How time flies by! The first Advent (Sunday) has come and gone. Christmas season has officially started in Austria. And with it the regular hustling and bustling and my avoidance of the famous Viennese shopping streets. Just to give you an image of the whole thing, it’s like the day after Thanksgiving at the mall, only four times this month. If the commerce chamber had their way it would be eight times a month, but stores are closed on Sundays to maintain mental health of all parties involved. According to some statistics I’ve seen, the Austrian spends over $500 in Christmas gifts (family budget) a year. Considering the average income is about $2000/month before taxes, this is no small amount. The Austrian is still conservative when it comes to shopping, the personal shopping experience is highly valued. So internet shopping is rather moderate this time of year. This of course comes at a high price, as over 200 vehicles got towed this Saturday in Vienna alone, with price tags starting at $250 for the privilege of getting your car back. Merry Christmas! And they say Americans don’t go anywhere without their cars. But I say we probably would, given half the decent transit system that Austria has, especially Vienna. Picture not having to wait longer than 5 min. for a bus/tram/train…now hear the Hallelujah chorus in your head….

Now back to the wonderful Advent time in Vienna. Aside from the busy shopping areas, which you can actually avoid quite successfully, there are lights, decorations, even some snow this year, Christmas cookies and goodies, and most importantly, Punschstandln (punch stall) everywhere. Punch or mulled wine drinking is a happy time in Vienna. You can have all conceivable hot drink combinations from just plain high alcohol content punch or mulled wine to crazy combinations like Amaretto punch with whipped cream. Sounds insane but I had one and it was mighty tasty, sure beats the traditional eggnog. Punch drinking or serving can also be charity work, often the drinking or serving is for a good cause. Punch drinking is a social activity, to be enjoyed with friends or co-workers. So have a cup of cheer!

The Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) are famous in the German speaking world and far beyond. Vienna alone has over 15 of them. After all, they have an over 700 year Weihnachtsmarkt tradition, they know what they’re doing. The most notable are the Rathaus, Schönbrunn, Altes AKH, and the Freyung markets. Our to-do-list for this Advent season includes visiting at least two Christmas markets that we haven’t seen before. What does one do at these markets? Well, in a way, they are not much different from market fairs, except you’ve got that magical holiday feeling to go with it. The ones that are off the beaten path often have beautiful Christmas art for sale, various booths with everything from candles to grandma knitted mittens. Then there is all the market food: baked potatoes with different sauces, raclette with bread, dumplings, potato crisps, cinnamon and poppyseed cakes, crêpes and waffles, sweet and spicy Bohemian pastry, warm apple desserts, punch and mulled wine, tea and hot chocolate, and of course Maroni. We will make sure to report, with pictures, from all of our market trips.

As for other Advent traditions, there are too many to write about in detail here. Every family has their own, after all, Christmas season in Austria is very much about family. An Adventkalender is absolutely necessary. This year we are skipping the usual chocolate ones (not to say there isn’t plenty of chocolate in the house) and doing this one for the girly girl. Another absolute must is the Adventkranz, just as important as the actual Christmas tree. Every Advent Sunday a candle is lit, until, on Christmas eve, you have all four candles burning. Families gather around the Adventkranz and read Christmas stories or sing Christmas carols. And finally, another traditional Advent activity is baking Christmas cookies. There are thousands of recipes out there, the hard part is deciding which ones to make. I am set to bake this weekend. I will have three 7 year olds at my house, all wanting to try out their cookie baking talents and a 6×3 feet kitchen. This will be fun! The baked goods, if deemed worthy, will end up at the school Advent celebration.

