Hunting Krampus In Berchtesgaden

On December 9, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany4 Comments

I went to a Perchtenlauf this weekend in Berchtesgaden, a town nestled in the Alps near the Austrian border. It’s surrounded on three sides by Austria, and is actually south of Salzburg. Berchtesgaden is nearly as far to the Southeast as you can go and still remain in Germany.

A Perchtenlauf is a fascinating holiday tradition. The 5th of December is Krampus Night or Krampusnacht. On the 6th of December, the Feast of St. Nicholas occurs. On both nights, young men dress up as Krampus and roam the streets frightening children. Krampus is generally demonic in appearance, and typically kind of beastly. Krampus is said to punish children who have misbehaved during the Yule season. There’s folklore about him carrying naughty children back to his lair in a sack. On the 6th, St. Nicholas visits, looking a great deal like a Bishop. In Austria, Bavaria, and several other nearby regions, St. Nicholas is accompanied by Krampus on the 6th of December as well.

In Berchtesgaden, Krampus is also accompanied by Perchten. Wrapped from head to toe in straw, the Buttnmandl join the Krampus as they run noisily from home to home and around the community. Their heads are covered with a mask, usually with a long tongue to add to the frightening appearance. They have large cowbells attached to their backs, which clank when they run or jump. The picture to the left is from the Berchtesgaden website- I wasn’t able to get a good picture of any of the straw-clad Buttnmandl with my own camera, and I wanted to include a picture of them. The banner image from Berchtesgaden.de includes all three types: Buttnmandl, Krampus, and St. Nicholas.

In Berchtesgaden, you’ll never see one without the other. The Perchten carry a switch, and they strike passers-by with them for luck. When girls or children dance with the Perchten, their faces are marked with black charcoal- proof they have danced with the devil, so to speak.

We arrived in Berchtesgaden in the afternoon on the 6th of December, and went into the city in search of these mythic beasts. We saw signs of them near store-fronts.

It was a snowy day in the Berchtesgaden Christkindlmarkt, and we only had a little bit of time before the sun set.

After dark, we quickly found more sign that the Buttnmandl had passed by- everywhere they went, there was loose straw on the ground to mark their passing.

It was clear that at some point in the past, a mighty hunter had killed three of the beasts: their heads were on display in the Altstadt.

I thought the decorations throughout the city were very nice.

After a few mugs of hot mulled Apple wine, we finally heard the clanking of the beasts in the city. Each time we heard the clanking of those cowbells, we walked toward where the sound had been, and found nothing but straw. Finally, after several passes not finding the Perchten, we stumbled across a crowd surrounding several of them. I was not able to get clear pictures, but I assure you there were many of them.

The bells on their backs made a very distinct clattering sound. Hours later, after we had returned to the hotel, I heard the sound passing by before I went to bed. A group of Perchten passed in front of the hotel, and then another. I nearly went back outside, but the sound passed so swiftly I know I wouldn’t have seen anything more. These cowbells made quite a lot of noise.

Here’s a video clip from the same place a few years ago, to give you an idea of the sound of the bells.

Have you ever seen a Krampuslauf or a Perchtenlauf?

Danny Elfman In London

On October 31, 2013January 26, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - The United Kingdom

The centerpiece of the last UK trip was a show at the Royal Albert Hall, in London. The first in a small series of concerts around the UK, and a pair of them in Los Angeles.

The show was a concert of music that Danny Elfman had composed for Tim Burton’s movies.

I’m pretty sure that every single person reading this blog has heard at least some of this music- Batman, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas- they all had a moment in the program.

The best part of this concert, and the reason that I went all the way to London to see it, was that Danny Elfman himself was performing- his first live performance in 18 years. I did not take the following picture; I pulled it off the Royal Albert Hall blog. This is Danny, doing the Jack Skellington parts in the Nightmare Before Christmas section.

When the Nightmare Before Christmas section got to Sally’s song, Helena Bonham-Carter stepped out to do that song, to the roaring applause of pretty much everyone in the theatre. For the Oogie Boogie song, Danny did the Oogie part, and the conductor in the picture above donned a Santa hat to sing the Santa portion of the song. Brilliant!

