Fasching in Wattens

Today was not a good skiing day, grey and snowing. Hey, it's snowing!!! So everyone decided to go to Swarovski's Kristallwelt in Wattens. It cost EU 9.50 to get in, although just going into the shop would have been free. As far as I'm concerned, I could have done without the exhibits, although the current theme was India and we saw a very interesting Indian dance performance. Barbara, Ann and I spent two hours in the shop, while Warren checked in on us every once in a while and gave us his opinions on what was in our shopping bags and pointed out some more things to us, and Jim waited in the cafe, had lunch and read a book. Barbara and I dropped some dough on the beautiful things they had for sale. Sue will love the beads Barbara bought. Every possible color, shape, and size of crystals, and amazing jewelry.

I'm sure I will go again. next time maybe I will pick up some beads too.

In the town of Wattens, we were looking for a restaurant, but they all seemed to be full of Fasching revelers. They were all over the street too, here are some photos of the costumed revelers. Finally we found a restaurant and had lunch; even the waitress was dressed up, and it was festively decorated.

Shopping in Innsbruck

Warren, Jim and Ann went up to Patscherkopfl to go skiing. Barbara and I decided to spend the day in the Altstadt of Innsbruck, poking around and shopping. While we were in the Swarovski crystal store, we got a telephone call from Jim who said that the ski conditions on the mountain were poor and they were calling it a day and wanted to meet us for lunch. So we arranged to meet at the Weisses Rössl, which we did and had a very nice lunch there. Then Ann joined Barbara and me for shopping and Jim and Warren went to the Electronics store and grocery shopping. I can't speak for the guys, but the ladies had a nice day wandering around various shops. Here are some photos of the Altstadt, including the famous Goldenes Dachl, the Gold Roof that Emperor Maximilian built around 1500, on a building that was built around 1400.

Tonight we are going to Lans, to the Wilder Mann restaurant.

Tomorrow we are going to Swarovski-Welt! More shopping there, I predict.

Maschgerschaug'n Stieglreith

Last night our group went up to the ski restaurant "Stieglreith" for dinner and a Maschgerschaug'n parade. The food was good. We had Kasspatzln (Käsespaetzle in high German,) bacon and cheese dumplings in soup, Schlutzkrapfen (the thing like ravioli I was telling you about) and Topfenstrudel and Jagatee (Jägertee.) Portions were quite generous. Then the parade began. It was a subset of the groups and individuals Jim and I had seen earlier last weekend. And the parade was short, but fun. This time, because there were fewer people there, and Ann and I were sitting on the aisle, the dancers came up to us, hugging us etc. and often pulling out flasks and offering us a drink of something mysterious and very potent. There is a photo of Ann with one of them drinking from his flask. They also danced with some of the women, but Ann and I demurred.

Axamer Lizum

Today we all went skiing at Axamer Lizum; it is near the town of Axams. It is very near our house, in fact you can see it from here and you can see Oberperfuss and our house from the top of Axamer Lizum. We were up at 1500 meters at the base, and 2350 at the top. It was a sunny day. The snow was good, or as Warren puts it, much better than we ever get in New Hampshire. I am glad yesterday's skiers warned me about how warm it was so I didn't overdress. Think Spring skiing!!! Spring is already here and it is still only January! (Jim's cousin Lisi set the table for our dinner in Bregenz with Snowdrops from her own garden.) I wore my lightest ski jacket today with only a light polypro underneath. No long underwear, and no ski hat! I wore only a headband, and my light cross-country gloves. Just right. I am very happy with my new ski boots. The boot fitter that Penny Pitou recommended to me in Plymouth NH really knows his stuff - Paul Richelson's Feet First, if anyone is up that way and needs a good boot fitter. I skied on rented Atomic skis, I really liked them. First pair of shaped skis that I have really liked. Of course, the skis out-skied me. I just let them go and rode them down the hill. They were slick.

We stopped for lunch at the top of the Olympia Bahn, the very summit of the mountain. The views were awesome, and it was the fanciest ski restaurant I've ever seen. Photos attached. Also, the food was terrific for a ski mountain. It was self-service, but pretty nice. The first thing you see when you walk in the door is the big round table with all the desserts - strudels, cakes, etc. Wow. Hard to resist. There is schnitzel, various sausages and soups, and other main courses, and a beautiful salad bar. Also a fancy European coffee machine with the BEST coffee I have ever had in my life. I had a small salad and a big "Germknödel" with poppy seeds, sugar, and vanilla sauce on it. We all shared that. One of the eccentricities of Austrian food is that it is perfectly acceptable to eat a huge strudel or other sweet thing for lunch or dinner as a main course.

