Box of Chocolates
Thursday, February 16th, 2012As the “Forest Gump” saying goes, you never know what you’re gonna get. Living here in Austria is a bit like that. Our town organizes all sorts of events and really brings in the tourists. If you read the local papers (which is still pretty difficult for me) or stop by the tourist office, you can find out all the activities from art exhibits to concerts. I tend to just wait and see what’s happening, and since we live on the main square it usually doesn’t take too long for us to find out.
However, sometimes it’s still a surprise… Last Thursday the peaceful afternoon was disturbed by what sounded like firecrackers being set off. The loud popping turned out to be men dressed in old-fashioned outfits cracking whips walking down the street past our house. They were followed by something I can’t really describe, so I’ll just post a picture of it below. These things each had a few huge cowbells tied around their waists and make quite a racket while they danced down the street.
In about 15 minutes they were gone, leaving me stunned and stumped. After a little research on the internet, I found out that they are called Kurents and are from Slovenia. They help scare away Winter, and were invited here as part of a cultural exchange as we get ready for Fasching this week. Hopefully they bring some nice weather!
halftime