Fasching

Austrians do parties extremely well. There's a designated German word for drinking-in-the-morning-on-Sundays (technically, this happens after church, but since Austrians don't go to church anymore, you just get up and start drinking). There's Oktoberfest, Maifest, Ballsaison, Grillsaison -- Austria even manages to turn Christmas shopping into a drinking event!
With it being January, though, we're getting into uncharted territory for me -- before this year, I had been in Vienna for October - January and May - July before, and so I was familiar with Austrian customs for those parts of the year. But Mardi Gras, Lent, Easter -- this will all be new for me this year, and I can't wait to see what Austria has up its sleeves for those months.

The first event on this calendar of Neuigkeiten, one I had been eyeing for quite awhile, is Fasching. Fasching (or Karneval, in case any of my Rheinländer friends are reading this) is the Austrian term for the time before Lent, when everyone parties it up because they're soon going to have to be walking around with ashes on their foreheads and thinking about their sins.

In Austria, this involves costumes. Or, more exactly, costume parties, like the one hosted by Haus Salzburg, my first Austrian dorm and the place where many of my friends still live, last Friday. (The real Fasching -- Mardi Gras in the United States -- isn't until February, but because that's university break and most people will be at home, they decided to have the party a bit early.)

Pop stars: Me as Nicki Minaj and my friend Hoa, from Salzburg, as a young and charming Britney Spears

The back of my costume makes things a lot clearer

My friend Tatenda, from Zimbabwe, and I lovin' that kaiserliche Musik.

Johanna, left, from Vorarlberg, had the best costume of the evening. 

Although this one from Simon (Salzburg) was also cute.

Parties were made.

And Krapfen -- jelly-filled doughnuts -- were eaten. It is these delectables, traditional for the Faschingszeit, that are called "Berliner" in some parts of Germany, leading to the most famous German language mistake by an American ever.* At this Faschingsparty, I ate one in solidarity with our dearly departed President.

* I always explain to people that saying "Ich bin ein Berliner" is like saying "I am a Danish" (breakfast pastry) instead of "I am Danish" (from Denmark).