Downhill and X-C skiing

Jim, Warren and Ann went downhill skiing at Schlitz 2000 in the Stubaital. They said it was fantastic and they had a great time. Maybe some of them will comment on it later. Meanwhile, Barbara and I went to Leutasch and did about 10k of cross-country. Actually, first we drove to Scharnitz, because I thought it would be kind of cool to ski over the border into Germany. But Scharnitz was not a happening place, in fact the ski rental place looked closed and the area was icy, so we turned around and went to Leutasch. The conditions were not as fluffy as when Jim and I were there only a few days ago. I guess the sun has melted the snow and made it slick. It was easy to glide along the tracks and make good time. Barbara and I had lunch in a little restaurant in Leutasch. I had Schnitzel and salad, Barbara had Kaiserschmarren. She let me have some of hers, it was (as Ann says) "to die for." The Austrians are smart enough to eat dessert for dinner sometimes! They do actually eat sweet things, like nooodles and fruit dumplings with sugar for dinner, and Kaiserschmarren. Yum....






























Ann and Warren at Schlitz 2000.













Movies from Warren's camera from today:

First Guests arrive!

At 3 PM today, our first guests arrived. Warren and Barbara, and our friend Ann Chang from Tennesee, came from the Zurich airport on their way to skiing at Val D'Isere. Ann was my roommate last year in Lech, and also the year before in San Moritz. She is one hot skiier! She also likes Warren's jokes, so she was a good addition to our group. Ann is the best roommate I ever had. They are all in amazingly good shape for such a long flight and such a long day. We had some bread and cheese and then went out for a walk around Oberperfuss. Wait till they see it in the sunshine! We are talking about what we should do tomorrow. Downhill or cross- country? We are expecting nice weather for at least most of this week. The Tyrolean goulash and the Spatzln turned out well.

Sunday morning - Freshly baked bread

Today I did something I've never done before in my life. I got up early to go to the bakery to get fresh bread! I went to Cafe-Konditorei Kirschmair and got a big loaf of their freshly baked Bauernbrot. It's a seedless sour rye. Still warm. Guess what Jim and I are having for breakfast?

Today is a gray day and very windy. That's okay with me, because Jim and I are getting ready to receive our very first guests this afternoon. I will offer them a Brotzeit when they arrive. That literally means "bread-time," so I will put out the various breads and cheeses we have. Last night Jim and I made the seeded crackers again; this time with half rye flour and a lot more seeds, all baked into the crackers. They are very crunchy. Jim thinks they are good. Let's see what our guests have to say. I think I have not perfected the recipe yet.


Jim and I are cleaning the house too. It's mostly the floors that need cleaning. For some strange reason, there is beige carpeting in this house and it needs frequent vacuuming. Attached are some pictures from the house - my herb garden (and CD player) in a very sunny south-facing window, and one of our itsy-bitsy kitchens.

I have been reading up on Tyrolean cooking. Tonight I am making Tyrolean Goulasch with home-made Spätzle (Spatlzn.) There are such great sites on the web!! How did we ever get by before the Internet? Hard to imagine.

When we were cross-country skiing in Seefeld, they were out of trail maps. But I looked it up on the web, and that's how I found out that there was such an extensive network of trails in Leutasch and nearby Scharnitz. Next time we will go to Scharnitz. You can ski over the border into Germany from there.

Leutasch - XC and lunch

Would you all believe me if I said it was another sunny day here in the Tyrol? Well, it was. And so Jim and I headed up to Leutasch, a little further along up the road than Seefeld, but also a fabulous place for cross-country skiing. In fact, more so I think, because it has 260 kilometers of cross-country trails, and instead of being one big ski resort like Seefeld, it is lots of little villages that are connected by cross-country trails. Jim and I split up, because I like to ski in the flat, and he likes to do hills. So we each chose a 5-6 km circuit and met back in the parking lot. Here I am on the trail.

The rest of the photos are of the sights along the trail.

