Vienna has a reputation for having the best Advent season displays in the world. It is really spectacular here, especially at night! The town hall is even turned into a giant advent calendar, though in this photo you can't see the beautiful windows. I was riding the tram home and passed a spontaneous sidewalk parade with a band, revelers and several traditonal Christmas characters: Krampus, St. Nick, and an old woman who I think may be "Tante Arie".
Here winter is very apparent, like in Montana, though milder. This weekend though was bitter cold. We went to church in a place I've been wanting to attend for weeks- called the Church of St. Maria of the Fishermen. I always go to mass here rather than a protestant service. I guess I've become a Catholic this year. (It's OK with me because I love the ritual- I just have a little trouble with Catholic theology.)
This church has a strange structure- a long, thin gothic church, second oldest in Vienna, build in the 12th century on the site of an earlier church. Its apse and choir don't align with the nave, making the whole thing off-kilter. It also has a almost unique 7-sided tower. The church was almost demolished after Napolean's troops moved on– they used it as a stable– but here it stands, thank God. [Somebody did shovel it out though. Thank God!] Anyway we attended a mass in French but also in the cold. You could see everyone's breath! It was not quite an hour's miserable experience, but certainly an ascetic one. (I've never had to warm my hands over devotional candles before). Still, I loved it!
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