New Years in Austria

After arriving in Austria (Bellingham to Salt Lake City to Cincinnati to Frankfurt to Salzburg), I met up with my friend Alex, who traveled through the Caribbean with me on a discipleship school in 2006. She's loads of fun and it was great to get to know her family and friends in person a bit. The day I arrived, they took me to a hockey game and then introduced me to some fine Austrian beer after.

On New Years Eve, Alex's brother in law took me "arschbobbing." If you break this down, it's exactly like it sounds: "Arsch" (as in ass) + "bob" (as in bobsledding). The exercise and adrenaline were more than welcome. In the evening, we brought the new year in with style (see pictures below).

Fondue dinner


(Left to right) Sabine, me, Jason, Martin, & Alex

Martin making a special festive beverage
(ask me the ingredients in person, if you like
it's called "feuerzangenbowle")

Crazy downtown fireworks in the fog