After skiing, Jim and I drove to a restaurant recommended in Regina & Meinrad's book. The name of the Restaurant was "Forellenhof" and of course they specialize in Forellen (Trout.) We got there late and they only had the "kleine Karte," not the full menu, but that was fine too. I had the best smoked trout I've ever had. It was not dry. It was a complete small trout, smoked but still moist and warm, completely filleted, and served with horseradish cream. I also had a small soup with it - bouillion with Flädle (a sort of pancake cut into strips.) Jim had spinach Spätzle (which they call Spatzen here) with smoked trout in a cream sauce with cheese, and a dark beer. I also had a black currant juice, which I love. I am looking in all the supermarkets to try and fine the best brands.



















































The photo with the farm buildings in the brown fields is one I took as we were descending toward Innsbruck on the way back. After we got back to the house, Jim and I went to the sauna at Hotel Krone. They raised the prices!!! I paid 5.5 Euros for a sauna just 2 weeks ago, and now it is 10.5 Euros per person. I think this is because we are now in high season (i.e. school vacations in February) and all the hotels need to take in as much as they can this month. The trails and the restaurants will be more crowded from now on too.

Hey Warren, eat your heart out - Jim was the only man in the sauna with five naked ladies!!!!

Lunch at die Traube in Lans

We were hoping to go cross-country skiing in Leutasch today but it was very foggy and overcast this morning. The clouds slowly lifted during the day, but it wasn't really a great day for visibility. So we went out to lunch, using the "Where Austria Eats" guidebook that Regina and Meinrad kindly lent us. They want us to experience the best of Austrian cuisine and not waste our time eating in bad restaurants. It is a terrific book. One of their personal favorites near us is in the town of Lans, it is called "Wilder Mann," but we are saving that for a special dinner occasion. Lans is up near where Manuela lives. Traube is another recommended place in Lans, more casual, and so we decided to go there. It was very old - one of the oldest restaurants in Tirol- since 1313 and has been in the same family for 15 generations. An unpretentious place, lots of locals go there. The food was terrific, at least mine was. Jim had noodles and dumplings, I had the local wine soup and a Sülze of beef tartare. I couldn't imagine what a tartare head cheese might be like, it was a tartare lightly held together with gelee. Well seasoned, served with vinaigrette. Quite tasty. I ate it with a sourdough rye bread. The wine soup was fantastic, I am going to have to try making that for our guests. Speaking of guests, Jim and I are quite excited to be receiving our first guests on Sunday. Now that we have learned our way around a bit, we are really thrilled to be able to share this gorgeous place with our friends and to explore further and deeper into all aspects of the local culture, outdoors and in.

After lunch we went shopping, again in Innsbruck, where I picked up my new ski pants. I was anxious to walk around exploring, but Jim had limited patience for that. I love wandering around the Atstadt (old town) or even beyond and poking into places that look interesting. Jim said he did not want to do that. So we went food shopping to stock up for the weekend - many stores are closed on Sundays and even afternoon Saturdays. After that, Jim had a rip-roaring shopping headache. We chilled out at the local Cafe-Konditorei Kirschmair in Oberperfuss. It's a pleasant and friendly combination of bakery, cafe and bar. Only thing we didn't like about it was that people smoke in there. They bake their own bread and are open Sunday mornings after 8 AM with freshly baked bread (in case any one has jet lag on arriving here and wants to take an early walk on a Sunday morning!) The gas station also sells bread on Sundays, in case you need to know that. I was tantalized by the fabulous breads we saw everywhere today, but I refrained from buying them for the weekend. You really need to get them fresh every day. We are not used to that!!!!

I found a great recipe for a red cabbage and blood sausage strudel that I want to make. Who's ready for that?

I found Jim's complaint about the music here very funny. Yes, the Hit Radio station that we listen to in the car is recycled oldies from the US, and the local Schlager (hits) are not worth listening to in general, BUT to say that only the US has good music is laughable! How about those famous Austrians, Strauss and Mozart? I got a five-CD set of each of them for a very good price (I think 12 Euros each) and I am enjoying listening to them in the house (even as I write this.) I also like the local Tyrolean folk music very much. It is quite lively and cheerful. We got some CDs of that too. We have CD players in both of our living rooms, as well as the car. So bring your CDs!!

