Austria – Andorf

2011 December —–

On 23 December, Hermann accompanied us on the train to Munich and saw us safely on the train to Passau, where we were met at the station by my son, Len, and his brother-in-law, Markus. We drove the 20 minutes to Andorf where Markus, his wife Claudia, and their two children, Marco and Lara were our hosts in their 150 year old house. It was originally built as an orphanage then used as a convent. Markus’ father lives on the main floor and the young family occupies the two upper floors.

We had barely arrived when Claudia asked if I wanted to accompany her and the children to the town hall where the Bethlehem candle was being presented. They have a lovely tradition where a candle that was brought from Bethlehem, much like the Olympic torch, is presented to the Bürgermeister (Mayor) and he then uses it to re-light candles that householders have brought from home in hurricane lanterns. The original candle is brought up the street in a horse drawn carriage, with a lot of eager anticipation from the locals. Little Marco rushed to the front of the crowd to get his family’s candle lit and, with much pride, carried it home.

Markus used to be a baker and Claudia teaches nutrition. The food was amazing! Markus would have 3 different kinds of freshly baked bread for us every morning. Claudia, very much into organic ingredients, made the most amazing dishes – and all of them super healthy! Muesli with fresh nuts and dried fruits, yogurt, cheeses (what we Canadians would consider as gourmet but for the Austrians it is ‘just cheese’), hams, procuitto (so lean it was heavenly), homemade jams and jellies, organic nutella, fresh ground horseradish, fresh fruit and fruit juice, and coffee so strong and tasty it would be a sin to add milk or sugar. This was only for breakfast!

Christmas Eve is the big ‘stay at home with immediate family day’ in Austria. Claudia spent the day in the kitchen preparing. In the late afternoon, everyone (except Claudia, who had secret children preparations) went to the Catholic Church to watch the Children Christmas Pageant – Marco & Lara did not participate. It is a massive church built in 1350, with an interior that matches the era it was built. Although we didn’t understand the words, Michaela translated later as there was one particularly funny part where the Angel goes to the shepherds and announces the Christ Child’s birth. (The Christ Child has no gender here) The Angel speaks high German and the shepherds don’t quite understand but don’t want to admit it. (Much like Shakespearean English and common English). It was a short and sweet mass, as the children’s pageant pretty much said everything the priest would have tried to convey.

Back at the house, the tree was up and ready to be decorated. Again, we found the decorations to be elegantly simple. Cleverly, Christmas Eve dinner consisted of numerous plates, trays and platters of super delicious finger foods, as the children were squirming, eager to run away and open presents. It was nice to see the children happy with 2 or 3 gifts each. They were shocked when we told them how children in Canada get so many gifts it takes an hour or more to open them all. It was a quiet and lovely evening.

Another Austrian (and Bavarian) custom is that no one goes back to work after Christmas until the arrival of the Three Kings, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. Kids dress up like the Maji and show up at homes, sing a song, leave their initials above the door to bestow blessings on the household for the up coming year then collect a donation for a local charity.

Christmas day we had a huge dinner at the Markus’ father’s, with Markus’ brothers and their families. Unfortunately, we had to rush off to catch the train to Wels, where Michaela’s mother met us at the station. We went to her house where we had yet another huge meal and yet more schnapps and wine. After a brief visit at the mother’s, we were picked up by her father, taken to his house and, you guessed it, more food, schnapps and wine.