So stay tuned this holiday season for more reports from the Green Forest! But before you go, here is a nice list of Advent Calendars on the web:

• Richard Sellmer Advent Pages
• Free Advent Calendar to print
• The Christmas Tree
• Christmas Around the World
• Christmas at the North Pole, send a letter to Santa
• German Adventskalender
• A Christmas Poem, in the “new German”

Today is Thanksgiving in the US. This has always been my favorite holiday, right up there with Christmas. Now that I am an adult and don’t care so much about the presents (since I buy them for myself, hehehe), I think I like Thanksgiving even more. Probably because it is by far not as comercialized as the other holidays. Thanksgiving to me means family, and the beginning of a time of year that is still magical to me if I tune out all the marketing noise, and it is a time to reflect, more so than New Years. Of course I stuff myself silly with turkey, since I only eat it once a year, but in a good way (that is to say I don’t get sick :)). And I love cranberry sauce, can’t have turkey without it. All other Thanksgiving foods I don’t really care about. My sister looooves gravy. So we always have a pot of gravy and a pot of cranberry sauce. This year I know there will be gravy, but probably less cranberry sauce. It is my second year abroad without a proper Thanksgiving, and yes, that hurts a bit….but I am thankful we are all well and safe this Thanksgiving, even if on two different continents.

I am thankful for her…and for us…and for her…and for him…and for her. I am especially thankful this year for our new life in Austria, right now it is the best place for us.

God bless us, everyone!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…

It is Maroni Zeit (roasted chestnuts time) in Vienna! They are not roasted on open fires (for safety reasons), but in giant chestnut roasters. As the weather gets colder and colder the Maronibrater set up their chestnut huts all over town. There is hardly a street corner where you can’t find these comfort foods. They come in little bags, ranging from 7 to 12 pieces for 1.50 to 2.00€. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but they are satisfying, I usually buy the small bag and I’m full. The huts also sell Kartoffelpuffer (hash brown patties) and roast potato wedges with various dressings (garlic, cocktail, ketchup, barbeque, etc). All these are wonderful foods for warming you from the inside out.

Here in Austria people are still very much in tune with the change of seasons and how that affects our bodies and psyche. It is truly amazing, but every season comes with its own healing and strenghtening powers in the form of herbs, vegetables or fruit. So the Austrian prepares for winter by eating lots of vitamin rich vegetables and fruit and drinking extract of elder juice. In spring they drink Entschlakungstee (detox tea) and eat stewed nettles to cleanse their blood. A lot of herbs, fruits and vegetables are known to have particular healing or well-being properties, you can constantly read about it in magazines, in the stores or watch it on TV. The Vienna city website, for example, often brings articles about what to eat and drink for the season and how to stay healthy.

Long before potatoes had made it to Vienna, Maroni were eaten here all winter long. The old Austrians must have known that Maroni are good for the nerves. They contain lots of vitamin B and phosphor. They are highly recommended for stressful times. What a wonderful pick-me-up for bleak November days! They also contain “good” carbohydrates, without any of the fat. So if you are out and about, running errands or doing Christmas shopping, it is worth picking up a little bag which is a little meal in itself. And these little bags are high quality, controlled by the ever vigilant Vienna market officials. If you get two or more rotten nuts in your little bag, you can go complain at the Marktamt, and they take their job seriously.

So where do you find the best Maroni in Vienna? Hard to say, you sort of follow your nose. Often it is a convenience buy, like right before getting on the subway, or while you shop the downtown pedestrian zone. Mostly the Maroni have to bee nice and plump, not too dark or dried out, and really hot when you buy them. They are at their best at the beginning of the season. Although the Maroni season goes from October through March, I find they are not as tasty in March, just like the apples are not as juicy in spring.

So what to do if there are no Maroni street vendors where you live? That’s easy! All you need to do is buy the desired quantity of chestnuts at the local market or produce store. Then you need to make two cuts across each nut (a big “X”) to avoid explosion, trust me, it’s not pretty and a cleaning nightmare. Afterwards soak the chestnuts in warm water for about 10 minutes, it makes them easier to peel afterwards. Drain and lay out on a baking tray covered with aluminium foil. Pop into the 400 °F pre-heated oven with a small oven proof dish filled with water to retain chestnut moisture. After 15-20 min. take out a nut every 5 min. to check if they are done. As soon as your taste buds are satisfied take them all out of the oven and enjoy peeping hot. Mahlzeit!. If you want to know more about chestnuts, customs and recipes, here is a good book recommendation for you: The Chestnut Book.