After the show, they brought Tim Burton on the stage for applause and accolades. Once again, this picture is from the Royal Albert Hall blog; I wasn’t nearly this close. From left to right, Helena Bonham-Carter, Danny Elfman, and Tim Burton. Tim Burton has really grown into that hair over the years, I think.

This picture is one that I *did* take- you can see Danny, Helena, Tim, and the conductor standing together. We were in the 11th row.

What’s the last concert you went to? Did you travel to see it?

Highgate Cemetery, London

On October 28, 2013January 26, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - The United Kingdom12 Comments

I meant to visit Highgate Cemetery on my first visit to London, and again on my second visit. It took until my third visit before I managed to make it there. It’s a little further from the London Tube than Pere Lachaise is from the Paris Metro. Inside the gates, it’s not as well kept as Pere Lachaise either, but it has its own charm.

One of the things I like about Highgate is that many of the graves show a bit of the personality of the people buried there. For example, Gordon Bell:

One of the founders of Foyle’s Books:

Many of the graves were massively overgrown, or sunken. There are quite a few that cannot be reached easily.

I’m guessing Thornton was a pianist?

It wouldn’t be a trip to a cemetery without spotting a black cat hanging around. This one wasn’t as friendly as the one in Paris.

The grave of Karl Marx is very subtle. I almost missed it entirely.

Another grave with a lot of personality.

There were many children buried in Highgate. Some of their gravestones were unique.

The primary reason I wanted to go to Highgate was to see the grave of Douglas Noel Adams.

I realized when I arrived that it has become customary to leave a pen in the bowl in front of his grave. I always carry a pen, so I left it there.

I liked this gravestone. I hope when I’m gone that I’m also remembered as a wise and gentle man. Realistically, I’ll have to settle for gentle.

This gravestone wins. If anyone was at all unsure of their status, it’s clearly readable in the stone itself.

Cardiff

On October 21, 2013January 26, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - The United Kingdom3 Comments

On my last trip to the UK, we took a day trip to Cardiff by train out of London’s Paddington Station. This makes Wales my fifteenth country visited! (Not including the US.)

Cardiff is a fascinating little city. We didn’t see even a third of what the city has to offer, but we did take a stroll past this nifty clock down Queen Street.

At the end of the street are the outer walls of Cardiff Castle.

Through the main gate of those outer walls is the original Norman shell keep, flying the flag of Wales.

The red dragon motif is everywhere, as the symbol of Wales. It’s also the symbol of the Brains brewery, which makes a pretty tasty beer. I had a Brains Green Dragon at lunch when we were back in London later in the trip, and I wish I’d had a Brains while we were closer to the brewery- I’ve been told that the flavor loses something in transit.

Our goal for this jaunt to Cardiff was actually in Cardiff Bay. From the Cardiff central station, we took a small local train to Queen Street a few stops from the main station, then changed to the smallest train ever to go to Cardiff Bay. Seriously, it’s only got the one wagon and it just goes back and forth between Queen Street and Cardiff Bay.

From Cardiff Bay’s little train station, it’s a short walk to the Bay. You’ll pass the very pretty Pierhead building.

…and you’ll walk past the Wales Millennium Center. If you watched Torchwood, this will look familiar. This is an arts center which hosts events like concerts, opera, ballet, and so forth. The dome is clad in steel that was treated with copper oxide, to represent Cardiff’s steel making history. It was designed to withstand the weather conditions on the Cardiff Bay waterfront.

Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance, are two lines written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis. The Welsh version is Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen, which means “Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration”. The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Walking further along the bay is the World Harmony Peace Statue. You hold the handle of the torch, and make a wish for world peace.

After a little bit more walking, we arrived at the goal for this side trip: The Doctor Who Experience, situated in Cardiff Bay until 2017. The first part of the DWE is an interactive walk-through adventure with the eleventh Doctor in which you get to fly the TARDIS, so that’s pretty fun. Also, you get to learn how to walk like a scarecrow soldier or a Cyberman.

