Season's Greetings

  

For several years have we been looking forward to being in Germany during the Advent season. After all, Germany is the home of Christmas markets, with all the atmosphere, treats and warm drinks that get you into the right holiday spirit. When living in Edmonton Pierre always felt homesick during Advent and Christmas time. So naturally we made every effort to make the month of December extra special. Munich has quite a number and variety of Christmas markets to offer. We really liked and often enjoyed the traditional Christmas market in the courtyard of the Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs near our apartment in the center of the city. Competing for our attention was the nearby medieval Christmas market at the Siemens headquarters, and of course the Christkindl Markt am Marienplatz in the Altstadt (to name a few). But even the alternative Tollwood Festival on the Oktoberfest fields excited us with all its lights, young crowds and ethnic cousine. But we didn't limit ourselves to our Munich backyard, so to say. We traveled to Innsbruck in Austria and to Verona, Italy, where we experienced a magical time visiting the display of numerous nativity scenes from around the world in the ancient Roman amphitheatre.

And then there was our trip to the small town of Ried in Austria. We had heard about the 'Nikolaus' procession and subsequent 'Krampus', which is a tradition in Austria and particularly in the area of Tirol. We had no idea of what to expect from this event.

Well, the Nikolaus procession was nice, with Nikolaus and two angels coming to the tiny town square, where children and families had gathered to traditional Christmas brass music. All the kids swarmed Nikolaus and his helpers, and even Sam and Jenna got gift bags with sweet treats.

Then, families with little kids retired for the evening, and members of the local fire station moved their firefighting equipment into place, barricades were positioned and the crowd of older kids and adults gathered behind them in anticipation. After some time something truly bewildering started: Groups of devilish creatures entered the square accompanied by techno and hard-rock music. The creatures blew on horns producing bone-chilling siren sounds and carried all kinds of fireworks and torches (hence the fire crew). Kids who got too close or were taunting the devils were beaten with rutes made from sticks. Jenna was scared and Karla took her to the warmth and safety of a nearby restaurant, while Sam stayed on Papa's shoulders to watch the mayhem. Who knew that Austria could be this 'tribal'. Our video gives an account of this crazy event. 

****WARNING****GRAPHIC CONTENT****