I know that I've previously mentioned how despite the slightly awkward teaching times, I prefer the evening school to the secondary school. One of the reasons for this is that I get on particularly well with one of the teachers there. She's quite young and spent four years in Ireland. With half of my family being Irish, I've spent a fair amount of time in Ireland, so we initially bonded over that and have got on really well ever since. We'd been trying to find time to go for a coffee for the past week, and finally managed to on Monday. There was some confusion about the meeting place, as she wanted to meet at the Leopoldskroner Weiher (pond/lake), which I didn't realise was the Teich (another word for pond/lake) that is right in front of my house! However we managed to uncross our wires, met up and went for a stroll around the lake. (For those of you that have seen The Sound of Music and know the big white house (Schloss Leopoldskron), I live on that lake, which is stunning on a daily basis.
Afterwards, we wandered into the Altstadt and went for a coffee at Cafe Furst. As Mozart himself came from Salzburg, another famous export here is the 'Mozartkugel' - a chocolate ball made with marzipan. Linda (the teacher) explained that there is actually some controversy surrounding the Mozartkugel. Cafe Furst actually made the 'original' Mozartkugel, which comes in a silver wrapper, whereas the more commonly found ones wrapped in gold are just mass-made imitations. Scandal in Salzburg...
 |
| The real deal. |
 |
Don't be fooled by these guys!
After sitting and chatting for about three hours, we headed back and went our separate ways. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon; the conversation flowed, the scenery was beautiful (as per), the cake delicious, and, as a bonus, it was all in German!
|
In a blog post a couple of weeks ago, I'd written that I was still craving a Chinese after the fiasco of the Chinese takeaway in Durham. Some of the other TAs had seen the post, and were thinking along the same lines, so Emily invited us over that evening for a Chinese takeaway and some drinks. Unfortunately, they didn't have either duck pancakes or seaweed on the menu. The food I went for was yummy, but it just wasn't quite right so I think I'll have to wait until Christmas to have the Chinese food I'm used to and craving (which undoubtedly isn't like real Chinese food at all!). As Michael McIntyre had gone down so well with all of the Americans that we'd shown him to so far, we decided to watch his new DVD. Sure enough, everyone was cracking up and I think we converted a few more of the Americans.
On Wednesday, I went to the lecture on trans-cultural communication again. I found it really interesting, and was glad I made the extra effort to sign up to the university classes. Someone in the conversation class on Tuesday had mentioned a 'Stammtisch' that would be taking place on Wednesday evening. Alice, a TA, and I decided to go along and check it out. There was a table full of people that we thought it might be, but instead of approaching them straight away, we had a little wander around the bar just to make sure that it couldn't be anyone else. This was when we saw one man, the man who had mentioned the Stammtisch, sitting alone at a table. We had seen him, and he had seen us, so we had to go and sit down, no matter how awkward the situation could potentially be. He was actually really chatty, so we didn't need to worry at all. Although he was also English, the three of us were all chatting away in German. We stayed for about 45 minutes, which went really quickly, and then went to Emily's house as she had cooked mac and cheese for dinner. We had a nice evening there and I would definitely go to another 'Stammtisch' event in the future, although hopefully one with slightly more people!
On Thursday I headed straight for the Altstadt after the conversation class, as it was the opening of the Christkindlmarkt! The entire platz where it is held had been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. The small little huts sell every and any Christmas ware that you could possibly think of, the square was lit up by hundreds of Christmas lights, and the smell of Gluhwein, roasted chesnuts and freshly baked pretzels was in the air. It was a magical scene. We arrived just in time to see the parade of men in their lederhosen and green hats marching and yodelling along to a brass band. We heard the speeches and watched as the huge Christmas tree was illuminated at the words, "Lichter an". The end of the opening ceremony was marked by a huge cannon and several gun shots, which echoed through the city of Salzburg. It was a special evening for everyone, but especially for the Americans, as this was also the evening of 'Thanksgiving'. I will admit to getting excited about Christmas every year. This year, however, through the build-up of the snow on the mountains, the authentic Christmas markets and the magic of Salzburg at Christmas, I will be exceptionally so!
 |
| The parade |
 |
| Christkindlmarkt |
 |
| Mmmmmm.... |
Disclaimer: Photos taken from other TAs as mine doesn't photograph well at night. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the evening, although a photo can't nearly capture how magical it was to be there!
No comments:
Post a Comment