Short Trips – a week with the Larry

wolfsberg austria jauseIn an already busy year of visits and holidays, we had one last visitor to our town at the beginning of September, wedged between a trip to Crete and a holiday in India. At this time of year, the weather should be lovely… you would think. In the past we’ve often spent the first weekend in September in Italy, where it’s still warm enough to swim, but most of the crowds are gone.

Well… not this year. The weekend my friend Larry was with us saw it rain almost the entire time. Luckily she was fresh off the plane, hopped up with jetlag, and had been here before, so all she wanted to do was… well… whatever happens.

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Four seasons, four years, four photos – fawesome!

This is a photography project, four years in the making. Now, I’m no photographer, I have no patience – I stand and I shoot. With this project I exhibited persistence rather than skill. I went back to the same places, in the middle of each season, to see what the differences between the four seasons really were. The results, for all my amateur skills, are pretty cool. Have a look – Wolfsberg – four seasons – enjoy!

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Things I love about this town

There’s so much to love about my town! On my frequent runs/walks, I have gathered a collection of some of my favourite sights. Enjoy!

Wolfsberg - ducksThe ducks

Somehow the ducks here seem to be cuter than in other places. Now, I know that’s not true, because ducks fly and are therefore found everywhere, but our ducks always seem to be happy, playing about in the river, regardless of the weather, and just bringing a smile to people’s lips.

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The hills are alive… with the smell of poo

The hills are alive with poo
Seems innocent enough

Unlike what the rest of the world thinks, the Sound of Music is not Austria’s national film – barely anyone has even heard of it, let alone watched it!

To be fair, in Austria, the hills are alive with the sound of music, mostly the accordion, however in spring in the country, the hills come alive with something else entirely… they come alive with the smell of poo.

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Stadtfest (Town Festival)

Summer in Austria equals festival time! On any given weekend there’s usually something going on, be it a small, local event or a bigger, region-wide festival that completely takes over.

I have visited a number of town festivals over the last few years and although some of the bigger ones are a lot of fun, there’s nothing better than simply walking the 10 minutes to the Wolfsberg city centre when it’s our turn. Everyone in town turns out to crowd the streets, catch up with one another and party the night away. But no matter the size or the occasion, there’s definitely common elements to all.

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A surprise visit – a wintery weekend in Wolfsberg with my brother

The news that my brother would be suddenly and very surprisingly dropping in to visit for a weekend, quickly led to some distressing thoughts about what on earth we would do while he was with us. Because while an Austrian winter wonderland is a sight to behold, it actually wasn’t that cold, and there was no snow in the valley. The nearby lakes weren’t frozen and the mountains were merely specked with patches of dirty snow.

Brother wolfsberg hiking
He’s coming to visit!

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Introducing Krampus, Austria’s Christmas devil, terrifying little kids into behaving

 

Krampus - Austrian Christmas tradition
Welcome to Austrian Christmas traditions!

Austrians have some strange folklore, but perhaps the one which is the most disturbing, especially for kids, is the Krampus. Saint Nicholas is the good guy that rewards the well-behaved kids with gifts on December 6th. But instead of simply telling kids in Austria that he simply won’t come if they are naughty, what they get told is the following:

“If you are naughty the Krampus will find you, pack you in his sack, and take you back with him to hell.” Continue reading

10 Things to do in Wolfsberg in Summer

wolfsberg1_gen
There is some beautiful scenery in the area

Hanging in a small town of less than 26,000 people, 45 minutes away from a decent-sized city… boring, you might say. Who would come and stay here? Well, for those of you who don’t mind a bit of a rural retreat, I’ve put together a list of ten things you can do in Wolfsberg in summer, all of which could be done without access to a car (though a bike might come in handy for a couple of them. Seriously, this town is a gem!  Continue reading