Krampus

Another tradition that they do here at the beginning of December (on December 5th) is the Krampus. A Krampus is the scary creature that travels along with St Nicholas and punishes kids, whereas St Nicholas gives gives gifts and brings good.
The Krampus in Bad Mitterndorf where we went with some friends dress in a big black outfit that covers there whole upper body. Then they have a scary looking carved wooden mask. In their hand they carry a group of sticks/twigs which are bundled together. When the Krampus come around to you the tell you Pieten (pray) and if you pray you are let go but if not they take their broom thing and flog your butt or your legs. (Many times the Krampus will go up to people and
just grab them and start hitting them - usually people in their teens or our age, as there are a lot of Krampuses that age). Katy was protecting me with my busted leg and another girl that went with us who was pregnant, so she took a lot of hits (We were told the guys behind the masks like to go after good looking girls, so I think that might have had something to do with it as well.
In Bad Mitterndorf they also have another kind of Krampus.
These Krampus get dressed up in straw and look like a big broom. Hopefully you can see from the picture but the broom is about 15 feet tall. These guys carry around a whip and snap it in the air. They dont come after people like the other ones do, but look pretty cool when they are standing in a group snapping their whips.
The big group of the 2 types of Krampuses and St Nicholas (and the angel and devil that go with him) walk around town and stop at 4 different places and put on a show - The Mitterndorfer Nicholasspiel (The Mitterndorfer Nicholas show). They tell kids what is good - doing your homework, helping with the dishes and listening to your parents, and if you dont you then you will be in trouble). We were at one of the places where they did their show and it was
really interesting to see. Even though we couldnt understand it all (the people we were with did translate some if it for us) it was great to be there and to see it.

Christmas

This year Katy and had a nice Christmas here in Austria. Even though we really missed family and werent able to spend it with them we were still able to celebrate with some friends.
This year on the 23rd we went to a friends house, who lives right below a ski hill (part of the alps). On the 24th he always does the ski patrol (rescue) for the ski hill. So on the 23rd night we took the ski lift up to the top of the hill and spent the night in a little hut up in the alps.
Then on the 24th Katy was going to do some skiing with a friend with the skis she rented but the weather was warm and there was so much fog you couldnt see more than about 10 feet in front of you. So on the 24th (the day they celebrate Christmas here in Europe) we hung out on the mountain for most of the day - did a little walking around but couldnt see too much.
Then in the afternoon, right before we were going to go down the mountain the fog lifted a little and Katy was able to ski down the mountain.
Even though her legs were a little tired at the bottom she said she had an awesome time skiing down one of the alps.
Then at night we went over to our friends parents house for dinner and present opening. In Austria in addition to decorating the tree like we do with ornaments and garland, over here they put chocolates on the tree. And they dont decorate the tree and put presents under it right away as soon as they get the tree home - they decorate it, with candy and ornaments (also candles and sparklers), on the 24th and put the presents underneath it at that time as well. They tell the kids they need to leave the room the tree is in until they are called back in. Then the parent puts the candy, the other decorations, the candles and the sparklers on the tree and just before they tell the kids they can come in they put the presents under the tree and light the sparklers and the candles. (when they let the kids in they say they Kriskind - Christ child - has come) Now you're probably wondering like I was how/why the tree doesnt start on fire. The Christmas trees they have here arent quite like ours back - where they are so full and without a lot of space inbetween each branch.
Here the trees have more space and the branches that sitck out a little further than the others or that have some space inbetween are the ones that get the candles and the sparklers.
Then on the 27th we got to celebrate Christmas with some other friends and learned a few other traditions that some families do: before the kids leave room when the tree is going to be lit they sing silent night and recite a little poem/skit about Mary and Joseph trying to find a room at an inn. We got to do this and even though didnt understand all the German - we still enjoyed being a part of it.
Even though we didnt get to celebrate Christmas with family and it was very hard not being home, it was nice that we had some friends to celebrate Christmas and have a good time with.

Catch Up

Its been a couple weeks since my last post so I have to try and get caught up.
After losing 7 in a row we are back on track with 2 wins in a row. It was tought when we were on that losing streak, but I hoping that we can change things around and make it 7 wins in a row. Our next game is on the 26th of December so we really dont get that much time off for Christmas. We will get off tomorrow evening and the whole day of the 24th but then it is back to it to get ready for the game on the 26th. It seems strange that we will have practice on the 25th, on Christmas day, but over here they celebrate Christmas on the 24th (so I guess you could say we have off on Christmas). Katy I will be going tomorrow ot a hut up on the mountain and spend the night there and celebrate Christmas with some friends there. (more about our experience after we get back).
Katys team won their last game and technically won their last two games even though the game 2 weeks ago went down as a loss. I'll explain.
Katys team was up by 1 point with 2.6 seconds left in the game. The other team had the ball on the baseline, out of bounds and the girl passed the ball into the corner (where the 3 point line meets the base line). The girl then dribbled up the 3 point line until she was even (parallel with the top of the 3 point line). She then passed to a girl at the top of the three point line. This girl caught the ball and dribbled around her defender and down past the free thrown line into the paint. She then passed to a girl just under the hoop and the girl caught the ball and shot a lay-up. It went it.
The refs were not watching the clock, if they had the would have seen that time was out (when the girl under the hoop caught the ball I looked up at the clock and it already said 0.00), nor did the hear the horn in the gym go off (in Katy's gym the horn is located behind the scorers table and is very quiet. Since there were some fans at the game and making some noise I think it was hard to hear. After the shot the people at the scoreers tabel were telling the refs that shot wasnt off in time but the refs decided to let it count and Katys team ended up losing.
So they got a loss but actually won. Never seen anything quite like it.
Go figure.
It was the first chance I have had all year to see Katy play, and its easy to see that she still really enjoys it and has a good time out there. Not to mention that she is a very good player and really helps her team.
Now Katys team has a break for about 2 weeks and then they will start back up again.