After the interactive part of the Doctor Who Experience, there’s an exhibition. I took a bajillion photographs, but I won’t bore my non-geeky readers with all of those. I selected just seven pictures to give you a sense of the place. If you’re not into Doctor Who, just skip down to the picture that has me in it, and we’ll pick up the post from there.

The first picture is the outfit of Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor. This was part of a row of outfits worn by each of the first ten Doctors.

Similarly, the companions each had outfits in the exhibition. Here’s Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith outfit.

There were several TARDIS control rooms in the exhibition. I’m pretty sure this was the fourth Doctor’s control room.

…and this was definitely Nine and Ten’s control room, brought over to the DWE in its entirety after the regeneration into Eleven. They cleaned it up a bit, but you can still see smoke and fire damage from Ten’s fairly explosive regeneration.

No Doctor Who exhibit would be complete without my favorite robot dog of all time, K-9.

Most of the Doctor’s adversaries were represented, but I particularly liked this Cyberman.

Of course, there were friends of the Doctor present as well. Here’s me, hanging out with the Face Of Boe.

Ok, that’s enough geekery for this post. Once we were done at the Doctor Who Experience, it was time to walk back from Cardiff Bay. I had to force myself not to walk like a Cyberman.

Cardiff Bay is really a very pretty place. Here’s a view out from the dock.

There’s a number of fascinating sculptures around the Bay. This was my favorite- the Merchant Seafarers’ War Memorial, by sculptor Brian Fell. It’s designed to look like both a face and the bow of a ship.

Walking back up the wide sidewalks from the Bay to the little rail station, we couldn’t help but notice all the spiders that were out. I think they were collecting food and preparing for the winter.

Last but not least, on our way out of the Cardiff Bay area, this little cutie walked right up to us, flopped over, and demanded to be loved. Who could say no to those little paws?

Have you ever been to Cardiff? Did you learn to walk like a Cyberman while you were there?

Day Trip To The Zugspitze

On October 14, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany7 Comments

The Alps are just a few hours away from Regensburg by car or train. Nestled within the Alps is the Zugspitze, Germany’s tallest mountain. The Zugspitze is 2962 meters (9718 feet) high. From the summit on a clear day, you can see mountain peaks in four countries.

Since I love tall places, of course I had to go and see it. There are trains between Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen almost once an hour, so getting there is pretty easy. As you approach the mountain from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, you can see a ski jump. The 1936 Winter Olympics were held here, opened by Adolf Hitler.

Once you arrive in G-P, you walk from the Bahnhof to the Zugspitzbahnhof right next door, to pay for your ticket up the mountain and back. The first part of the journey is by cogwheel train, until you get to Eibsee. From there, you take the Eibsee Seilbahn cable car up the side of the mountain.

When you reach the peak, the views are amazing. On one side, you have a separate cable car that goes to and from the Schneeferner glacier below.

There’s an observation deck at the very top, with the highest beer garden in Germany.

This weather monitoring and research station helps to monitor climate change.

There are cable cars coming up from both Germany and Austria, since the mountain sits on the border. Part of the summit faciliites is on the Austrian side- I walked in and out of Austria twice before I realized it was a border crossing.

Despite it being t-shirt weather at the base of the mountain, there was snow and ice at the top.

The wind at the summit does very interesting things to the ice formations. This is on a bit of metal stairs.

The actual peak is accessible to people who want to climb up to it. It’s set aside from the main facilities and does involve some climbing up in snow.

At an altitude of 2952 meters (9685 feet), the Gipfelalm is the tallest restaurant in Germany. Their food was not over-expensive, but it was kind of mediocre in flavor and quality.

The lake on the left is the Eibsee, and the little town to the right of it is Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

After you take the cable car from the summit down to the glacier, you can also choose to eat at Sonn Alpin, at 2600 meters. We stopped here for dessert.

…and shared our dessert with the aggressively snackish birds. One of them actually stole some of our kaiserschmarrn right out of the bowl when we didn’t offer it to them. Cheeky little bastards.