Thursday 26 January 2012

A glimpse of what you missed today

There are some days which are so beautiful here in Embach they deserve a wider audience than the few of us who are here to see it first hand. Today is just such a day.

Deep blue sky, deep white snow, cold and crisp, the air so clear we can see forever. A handful of people are cruising the cross-country circuit, others out for a stroll and a few riding up our one and only ski lift and zooming down the almost empty slope.

Here are a few impressions so you can feel you have had just a small glimpse even if you have not felt the sun on your face, the bite in the air and the crunch of snow underfoot. I hope you enjoy it.

Cruising the cross-country circuit

A view down the valley towards Zell an See from the cross-country circuit


Snow ploughs have been at work day and night




Friday 20 January 2012

Embach - an introduction

I started this blog to air impressions about life in an Austrian mountain village as seen through the eyes of an outsider; not only from abroad, but from a city. In some respects it was to record my feelings but also for friends and family to share something of my enjoyment of my “new” life – even though I have now been here for nine years.

However, it has been interesting to see where the blog is read: in Russia, India, Hungary, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Iceland, England and Ireland, Romania the USA, Australia and many more countries. Quite why and how, I know not.

So I thought it is time to properly introduce Embach to those not in the know.
Embach: early morning


The village lies in the Alps1000m above sea level on a sunny shelf 500m above the River Salzach about an hour’s drive south from the city of Salzburg. Immediately to the south are mountains rising to just under 2000m and to the north is the river valley and beyond the majestic Hochkönig mountain group almost 3000m high.

Embach is a farming village with many small family farms raising cattle by traditional methods. The village is surrounded by fields which in summer are cut for hay and fed to the cattle in the stalls in the winter. In the summer, the cattle are moved to the high alpine pastures.

There are a number of small family-run hotels and guest houses catering for winter and summer visitors who cherish the undeveloped and unspoilt rural atmosphere, enjoy great hiking and walking in the summer and the modest ski facilities in the winter.

Family ties are strong and the village has very few residents who come from outside and, according to some who have been in the village for many years, you have to be born here to be a true Embacher.

The village is set in the most beautiful countryside and even after nine years, I still gasp at the stunning scenery which surrounds us. It has become a joke among family and friends that I so often say “I can’t believe I live here” – it is as if I fear the dream will end and I will wake up back in the clamour of south-east England.

I hope you enjoy these reports and pictures – your comments would be welcomed.

Embach's Salaterhof, one of the family farms with the Bau Kogerl in the distance


Sunday 8 January 2012

Sporting challenge

This weekend the whole of Embach has been engaged in some of the winter sports which haven’t yet been adopted by the Olympics. However, a serious problem has arisen which is challenging even the most experienced winter athletes.

After three day of heavy snowfall, a number of key events are occupying the populace. Top of the list is digging a path from the house door to the outside world. In the combined event, this is twinned with clearing a track to enable the family car to be driven out of the garage.
Combined event in progress - making a track big enough for a car


Other events which are high on the priority list include rooftop clearing, find the car and tunnelling or wading to the bird feeding stations.

Rooftop clearing - one of the more dangerous sports


Tunnelling to the bird feeder


Traditionalists' tools of the trade
Traditionalists undertake the events manually using a set of implements to push and drag away the mass of snow. These tools include the snow witch – a metal tray with handle which shifts large volumes, the wooden pusher for uphill work and the ice breaker, a small blade on a long handle for compacted snow and ice. Those who use tractors and powered snow blowers are scorned by serious winter sports participants.

Find the car is especially enjoyed by tourists whose cars are parked in large car parks and more often than not, they spend time digging out someone else's vehicle.

Is it our car?
The biggest challenge has been finding where to put the result of all this snow sport. One sneaky resident gets up at 3am, pushes the snow from his digging and clearing into the road ready for the village snow plough when it comes by on its regular 4am run. But even the snow plough is finding it difficult to find new dumping areas. This same resident spreadeagle's his partner across the bonnet of the car to add weight to the driving wheels as they negotiate the hill outside their home.

Piles of snow are growing wherever space can be found to stash the residue of residents’ Olympic efforts and it is thought that if the weather continues for many more days, Embach could disappear into a sea of whiteness.

Finding space to dump the snow is becoming difficult


Wednesday 4 January 2012

Visiting kings update mystery code

Just about every visitor to our home asks the meaning of the chalked inscription above the front door:

A similar symbol is to be found above just about every front door in Austria, even the police station, bank and council offices. Our guests put forward various theories: we have/haven’t paid the council tax, for example, but few work out the meaning without some serious prompting.

Today it came in for its annual update – the 11 at the end was changed to 12. A group of small people arrived in strange clothes, one with the face painted black. They came in, sang a song, said a few well-rehearsed words, were pleased to accept some money for charity and a handful of sweets, changed the chalk marking over the door, and left.

These are the Sternsingers. Children dressed as the three wise kings, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, who arrived slightly late in Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Ah! So the C+B+M are their initials!

Well, true but wrong. It stands for Christus mansionem benedicat or Christ bless this house. Over two or three days around the Three Holy Kings holiday on January 6, every property in Embach and around Austria, will get a visit from the Sternsingers and receive the mysterious chalk marking – just one of many traditions  being acted out in the first few days of the year.