Ziva has told already told you how we joined the Climate strike and explored the christmas market of Salzburg. But that was not the end of that weekend. Abigail and Andi joined us in Tamsweg until Sunday morning to witness the famous Krampuslauf in Tamsweg.
Please read: Ziva and I joined Fridays for Future in Salzburg
After all the marching and standing in the cold, we slept like a log after the long drive back to Tamsweg. So, the morning began quite slowly, but after a rich brunch, we wanted to show Abigail and Andi our beautiful home. After eating, we set off to the St. Leonhard, the pilgrimage church on a hillside above Tamsweg. Our visitors seemed surprised by the wintery Tamsweg coming from the lowlands and were not perfectly equipped for this kind of winter weather. Nevertheless, our short trip was enjoyable and we came home just before sunset – which is pretty early in Tamsweg in winter.
In the evening, we were all excited for the big highlight of the week, the Krampuslauf. Krampuslauf is a Central European tradition, where young men dress up in scary, but beautiful costumes and roam the streets. They depict the Krampus, the companion of the holy St. Nicholas. In folklore, this demon-like creature punishes bad children. Tamsweg has one of the biggest Krampusläufe in Austria with 70 groups participating. That means they were around 600 Krampusse making noise with their bells and trying to hit people with their rods. (Yes they actually do that.)
For many of us this was the first Krampuslauf of our lives. So, we scared, impressed and fascinated at the same time. But after all, we all had a great day and night.
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