Laure and Quarup

Our friend Guillermo visited for Christmas and New Years for some European traveling. We took a 10-hour night bus from Zürich to our first destination Prague with Student Agency Bus. It was our first time taking a private bus in Europe and we had a decent experience. The bus left right out time (very Swiss), offered free coffee on-board, and the best part was that each seat had its own TV. Instead of getting a good night's rest in my small seat in the back corner of the bus, I binged on old Friends episodes. By the time we rolled into Prague, we made a bee line for the hotel for an early check-in and a serious power nap.

After some rest, Guillermo and I noticed that our hotel was literally across the road from the Charles Bridge! Go Q for booking an awesome hotel. Being almost in the center of the tourist sites, we could easily explore the city's main attractions and always find our way back to the hotel. We set out to grab some lunch at the Christmas Market and explore the city.

Staročeské Trdlo - our favorite dessert street food.

Gullermo digs into a local flame roasted ham at the Christmas Market.

Walked by Frank Gehry's "Fred and Ginger" house.

Walking along the Vltava River at sunset.

Before this trip, we had no clue Prague was a popular Christmas destination. We arrived on Christmas eve and the streets were crowded and full of life. There was plenty going on during Christmas holiday. The Christmas Market was open, city tours were in operation, and plenty of shops were open especially in the touristic center of town.

Old town square remained lively throughout the holiday.

Art galleries and marionette shops were open for the holidays next to our hotel.

Even the local street artists were out on the days surrounding Christmas.

Within our four days in Prague we did a 3 hour free city walking tour covering the Prague Castle, the Old Town, the New Town, and the Jewish Quarter. We also checked out the Museum of Communism, the Jewish Museum, and spent plenty of time in the Christmas market.

We all enjoyed the local food and the guys were amazed with the beer. At Lokál Dlouhá restaurant, they both exclaimed that it was the best beer they had ever had. The waitress heard the compliments about their beer and brought over one of the brewmasters to our table to explain how the storage and pouring of their beer is carefully perfected to achieve its amazing flavor.

Happy customers at Lokál Dlouhá

The Krampus is an old pagan character dating back more than a millennium. To our understanding, the Krampus is based in the Eastern Alps region, mainly in Southern Germany, Northeast Italy and Austria. Around the 17th century he was joined by St. Nicholas and the Christmas Angel. While good children are rewarded for their good behavior by St. Nicholas and angels, naughty kids are punished by the Krampus. Legend has it that the Krampus (and Perchten) will reprimand naughty children and take the especially bad ones back to his lair in the alps.

Image from Cvlt Nation

This tradition still carries on today throughout the Bavarian-Austrian region between November and early December. The largest events tend to be around St. Nicholas Day "Nikolaustag" on December 6 or the night before named Krampus night or "Krampusnacht". We decided to see the Krampus Laufen in Bad Goisern, Austria - because it is known for being one of the largest gatherings and it wasn't too far from Zurich. It also helped that the event landed on a weekend and that we love spending time in Austria.

Alpine region near Bad Goisern in Austria.

By chance, we snagged a last minute room cancellation in a centrally located hostel. Staying there turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. The family that owned the hostel was wonderful, even when we checked in at 12:30 AM after getting stuck in a snowstorm. Over breakfast, the family filled us in on the local Krampus tradition, bringing out his son's costume for us to see. They explained how the whole costume is mostly traditionally hand crafted, with real animal horns on hand carved wooden masks. The costumes are often made with sheep or goat fur full costumes and have cow bells. Some groups take the liberty modernizing their costumes with LED lights and custom bells.

Humble and comfortable room after a stressful late night drive to Austria.

Our breakfast guest.

At the suggestion of the Hostel owner, we spent Saturday afternoon just up the road in Hallstatt, an old salt mining town sitting along a lake. By luck, our visit coincided with their annual weekend Christmas market. We'll have to return in the summer to enjoy the lake and take the salt mine tour.

We made our way up narrow roads and footpaths for the best views.

The main road along the lake.

We couldn't help but explore all the footpaths through the neighborhood.

Deep fried apples, made from start to finish right in front of us.

What we love about Bad Goisern was the low key atmosphere surrounding the event. No advertising posters, no souvenirs for sale - just plenty of warm drinks and food for sale. In fact, I started to worry that this was going to be a small event because the town seemed to be sleepy even a few hours leading up to it. My worries were put to rest when the railings were set up and people started pouring in.

Famous for the "Goiserer Schuh", a good wearable mountain-shoe.

Sleepy little alpine town a few hours before the event.

A crowd started forming slowly.

Bundled up with a warm drink in hand, we staked out our spot. Oh my God, it was cold -- even with Sorel snow-boots on. After an hour of standing in the cold watching the children meet St. Nick and the children's Krampus Laufen, things started to warm up.

Getting into the Austrian spirit with Jägertee.

Finally, the main event.

For hours we watched numerous Krampus groups parade by. Okay, so we didn't just passively watch. Bad Goisern is a small town and the rules are more relaxed about Krampus terrorizing the crowds. The Krampuses sought out "naughty" guys to swat with branches, try to scare the little kids, and terrorize particularly cute blond girls. Q got a few good swats but nothing compared to the cute girls next to us.

Yes - Fire! This would never happen in the States.

This super brave kid didn't even flinch.

Still no tears from this little guy.

A break from the terror with angels handing out peanuts and sweets.

When you were not getting swatted, you'd be getting a long creepy stare.

Several groups played around for the crowds before walking onwards.

