New Year's Eve
The way New Year's Eve is celebrated here is that everyone (well, not everyone, but plenty of people) buys their own fireworks, boomers, flashers, whatever. Then whenever they feel the time is right, they set it off. In other words, uncoordinated fireworks non-stop. Some people started as early as a week ago, but it really picked up yesterday after sundown. Boom, boom, boom. Initially maybe once a minute. Absolute nonstop around midnight.
C and I took a walk down to the Salzach after dinner, to watch it a bit. Seeing fireworks in front of the old castle is definitely pretty. But the uncoordinated random who-knows-where-the-next-rocket-will-rise thing is not. I also couldn't sleep till well after 1am when the booms finally abated.
The saddest thing about it is the unbelievable amounts of paper shreds and wooden sticks that are now blanketing the city, and the thought of how much money has been spent in total that could have been spent so much better.
This New Year's also marks about half-time for our sabbatical. (We haven't booked the flights back yet, but likely in early July.) I wish I'd gone for a half-sabbatical instead of a full one. It's been a good experience, but I don't expect much more new stuff to happen in the second half.
Well, Happy New Year everyone.
C and I took a walk down to the Salzach after dinner, to watch it a bit. Seeing fireworks in front of the old castle is definitely pretty. But the uncoordinated random who-knows-where-the-next-rocket-will-rise thing is not. I also couldn't sleep till well after 1am when the booms finally abated.
The saddest thing about it is the unbelievable amounts of paper shreds and wooden sticks that are now blanketing the city, and the thought of how much money has been spent in total that could have been spent so much better.
This New Year's also marks about half-time for our sabbatical. (We haven't booked the flights back yet, but likely in early July.) I wish I'd gone for a half-sabbatical instead of a full one. It's been a good experience, but I don't expect much more new stuff to happen in the second half.
Well, Happy New Year everyone.