A normal day

Jim went skiing at Kühtai; no photos today, sorry. I took my normal walk, up into the meadows just above our house. I would like to vary my walk and go down to Kematen and Unterperfuss and walk there, but as Jim takes the car skiing I would have to walk. Walking down would not be bad, but then I would have to come back - and it's quite a hike in itself up to Oberperfuss because we are at 800 meters. Maybe I will start taking the local bus down to Kematen and Unterperfuss. Have to get a bus schedule. There is a bus stop very near our house.

I find it hard to believe how much sunshine there is here. Almost every day. We have had only three overcast or rainy days in the almost three weeks that we've been here.

The snow that came this week, along with the sunshine and warm temperatures, has led to some ice on the meadow roads and other roads and paths at higher elevations. So be careful driving, those of you who are coming. And don't forget to bring flip-flops for the sauna. Meinrad and Regina told me a funny story about their sauna experience in Minnesota. I don't know why they found themselves in Minnesota, but it must have been in the winter because they said it was very cold. They were so thrilled to get to their hotel and discover that it had a sauna! Boy were they looking forward to that. So they went down to the sauna, only to be thrown out for being naked! They were disappointed not to be able to use the sauna because they didn't bring bathing suits. We had a good laugh about that. Cultural differences.

Lately I had a craving for blood sausage. I found some at the market in Innsbruck, it was very good. Different from what I had as a child, but still good, actually even better because it had less fat in it. And I get to eat different kinds of head cheese, too! Another one of my favorites.

I went to see Manuela again today. She and I are now calling each other "du." I am enjoying listening to her dialect and am understanding more and more of it. I should have taken the camera, because she lives up on the mountain outside of Aldrans, where there is an amazing view looking down into Innsbruck. Her husband works for Swarovski, and she said she could get me crystals wholesale. Will have to let Sue know that.

Skiing at Schlitz 2000 in the Stubaital

These are Jim's photos from his skiing today. He said the snow was fantastic and powdery up to his knees!


Yesterday was a quiet day. It was rainy, cold and gray. The good news is that the rain down here in the valley was snow up in the mountains, Jim said there was 8 inches of new snow. We went shopping in Innsbruck, to our favorite market stalls, and then went to the movies. We found a really nice cinema near the Altstadt. It is a multiplex and they have different movies every day. We saw "P.S. I love you." It had a great cast (Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick Jr.) but the movie itself was vacuous. But we will definitely go back to that cinema. They show movies in English as well as German. We saw the German-dubbed version and Jim and I both understood everything perfectly.

I made seeded crackers today, from a recipe that Jim's cousin Otto Sagmeister gave me (verbally.) They came out okay, not as good as Otto made them. But I think I know now what to do to improve the outcome and will definitely make them again. Jim said they are quite good enough to eat! I also make Schnitzel and potato salad from Otto's recipes.

Monday lunch in Oberlech

As we were leaving Bregenz, Karin suggested we take the high road over Lech and Zurs, rather than go under the mountains in the tunnel. It was a great idea, as the weather was great. Jim and I stopped in Lech for lunch. Karin also told us where the best bakery in Lech is. This is a photo of the bakery. There was another old bread oven outside of it.








The little house on the left is the Cheese and Meat shop that some of you may remember from last January in Lech. Jim and I stopped there as well, to stock up on Bergkäse (Mountain cheese) and local Bündnerfleisch (thin smoked ham.)




























Jim and I hiked up to Oberlech (getting QUITE warm on the way up!) and had lunch on the Terrace at Montana's, left. Everyone was out enjoying the warm sunshine. After lunch we rode the Bergbahn down to Lech. Then we had a beautiful drive from Lech through the
mountains and back to Innsbruck and Oberperfuss.

Jim on the Terrace at Montana's.

Sunday in Bregenz and Lindau

Sunday was a very busy day. We drove to Bregenz from the Bregenzerwald on Saturday night, and stayed with Jim's cousin Markus and his wife Karin. They have two daughters, Caroline and Alexandra. They let us stay in their guest apartment, which is so beautiful and comfortable I want to move in and stay there! On the left is Alexandra with their new dog, Amy, a long-haired Chihuahua. Amy tries to be ferocious, which is pretty funny.











In the morning after breakfast, we went to the famous Kunsthaus in Bregenz (photo left,) the museum of modern art, where Jim's cousin Rudi is the curator. Rudi always gives us terrific tours through the museum, which mostly does one-man shows every two months in its four-story building. This time, we caught the last days of the exhibit honoring the architect of the Kunsthaus, Peter Zumthor. Soon they will be starting an exhibit of the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, and I am looking forward to seeing that too.