The groups of Krampuses came from different towns around the region. It was said there were over 700 Krampusses and demons participating. What we really enjoyed was the variety of costumes. Each group had its style of costumes, yet each individual was still unique.

Each group's costume varied from very traditional...

to more contemporary.

The whole event was actually scary, especially knowing that you might get hit. I have to admit that I haven't been scared like that in a long time.

Back at our hostel the festivities continued. It turned out that the majority of the hostel guests were from one of the Krampus groups. The hostel owner set up a fire pit and a small shed outside serving drinks to the teenagers. Before turning in for the night, we got a warm drink and hung out with some of the teenage guys. They were great fun and excited to share their Austrian tradition with us. One guy even dressed up for us - and thankfully didn't swat us too hard with his twig branches.

The guys explained to us that each group has a signature mask style, mainly determined by a local artist responsible for carving the group's masks. Artists take a lot of creative liberties in creating the masks -- not even the people wearing the masks know what they will get until they are completed. Each year unique features are added but the overall style remains, keeping each Krampus group with a particular style while still pushing the envelope in terms of newest features. According to them, each mask starts at around 600 Euros and the rest of the costume starts at around 500 Euros. And of course there's a second hand market for the younger members who are just getting started. This particular group that stayed at our hostel designed and made their own cowbells and splatter with fake blood. The best part was that one of the cowbells doubled as a giant beer stein for use after the laufen. 

Before saying goodbye to Austria, we hit the slopes for an afternoon of skiing. It was a nice way to stretch our legs before the five hour drive home.

This was a last minute weekend getaway to the French speaking side of the country suggested from one of Q's coworkers. We each packed a small backpack and set out by train for Gruyères Saturday morning. The main attractions we wanted to see were close enough to the train station that we were able to walk everywhere we wanted. Since it was the low season, we were able to walk up and snag a room in La Ferme du Bourgoz; a homey Bed and Breakfast perfectly located between the train station and the medieval town center.

Quaint and car-free medieval town center.

Amazed by how well the town is preserved.

The town is perched a top a hill for some charming rolling hill views.

Of course, we were there to eat cheese and Le Chalet de Gruyeres is known for being one of the best places to get fondue in town. Located in the heart of the medieval town and with its charming interior, it was a must.

With a slight November chill outside, it was a perfect day for fondue.

Followed by dessert of double creme de Gruyère with raspberries...

or with meringues. This second combination turned out to be our favorite.

Down the hill from the medieval town is the La Maison du Gruyère; the cheese factory. We did the self guided audio tour, which was nice but our favorite part we could have seen for free. Before entering the museum, one can view into the maturing cheese cellars and watch a robot rotating and washing a salt brim on each cheese round. It was crazy to see all the cheese rounds being placed perfectly back on their shelves. Cheese rounds mature 5-12 months in the cellar, with up to 7000 rounds stored at one time. And like any good factory tour, we got samples at the end.

Museum exhibition on fragrances. Local flora all contribute to Gruyere's unique flavor and taste.

Q doing quality control

Each day, this factory produces up to 48 pounds of Gruyere cheese.

We bought a combination ticket that included the Château de Gruyères (the 13th century castel) along with the cheese factory tour. A short video explaining the history is offered with the entrance ticket was much more enjoyable than flipping through a booklet. Note that I wrote "flipping" rather than "reading" - I am incapable of actually reading those booklets.

The castle is perched at the highest spot on the hill, beyond the medieval town.

Farm houses and sheep. So Swiss.

A variety of rooms restored with period furnishings from the last eight centuries and other rooms displaying modern artwork.

I will take my 21st century kitchen over this one any day.

We didn't make time to check out the H. R. Giger Museum (the design artist for the film "Alien") but we stopped for lunch in the "Alien" themed cafe. And of course we had to save room for hot chocolate served with double creme de Gruyère and meringues.

Definitely worth stopping in for at least a drink.

With one friend working in Europe for the Fall and two others traveling around Europe, we decided to all come together in the City of Light. We met in Paris for a weekend of food and aimless walks down beautiful streets. Being only four hours away by a direct high speed train from Zürich, Paris was an easy meeting point for us.

Our ride awaits. Three stops until Paris!

We woke up early Saturday for a baking class (at an actual bakery) making croissants and baguettes. The instructor was a really good baker but he was over booked with classes. We felt the course was a little rushed and over priced but we had a fun morning and walked away with stomachs full of croissants and baguettes - with some left over.

Shaping baguettes. Photo by Peter

Rolled and ready for the freezer and then to be baked tomorrow.

Peter sneaking more chocolate into his Pain au chocolat.

With our instructor and the fruits of our labor. Photo by Peter

Maybe we snagged more bread than we could eat but at least it was put to good use.

During the majority of the weekend we strolled around streets lined with chic boutique shops, browsed the Marché des Enfants Rouges, and ate.That's right, no museums or Eiffel tower.

On Sunday, three of us escaped from the rain into the underground Catacombs of Paris. It is an ossuary holding the remains of approximately six million people. Visitors can walk two kilometers of the renovated caverns and tunnels filled with neatly stacked human bones.

Photo by Peter

Who knew bones could be so beautiful.

Originally these tunnels were stone quarries dating back to before the 18th Century.

Blending in with the rest of the Parisians five stories underground.

We underestimated Paris traffic during the rain and didn't make our evening train back to Switzerland. We were stuck in Paris for an additional night. Since this train requires seat reservations, we had to pay an additional cost for a new train ticket - ouch. On the bright side, we got to enjoy one last delicious dinner and morning croissants in Paris.