They go and change them on you, for pity's sake. The big Krampus meeting was last Sunday.
So I went into town at twilight anyway, looking for a Krampus. The sign says 'surface damage' in case you wonder.....
They have an Advent village, a Christkindlmarkt in front of City Hall on the main square.
What I do NOT understand is this display over one of them. Did Disney bribe them or something? And the damned things move, as well, hey.
But there was the usual Kitsch, which was reassuring....
Pretty, shiny, aren't they?
I have this sneakret desire to ride that carousel, just once. But let's face it, at fifty-eight, that would really be anything but seemly....
This is a créche in sculptured ice. Bill O would be so proud, hey. No war on Christmas here, hey... They have a second one in the freezer somewhere that they will trot out when this one melts. The weather is too mild.
It got darker and darker, no Krampusses in sight. I felt like the kid who just learned there is no Santy-Clause. So I did my only one time a year mulled wine at a stand, after attempting to shop, and I NEVER shop, hey. I bought a suit jacket for work for only 27 Euros. Had to be a product of slave labour. I shouldn't have done that, it only encourages the damned manufacturers.
Whatever, at the stand I saw my first Krampus. This one is 'Sophie'. (stress on the second syllable, please.) The guy next to me was way into his cups, had bought it for his girlfriend, and named it after her, as she is wild, or something. I haven't laughed so much in a very long time, hey. And THEN! A real Krampus appeared! Oh, they love being photographed. (Actually, I think you have to be a bit twisted to go in for this stuff, but they put a lot of loving care into these costumes....)
Isn't he gorgeous?
This guy seemed to think he didn't need a mask. Eeew. It's supposed to be Krampus, not Night of the Living Dead, you know? He just planted himself in front of me, and posed. I was too skeered NOT to take his picture. I don't know what he would have done if I hadn't. And no, it wasn't the mulled wine. He was scary.
This one could make little kids have nightmares and wet the bed...
I mean, really. Isn't he wonderful?
This one sort of looks retarded, somehow. Not so scary.
These do look better if you open them in a new tab.
And THIS is my guy, hey. Best Krampus I've seen in years. He took it off later? Just an ordinary, white-bread Austrian. Tja.
pretty lights. They still only use white ones, not garish coloured ones. Tja. And then I went home.
The day of the Krampus... and just when you think traditions are fixed entities
Signs of the times...
Note: these photos and the ones below are far nicer if you click on one and open it in a new tab or window. The condensation hampers them somehow. Tja. Blogger.... Live and learn.
Once some years ago, Jesus asked me to show him the red light district.
Told him this awning wasn't a one-time manufacturing mistake, there used to be three in town.
He thought this one looked a little seedy....
although the main entrance looks respectable enough.
He thought this one was a bit too garish.
And this one too french.
He nearly chose this one, but I know the woman at the bar sits there and knits all the time, just like Madame Defarge. Creepy.
He liked the phallic graphics on this one
And that is where I left him, turns out. Asked him next day if he had a nice evening, and Jesus said he certainly did. 'I visited with a lady.' Jesus was of Mexican descent, from Austin Texas, and a body-builder. His friends called him Jess. Jesus was a gentleman.
So we have disaffected youth around here, but they always seem to interchange 'save' with 'safe', and 'live' with 'life'.
Although they get the expletives correct, at least....
as we see here.....
but sometimes they get weirdly cryptic. I still am not sure if I read it correctly.
Annti would love this place. They make tattoos into a 'life-style'.
Of course there are weird events posted on kiosks. I'm not so certain I want to know what a kiddy contest is, though.....
There is a mountain and adventure movie festival, though.
And I thought he was dead....
And when these oldies play Graz, you know their career peaked a long while ago.
But having these guys guest at the opera is just beyond necrophilia. And the NEXT big thing will probably be having the mummified Ronald Reagan displayed, with a showing of Bedtime for Bonz0, or the Western series.... Just save me.... or shoot me....
Signs of the times, all right.
Late Autumn....
A week ago Sunday, the weather wasn't too nice, but I needed some air, so I took a walk.
Seeds ready to drop....
emergency row-boat across the river.
I always love feeling like you are out in the country when you are in the middle of town.
And these remind me of how Impressionism might have come about....
Chestnut vendor. When they open you know it is autumn.
Not quite the last rose of summer....
There are lady slippers here too.... who would have thought.....
This is in back of the Mt. Calvary church. You can do all the stations of the cross on it, seemingly....
These are little gardens you can rent. Some of the huts are very elaborate inside, and everyone has a little plot they can tend. Some people spend half the summer out there, and I hear they are sort of clannish, and can tend to be wild. And everyone has dwarves in the garden.
I have always loved autumn...