After the exhibit, we took a walk along the shore of Lake Constanz with Rudi. We walked to the Bregenzer Festspielhaus, an opera stage built on the water, where this summer they will be performing Tosca. Jim and I expect to go to the Bregenzer Festspiele for the first time this summer, because we are planning to go to a reunion of descendants of the Jewish Community in nearby Hohenems (from which Jim and his cousins in Bregenz are descended) at the end of July.

What was really funny is that the next James Bond movie is going to be filmed in Bregenz this spring, and that next door to the Kunsthaus there was a casting call for extras ins the James Bond movie. 4,500 people have shown up there, in evening dress as requested, to be interviewed to be extras in the film. Many of them were in line and were milling around in front of the Kunsthaus. One of Rudi's friends, an architect, was very pleased to note that by the time we left the Kunsthaus, the line to get in to the Zumthor exhibit was longer than the line of wanna-be extras for the James Bond film!

After our walk, we went to Jim's cousin Theresia's apartment, where we spent a few very nice hours with her and she served us a terrific lunch. That family are great cooks!! She lent us some of her books in German to read. She had recommended Martin Suter's "Die Dunkle Seite des Mondes," which I am really enjoying. It's about a merger-and-acquisitions lawyer who takes a bad mushroom trip.

Theresia wanted to take a walk with us, but we already had an appointment to drive just over into Germany into the next town, Lindau, to see my cousin Jutta. Some of you may remember her son Christoph, who came and spent three weeks with us in Newton and New Hampshire eleven years ago. It was nice to see Christoph again, he was there too, with his fiancee Andrea. So we had coffee and cake with Jutta and Martin and Christoph and Andrea. It was really nice to see them.

This is me with Jutta below.

After coffee with the Cosalters, we drove back to Bregenz to have dinner at Jim's cousin Otto's house. Otto and his wife Lisi recently built a beautiful new house, very modern, on a hillside looking out over Bregenz and Lake Constanz. Otto is a fabulous cook, and he spoiled us with another great dinner. Rudi, Theresia, Markus and Karin were there too. So it was a really enjoyable family evening.

We received a nice e-mail from Otto's younger daughter, Bianca, who lives in Innsbruck and just had a baby, a little boy named Konstantin. We are hoping to get together with Bianca soon. She is a professional chef. (No big surprise there!)

Bregenzerwald

We drove to the town of Hittisau in the Bregenzerwald to meet up with Jim's cousin Regina Pichler and her husband Meinrad. We love the Bregenzerwald. We had nice weather and when we arrived, in late afternoon, we all immediately set out on a hike. We hiked up the mountain, over the border into Germany, where we had refreshments at a cozy little Gasthaus before climbing down. We laughed because on the trail Jim got an SMS message on his cellphone. We were wondering who it could be, and it tuned out to be the German cellular company, welcoming him to Germany!!

The sun was setting, and the hike was quite atmospheric as the last rays of the sun made for a nice Alpenglow. When we got to Meinrad & Regina's hotel, the Gasthaus Schiff, we went in the sauna to warm up and then dressed for dinner. The dinner was awfully nice. If any of you are ever there, I would recommend the Gasthaus Schiff in Hittisau. They had a beautiful outdoor heated pool (you swim under a wall to get outside) as well as a nice sauna. Nice and hot. Meinrad and Regina treated us to dinner as well as to some more excellent Austrian wines. It was a lovely day.

Maschgerschaug'n

The Maschgerschaug'n this evening was an extremely interesting event. It was held in the school gymnasium and there were hundreds of people there. They sat at long tables, or stood on the sides or up in the viewer's balcony. Beer, wine, and food was sold. There was a Tyrolean band, and people were dancing. They all seemed to know how to do the dances! I guess everyone learns to dance here. In between the band playing, the Maschgergruppen came out. They were all groups of men, about 20 or so to a group. They wore fantastic costumes, headpieces and masks. They paraded, stomped, danced, used weird instruments like noisemakers, and some did the Schuhplattler. Each group was a little different in costume. One group was all witches, with horrible masks, brooms and staffs. They did a dance where one witch was carried up on a chair. It reminded me of a Bar Mitvah!

