Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great start to the year 2006 and had as much fun on New Year's Eve as I did :).

For the first time in a very long time, I spent New Year's Eve in a very traditional way. We were a couple of friends at one friend's house up in the mountains, overseeing a beautiful valley. We at first had Raclette, a traditional Swiss meal where you cook meat on a hot stone in the center of the table and melt cheese over vegetables - very yummy! After supper we played games and chatted about the old year. As midnight approached we started to get champagne and a radio outside in front of the house and watched the fireworks down in the valley. The sight was magnificent!!! We played the radio very loud and shouted out the countdown into the dark and at midnight we all danced to the Blue Danube Walz on the snow, watched the fireworks, and had our champange. When it got too cold we all went back inside and did another Austrian tradition, called 'Led Pouring'. You melt led over a candle-light and pour the liquid metal into ice-cold water. Then you take out the piece of metal and try to figure out what this could be, compare to a list of figures, and find out your fortune for the next year. Apparently 2006 will bring travels and luck with Loto for me! Sounds great!

Apart from this fun New Year's party, I have been quite busy with finding an Internship in Austria for next summer and helping my boyfriend renovate a room in his basement. He now has a very comfortable office downstairs :)