Christmas Rush in Vienna

Had you noticed - the streets and shopping centres are more crowded than normal in the afternoons? It will only get worse the next few days, so get used to it.

But by the evening of the 24th the bustle will be over. So get yourself prepared for it. The next three weeks are a challenge for the person in the household who has to do the shopping and food preparation.

All stores are, of course, closed for the Sundays (in 2008/9 21.12, 28/12. and 4.1) . There are also a number of public holidays (25.12, 26.12, 1.1, 6.1) and two days with shortened shopping hours (24.12, 31.12). Also, a lot of stores will close for a few days in there for 'inventory'. For the exact opening times of your favourite supermarkets, check the signs on the doors.

What this all adds up to is that you want to do a big shop on Monday or Tuesday. Save Wednesday for a small trip for the thnigs you really want fresh. Expect the stores to run out of things like milk and cream fairly early and to be overrun. The positive side of this is that tempers that have been getting shorter and shorter lately seem to have flipped on Christmas Eve. Everyone is wishing happy holidays, and seem to mean it. It wouldn't be Christmas without that last shop for me. Whatever you don't have by Wednesday afternoon has to wait for Saturday. By now a lot of people are out of Vienna, so although smaller shops might be closed, the big ones are back to more normal traffic.

A big shop on Monday or Tuesday in preparation for New Year's Eve is also in order. This time there will also be stands open everywhere with fireworks and good luck items. The rush on the 31st isn't as bad as on the 24th. After all, this time shops will already be open again on both Friday and Saturday. But don't forget that Tuesday is Epiphany, and that shops are closed again.

What are the special items that your Austrian neighbors are buying? Christmas Eve is a traditional fast day with feast character. So the big item is Carp for Christmas Eve. There is a lot of poultry available. Turkey, Goose, duck, are all on offer. New Year's Eve is also fish, more the smoked varieties. I love smoked eel, and usually only find it around now. For various informal type meals there are special sausages and liver pates. I love the one that has cranberries in it. Venison sausages and hams are also around more than usual.

Exotic fruits and vegetables have gotten a lot easier to find than they used to be, so the extras are not as obvious. Do check out the special dates. Yes, they are worth the extra price.

You have certainly noticed all the baked goods and sweet tree decorations on offer since October. Lebkuchen, Speculatiaas, and Vanilla Kipfeln are a must for most households. Bought if they haven't baked themselves. Mohn- and Nussstrudel are available year round, but are also more enjoyed for the holidays. These are poppy seed or nut filling wrapped in a sweet yeast dough. Then there all all the various Stollens - also yeast breads with a lot of 'stuff' in them, or the Italian Panetonne. The fruitbreads are much less sweet than the cakes that the English-speaking world enjoys. Usually a lot of dried fruits with just enough regular bread dough to hold them together, with or without a white dough around the outside.. 'Kletzen' are dried pears, and are an essential ingredient in one variation. After Christmas, a lot of this goes on sale at half price. Pick up more on the 27th if you want to keep your tree full. (They also make great surprises for college kids to take back to their dormmates. They don't know you bought them reduced.)

You will also find your door bell ringing more often in the next few weeks. The postman will be delivering some things in person - he expects a tip this time of year. The garbage people do too, if you have a house. Tie an envelope to the garbage can. They do almost twice the work over Christmas as they do the rest of the year. Don't forget them. (Do make sure boxes and regular paper get recycled. fancy gift paper does NOT belong in the Altpapier containers. I use cloth gift bags. A lot less work!) Also the Chimneysweep may come by to offer you good luck in the next year - which he wants a tip for. The three kings will come by after the new year. They are collecting for Caritas (The Roman Catholic charity that does a lot for the needy both here and around the world). If you ask for it, they will inscribe their initials above your door with chalk, to give a blessing on the house for the coming year.

Traditionally, the day to take your tree down is the 6th. There are collection points all over the city. The trees are chopped up and burned for electricity. I'd give you the URL for looking up your nearest one, but in my experience there are a lot more than the website shows.