Fasching is supposed to be a Christian, in fact Catholic, thing. But I don't believe it. It is supposed to be celebrating, going wild, and letting down your hair before the serious fasting time of Lent. Actually, it is very pagan and stems from Pagan times. I read that "traditional processions of the Perchten welcome the springtime. The Schönperchten ("beautiful Perchts") represent the birth of new life in the awakening nature, the Schiachperchten ("ugly Perchts") represent the dark spirits of wintertime. Farmers yearn for warmer weather and the Perchtenlauf (Run of Perchts; typical scenery) is a magical expression of that desire." Also, it "was a way of driving out the evil spirits of winter and encouraging the coming of spring and good crops. Ugly masks worn for this purpose are still worn in carnival festivals in southern Germany. Karneval can be traced back to pagan Roman festivals, which may explain why Cologne and Mainz, two ancient cities with Roman history, have such big carnivals. In the Middle Ages, Karneval gave the people a break from the tightly structured class system, as they were able to hide their social background behind imaginative masks and costumes. Poor people were able to mix with all other levels of society and share fun with them. In those days people would dress up as knights, damsels and even priests, as a way of making fun of them. In a similar way, people these days sometimes wear masks which make fun of well-known politicians or celebrities. "

The bad news is, I took my camera but the battery ran out as soon as we got there. The good news is, there is another Maschgerschaug'n next weekend, and some of our friends will actually be able to go and see it with us! I will make reservations, and Warren, Barbara, and Ann can experience it. It is up on the mountain in a hut restaurant. We promise to take pictures next time!!!!

Austrian History on Wikipedia

We were up late last night, reading about Austrian history on Wikipedia and making phone calls to our cousins in Bregenz and Lindau about visiting them this weekend. Since there are five of Jim's cousins and one of mine, it took quite a lot of coordinating to organize the weekend's social program. We will drive to Bregenz tomorrow morning and come back on Monday.

I am totally in awe of what Wikipedia has to offer! First I looked up Austria and read all about the history of Austria. Jim printed out the article about the Austrian Anschluss in 1938. Then I read about Ötzi the Iceman, who was found near here. Jim and I are thinking of going to the Museum where he is, it's in Bolzano, one and a half hours south of here by car, just over the border into the Italian Dolomites (near where we were hiking this summer.) Also a gorgeous area. You just don't run out of gorgeousness around here.

Then I read about the dialects here - how fascinating! There are actually sites written in what they call the "Alemannic" language, which is the dialect family that is spoken in western Austria, including Vorarlberg where Jim's cousins live, and includes Swiss German and some parts of southern Germany, as well as Alsatian. Frau Balogh told me that this dialect is very different from the one that is spoken here. I found that hard to believe, because they sound the same to me - a strange form of German that is hard to understand. Well it turns out, I learned from Wikipedia, that 1500 years ago, the local Celto-Romanic population was overrun in the west by the Alemannic German tribes who came down from the Rhine in what is now Germany (and Alsace in France) but Tyrol and further east was settled by the Bavarians. The Alemanni and the Bavarians spoke different kinds of German languages and the dialect here in Tyrol is descended from Bavarian. Wikipedia has posts in both of these languages, as well as many other obscure German dialects such as Frisian. Makes for very interesting reading!!!! So that explains why Frau Balogh said that people from Tyrol cannot understand the dialect of the people from Voralberg. After all, she said, it is 200 kilometers away!!!!

Jim and I went into Innsbruck to pick up my hiking boots. The shoemaker/bootfitter put inserts around the heel, let's see if that helps. Then we drove through the old part of town, Hötting, and up to the Hungerburg, the mountain just at the north part of Innsbruck. This is the view looking down at Innsbruck from the Hungerburg. There is then a cable car that goes up to near the very top of the mountain where the good snow is now and that is where people were skiing. On the way down we stopped at a Konditorei and bought cake to eat at home. I chose a meringue-nut cake (sound familiar, Karen?) But both Jim and I were disappointed, they weren't all that good. The cake that Karen and George made me for my birthday was MUCH better!!!!! I guess we are jaded. Or maybe there really IS bad cake in Austria and we were unlucky enough to find it. Hard to believe.

Fasching is approaching, they sell costumes and masks in the stores, just like we do at Halloween. We are going to a "Maschgerabend" tonight here in Oberperfuss, will tell you all about that afterwards.