(Maybe if one of these guys could have came off the mountain and blew their horn at the end of the game Katy's team would have won. Maybe we'll have to try and find one for their next home game)

Rehab

Even though I started rehab on Friday, 1.5 weeks ago, last week was my first real week with rehab on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. It was the first time that I have really used my leg since the injury and surgery. My muscle has gotten a lot weaker and now I have the long process of trying to get it strong again. Last week was tough as my leg wasnt quite used to all the movement and the things the therapist had me doing and because of it my leg was quite sore. I am sure with time though it will get better as I get stronger. Rehab for me right now isnt just a 1/2 or 1 hour thing. Some days I am at rehab for 4 hours. It is a pretty intensive program but I think it is great and will really help me come back strong. It is nice too that the rehab place is only 5-10 minutes (depending on traffic) from our place and easy to get to.
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Funny story - Last week before one of my appts I was sitting in the waiting area for the therapist to call me in. I had my crutches laying against the table next to me, so they were close when the therapist called me. A lady from the other side of the room said something loud so I looked up - she was staring at me and obviously talking to me. I didnt understand what she had said so I raised my ebrows as to say, "what was that?" She repeated it again, a little bit louder this time over the row of chairs and people we had sitting inbetween us....nope nothing, didnt understand a word this time either. So, I said sprachen sie english - do you speak english? She frowned at me like I did something wrong and said (now this I understood) warum, wir sind in Österreich.....which translates to Why, we are in Austria.
There was nothing I could do but smile and sort of chuckle to myself.
( I guess the crutches were sticking out into the walkway/hallway a little bit, about the same distance as my feet were, and the lady didnt like it so after she put me in my place she came over and moved them) :)

Schnee

The last week have had snow, it seems like almost everyday. The snow most times isnt real big flakes and takes quite a while to accumulate but is very pretty to see. Today we are getting snow right now.
As I look out our window I can see quite a bit (tiny flakes) coming down. People say that here in Wels they dont usually get that much snow, but I am hoping that this pattern continues and we keep more and more each week. The temperature does seem to stay around freezing so many times during the day the snow melts, or at least some of it does, and doesnt give it a chance to really pile up. I am hoping that it stays just below freezing and we get some more so we can have a white holiday season. In shady areas the snow would probably be about 3 inches deep. Now we just have to hope to get more and that it will stay.
Funny how the weather report says a 20% chance of snow today, yet it has been snowing all morning.
Last year when we were in Giessen they werent used to that much snow either, and because of it, not everybody had shovels. I saw quite a few people, regardless of how much snow there was, sweeping the snow off the sidewalk with a broom instead of shoveling it. I wonder if it will be the same way here. More on this later.....

1st Advent Sunday

This past Sunday was the 1st Sunday of advent and we were invited over to a friends house for dinner with some other people as well.
Before dinner we lit the 1st advent candle and then ate a very nice meal of different kinds of salad, spaghetti and meat sauce, and a vegtable & turkey curry. Then dessert was brought in the form of a birthday cake with a large sparkler/roman candle as the candle in it. It was the birthday of one of the people we went to visit and we all sang Happy Birthday. The cake was a chocolate cream cake and everybody said it was delicious. After eating we played Wii bowling and finished off the night with a big game of Tick (card game). It was a great night and a very nice way to celebrate the first Sunday in Advent.

Katys Team Innsbruck

This weekend Katy had a game in Innsbruck.
Innsbruck is located about as far west as you can go in Austria - took her 3 hours to get to her game from Wels. She said it is built at the bottom of a really big mountain and it was really cool to see. The gym, on one side, had windows that you could see out to the mountain and she said it was really pretty. The team they played this weekend, they had a good chance of beating but they ended up losing by 10. Katy fouled out but got most of her fouls in the last minute, trying to foul the other team so they could get the ball back and have a chance to win. I think it was frustratin for the team because they know they could have beat that team. Maybe the next time they play them. I wasnt able to go see the game but I saw online that she scored 18 points and was high-scorer on her team. Her team is off this weekend and play next week (three games - Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday).

2 points

This weekend we had a game against Oberwart and lost by 2 points. I think, even though I havent seen a couple games, that this was the best we have played -as a team- in a couple weeks. If you looked at the stat sheet after the game you would have thought we won. We had better numbers in many of the categories with few turnovers and the most assists we have had all season. At the end of the game it was tied and the other team took a shot with a couple seconds left to go. The guy missed the shot but a ref called a foul at the end.
There were 2 or 3 of our guys around the shooter when he shot, but I had a clear view of the release and there was no foul. After the foul the crowd was screaming at him and he made a motion with his hands to show that their player was fouled on the shot, that his hand was hit. Maybe if he would have said the foul was on the body I wouldnt be able to say anything, but I saw the release...and no foul. The ref was also down on a knee watching the play and called the foul from his knees.....????? Anyway this is not the first time this has happened to us and I dont understand why refs insist on calling fouls and deciding games. Dont get me wrong, if it is a definite foul than it needs to be called but I think sometimes certain refs forget that people come to watch the teams play and are not there to see them. Of course if we would have played a little better at times we would have won and you cant always blame the refs I know, but I just dont understand why this keeps happening.
Anyway, we play the same team again on Monday on national TV and hopefully we will be able to turn the tables and get a win.