the HAK I went.  The teacher who organized it had asked me to get a Santa hat and reindeer antlers- it turns out she really wanted me to have a whole Santa suit... sorry that I didn't bring that with me, because all Americans have Santa outfits!  They had a really massive dinner catered in at the school, the food was really good, but I couldn't believe how much they had, and how much people ate!  I had to leave early, so the organizer and I had planned an 'Interview with Santa', originally she had said I should speak English, but then at the last second she asked me to do it in German.  Surprisingly I pulled it off, and even had everyone laughing (at what I said, not how I said it...), so now they all know I can speak German.  I was also the only one of the 3 assistants they have who showed up at the party.

I keep expecting to get into the Christmas spirit with all these parties and most of my lessons are about christmas... but its just not happening.  There are still people I need to go shopping for, I still haven't sent a package to my parents, I haven't wrapped the presents I do have... I remember having similar feelings about Christmas last year, and this year it's worse since I won't be home again, and my parents won't be here.  At least I'm looking forward to seeing Christof, Marie, Yves, Basti, Micha, Peter & Karin! 

Now Erin and I are off to a Heurige to meet up with Steffi and maybe Almudena and Laura too!  

Playing catch-up

The 9 muses on the ceiling of Theater an der Wien

This post is more of a photo drop than a post... but I'll include details too!  After my last post Erin and I went to Theater an der Wien for an opera.  It was about Achilles, Iphigenie and her father Agamemnon- before the Trojan war.  They did it in a very modern way, and it was especially cool to see after we had walked through the set.

The Iphigenie set

 With the 'mirrors' on the 'cement' walls and the rotating stage they were able to create some really incredible imagery that lent to the drama of the story.

A group of Teaching Assistants on stage at Theater an der Wien

Agamemnon's war room.

On the other side of the stage there was a giant light wall, which would either be see-through, white, or show pictures/silent videos of the cast and choir.  That side was mostly creepy... Since the stage (and really the whole theater) is quite small they have a rotating stage- so instead of changing the set they just turn the stage, and they turn the stage during the performance.

A lovely Sunday night at the Opera

Me, Erin and Dragan posing with his painting of Obama at the HAK Ball.

 I took some other pictures at the HAK ball, but most of them were of the opening show and midnight show.  This was the best one that had Erin and I in it.  Dragan is one of my students at the HAK- in his last year.  His English is really good, and he's one of the few in his class who talks to me- plus he's a lot of fun.

On Friday of last weekend I went to Bopfingen, a small town in southern Germany to have Thanksgiving with coworkers from Waldsee.  It was a lot of fun- of course! Plus we had some really good food.

Lotta and her mom (our hostesses) taking care of Clothilde the turkey. 

Bread, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (I made the cranberry sauce) 

Stuffing, gravy, Schwarzwurzel, red cabbage and green beans

I forgot to take a picture of my plate before I started eating, but Elsa took a picture of hers.

The next day we walked around Bopfingen.  They have these viewing things that we had some fun with. 

The hill is called the Ipf- one group walked up it, one went around it, and another group went back to Lotta's and took a nap. 

Bopfingen sure is a pretty little town!

Frauenkirche Konzert

 This week one of Erin's schools had their winter concert- so I went to go see it.  I didn't realize that the church would be SO packed! When we got there all the seats were full, so everyone else had to stand at the back of the room.  There were also about 100 people up at the front singing!  When the younger kids were singing some of them were wearing santa hats, so I thought they'd sing a Christmas song, instead they sang Somewhere over the Rainbow and then sat down again.  It was a nice concert, and afterwards there was food and drinks in the school for anyone who wanted.

Erin, Dragan and I at the MQ drinking Punsch

Friday was a full day for me!  I taught 5 lessons, babysat for 3 hours, and then Erin, Dragan and I met up and went into Vienna.  It was a nice night out, but nothing too crazy since I'd had a long day of work and my knee was sore.

On Saturday Erin and I met up with the Spanish TA in Baden and went up to Gumpoldskirchen to support some of our colleagues who were selling crafts at a Christmas market.  While in Gumpoldskirchen we also had dinner at a Heurige since the town is full of them.  It was a nice little trip into the country.  It's been a good few weeks!