Most villages in Austria have their own Kirchtag ('Church Day') or Kirchwoche. The neighbouring village to Nötsch, just over the Gail on the other side of the valley, is Feistritz, and they certainly know how to have a traditional event. Whitsun in Austria is Pfingsten, and the week is the Kirchtag for Feistritz, kicking off on Whit-Monday (National Holiday) with the KUFENSTECHEN. For further historical context, look it up, but suffice to say it involves young men bareback-riding horses at high speed and trying to smash a barrel on a stick by wielding heavy cast iron clubs. The winner gets the first dance with a fair maiden apparently. Plenty of an excuse for dressing up in the Tracht and Dirndel, drinking copious quantities of alcohol and having a knees-up.
The festival of the Twelfth Night and the Sternsingers (star singers). Everywhere is closed but Marko's. Virgin snow. A sprinke of frosty icing on the house,
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Our first family trip to No. 50. We realise how close we are to the borders of Italy and Slovenia as we follow road signs to Udine. We haven't been able to see the lake on the way out of Klagenfurt as the mist hangs low, threaded through the frosted pines. As we enter our valley the sun is setting and the mountains are layered over each like shadows. We practice German at the Spar store outside the village (reading labels is a good way to get into it). Dusk. The Christmas lights glow as we drive through the main square. Everything seems familiar from hours spent staring at the photos taken before we bought the house. We eat great pizzas at Cafe Marko, knowing we'll be back for more. We walk them off around Saak, the adjoining hamlet. It's pictureque; wood piles, balaconies decorated for the season, and lanterns flickering on the steps. Inside, the cottage hasn't warmed up yet and we don't have the hang of the wood burners so we can see our breath. The view from the main bedroom is what we've dreamed of - mountain, steeple, tiled and wooden rooves and pines. Lying in bed we can see the stars bright against the clear sky.
Next day we buy some home comforts at XXL Luxe in the nearby town of Villach. No. 50 now has hotwater bottles, a rug, and a fantastic set of pans for home cooking! And from the Adeg grocery and hardware store in Noetsch - wine, beer, a pail and and kindling. We drive to nearby Hermagor for hot chocolate, poppy seed and cinnamon buns, gluhwein and the Krampus festival.
Krampus is the mythical beast ( who accompanies St Nikolaus in this part of Austria. Scarey hairy with a devilish tongue and eyes and bells on his back, he (teenage boys) wanders the streets looking for naughty children and women to beat with sticks - all suitably frightening with great masks and firelit torches. Halloween meets the Gruffalo - we loved this addition to our Advent calendar.
In the morning we discover the mill and bakery shop opposite the house where you can can buy eggs and semmel rolls for breakfast. Eden is given a Krampus loaf with a glacee cherry tongue and raisin eyes. We take the mountain road via Bad Bleiberg and a rainbow to the centre of Villach, to its small Christmas market (pop up beer tents and giant lanterns). In the afternoon we walk up to the Schloss with its goose guards. The trees are full of mistletoe and we are above the cloud line. We come down guided by the stream. By now the house is cosy and warm, We curl up to read in front of the fire, not wanting to leave.
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