Krampuskränzchen der Kalchofenpass

Here in England we know about Santa Claus, St Nicholas or Father Christmas and the fact that he brings cheer and happiness to children. The giving of gifts is so exciting for children but how many times as a child would you be warned that if you were not good then Father Christmas would not come. I know that I was often told that the Elves were watching me and that was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow, well, at least for the month of December.

So what if , as a child, you were told about the Krampus? I know that if I had known about the Krampus I would have been terrified, just the sight of them are enough to scare me to death.

What, I hear you ask, is a Krampus? Take a look at this............

Are you scared by that? If not, how about I tell you a little more?

In Austria St Nicholas is often accompanied by this bad natured and wicked demon. Whilst St Nicholas rewards children with gifts and treats galor the Krampus will happily punish children who have been naughty.

In Unken The Krampus traditionally visit before St Nicholas, they roam the streets and terrorise the residents, they don't mess about. They mean business. Tradition says that they will carry off the naughtiest children in their baskets to certain doom.

On Saturday night the Krampus will be parading the streets of Unken bringing trickery and fear to the residents. Anybody who is on the street needs to be aware that they are likely to become a victim.

This tradition is making a comeback across Austria and Hungary so I wonder......... how would you feel about being visited by the Krampus and would it have made you behave in the run up to Christmas?

Here is a little video for your....... erm, enjoyment.

A new home to look forward to.

 I finally stepped through the gate and started treading the path to my new life. A life that I have been dreaming of for so long that I still cannot believe is now within touching distance.

In June  I flew to Salzburg on a mission. The mission that I chose to accept was signing a contract for my very own Schloss............ well, it might not officially be a Schloss but hey its my Schloss.

The Austrians' have a very different way of buying a house than we do here.  Whilst I am now classed as the legal owner of the house I still have to wait a few weeks before my name goes into the land registry to show that I am the official owner.  I have been lucky enough to find the house of my dreams but I was not yet ready to go to Austria and so I have been even luckier in finding that the couple that  I bought from are happy to stay there for a while until they find their own new home. I know they will really look after it for me. If you want to know more about Sue and her plans for the future then check out her very own blog here. Onwards and upwards for all of us.

Now I will share a picture of the house but I wont show the inside as that is still somebody else's home to share but in the meantime if you want to hear more about my adventures in Wales until I arrive in Austria then head over to my  blog Cwtch Corner here I will be blogging about all things Welsh and plans to move, from research for moving over to quick little jaunts and places to visit. And of course I will share with you my plans for furnishing as they grow in my imagination.

All that is left to say is Thank you to Susan, Peter and Georgia for entrusting me with  being the next caretaker of this beautiful home. I promise you I will love it as much as you have.

Now where is the schnapps.