Sunday 30 December 2012

Baby boom follows hard winter


View on the Embach cross country ski circuit - with mist blanketing the valley below
Out for an afternoon stroll, we came to what here amounts to a traffic jam in the middle of one of Embach’s lanes: eight adults standing talking together...four couples...and four prams.

That’s four babies, all born within a month or two of each other. And that isn’t all of the children born here this past autumn. There are at least two more that I know of.

This is a good sign for the village. Children are being born. Young couples are making their homes here and not heading for the city as is so often the case in rural communities. The future of our village Volksschule or primary school, looks more secure.

Another encouraging sign is that in the past ten years about a dozen, or possibly a few more, houses have been built in Embach. Young families, mainly from the village have established in their own homes. These are not houses built speculatively, but by and for each family.

That the baby-rush has anything to do with the extremely cold and snow rich winter at the beginning of the year is mere speculation. A local long-range forecaster is warning of another very cold winter (though at present it is like spring), so, we’ll see.


Meanwhile, for those not pushing a pram, Embach’s cross country ski trail (the Loipe) is currently in brilliant condition. The 8km circuit is beautifully groomed with two lanes for classic skiers and, alongside, a “fast track” for the speedy skaters. Winding across the meadows, it will take you to corners not normally accessible in summer with vistas to take your breath away – that is if the effort of skiing leaves you breath to spare.

This morning, while the early-morning sun shooed the mists away, a thick blanket of cloud covered the villages in the valley. Embach, on a sunny shelf high above the river valley so often enjoys clear skies and sunshine when below, gloom pervades.
Some lovely spots along the Embach Loipe today




Tuesday 18 December 2012

Beware! Keks baking in progress



Beware of baking housewives! Advent is a dangerous time of year in Embach as in almost every kitchen the annual biscuit bake is on. Old and trusted recipes are brought out, new and untested ones considered, packets of sugar stand ready and waiting and the box of little, shaped dough cutters is dusted off. It's all very stressful.

It’s not only hazardous to get in the way of the baking process, it could be dangerous if you inadvertently copied someone’s favourite recipe, and certainly risky to visit any household around afternoon coffee time as you will be presented with a plate piled high with keks and pressed into trying them.

Why might this be a hazard? Well, these little biscuits are not only produced in great volume, but also in unimaginable variety. A measure of prowess is the number of different keks you have made…and the numbers can run into the twenties.

Presented with over 20 different biscuits, you then “must try this new one” and “can’t resist” that gingerbread one, and those little chocolate balls are “irresistible” and before you know it you’ve tried every one and downed calories equivalent to a three-course meal.

Everyone, makes vanilla kipferl, a sort of horseshoe- shaped vanilla dough dusted with icing sugar. And then there are stars, circles, hearts balls logs, cones, rectangles and squares. Some are doubled one upon the other and filled, others are iced. Then there are those coated in coconut flakes, icing sugar, bits of dried fruit or dipped in chocolate.

Part of this wonderful tradition is, if like us, for whatever reason, you have been unable to undertake the great bake in, kind people present you with a plate of their biscuits for you to enjoy at home. So there is a lot of swapping of keks around the community, increasing the variety you may find in any one household. By the end of January everyone will have had enough, be full to bursting and thinking of fasting during Lent.

So, step cautiously into this area at this time of year. The terrifying Krampus may have gone but upsetting a biscuit baker, or over-indulgence in keks sampling could have serious consequences.


 






Thursday 13 December 2012

Antipodean Busch, rooted in Embach

If you really want to get away from Embach, the furthest you can possibly go while staying on planet Earth, is New Zealand. In fact, Stewart Island, just off the main South Island is our true antipode.

However, near the southern tip of the North Island one can find a small enclave where memories of this Austrian alpine village are cherished. Busch Hansei, a nickname given because he was a gardener, left Austria in 1956 to find work and adventure. He settled in New Zealand and apart from a brief period back in the old country, has lived there ever since.

Now 90, Hans is hale and hearty and still caring for his garden as well as himself. His living room is hung with pictures and mementos of Embach, the Maria Eland chapel and a school skiing outing in 1936. He was an enthusiastic skier and Hans has fond memories of outings and people he skied with.

When we visited him early one morning, he soon brewed up a strong coffee fortified with a dose of schnaps. No longer able to make the journey back to Embach, a surprise visit was „like Christmas...no, better than Christmas“ even though he had not known us before. It was enough that we came from “his” village.

Now we are back in snowy Embach, away from the warm summer antipodean sun, and are able to bring news to Hans' former friends and neighbours of his yearning for Embach and his pleasure when he receives phone calls or news by post. Busch Hansei is something of a legend in the village.

Despite the many years he has been away and the great distance between Embach and New Zealand, gardener Hans has not forgotten where his roots lie: firmly planted in Embach's soil.

Still a keen gardener at 90, Busch Hansei and visitor