I arrived in Kufstein, Austria yesterday morning, after a mediocre overnight train ride from Paris to Munich. It is snowy here, in the Alps, but the winter has only ju
st begun and it is actually warmer than Paris. It is hard to believe I have only been here two days, as I have already done so much! My friend Klaus, who I met in Istanbul, has been a great and welcoming host.
We hiked up the sledding trail to view the sunset over the town of Kufstein, it's castle, and the distant snowy mountain peaks. This area is a very popular place for tourists and for snowboarding, skiing, and sledding competitions. The mountains are gorgeous! Last night we went out with Klaus's friends for a birthday party (damn do those Austrians drink!). Much of the conversation was in the Tirolian dialect of German, but people were often kind enough to translate for me in English, and I was heartily welcomed into joining into the jovial laughter of the circle of friends. They are very proud to be Tirolian, and I could imagine this crowd at a heavy metal concert, though they are all sweethearts. We went around the table telling what animal we would be, and it turns out we are all predators.... . I learned of a tradition here where men dress up as demons to scare winter away. Apparently there is a large bonfire, and the men carry large branches, wear large bells, and drink heavily; it can get a bit violent, but seems like a really fascinating tradition. We will spend Winter Solstice with a fire in the forest and New Year's up in the mountains at a cow farm.
Today we drove to a nearby village to take a walk around a frozen lake. Steamy clouds rose towards the sun from the lake surface, and tree branches were covered
in geometrical ice crystals. I love the quant traditional architecture of the buildings here! The houses, which I think I would call lodges (sometimes decorated with deer antlers), have carved wooden balconies, which actually call to my mind the wood design in Nepal. On the drive from Munchen, I spotted towers with fantastical domed roofs. There are two castles in Kufstein, one which I can see from Klaus's balcony. I will explore them soon...
st begun and it is actually warmer than Paris. It is hard to believe I have only been here two days, as I have already done so much! My friend Klaus, who I met in Istanbul, has been a great and welcoming host.
We hiked up the sledding trail to view the sunset over the town of Kufstein, it's castle, and the distant snowy mountain peaks. This area is a very popular place for tourists and for snowboarding, skiing, and sledding competitions. The mountains are gorgeous! Last night we went out with Klaus's friends for a birthday party (damn do those Austrians drink!). Much of the conversation was in the Tirolian dialect of German, but people were often kind enough to translate for me in English, and I was heartily welcomed into joining into the jovial laughter of the circle of friends. They are very proud to be Tirolian, and I could imagine this crowd at a heavy metal concert, though they are all sweethearts. We went around the table telling what animal we would be, and it turns out we are all predators.... . I learned of a tradition here where men dress up as demons to scare winter away. Apparently there is a large bonfire, and the men carry large branches, wear large bells, and drink heavily; it can get a bit violent, but seems like a really fascinating tradition. We will spend Winter Solstice with a fire in the forest and New Year's up in the mountains at a cow farm.
Today we drove to a nearby village to take a walk around a frozen lake. Steamy clouds rose towards the sun from the lake surface, and tree branches were covered
in geometrical ice crystals. I love the quant traditional architecture of the buildings here! The houses, which I think I would call lodges (sometimes decorated with deer antlers), have carved wooden balconies, which actually call to my mind the wood design in Nepal. On the drive from Munchen, I spotted towers with fantastical domed roofs. There are two castles in Kufstein, one which I can see from Klaus's balcony. I will explore them soon...
1 comment:
i heard your laughter in the wind and the sky parted with one of your smiles...miss u!!!! portland is under a blanket of snow....
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