What's a Frühschoppen?

If you are watching TV in Austria on a holiday around noon, chances are high that you catch an ORF-Fernsehfrühschoppen. A Frühschoppen would be something like a "morning pint" and is quite a tradition here. It consists basically on drinking some pints of beer while a band plays Volksmusik. Frühschoppen are normally attended after going to the church, although some would say instead of going to the church... :)

On distinctive holidays the ORF broadcasts a Frühschoppen from a selected village in Austria. It stars local celebrities and combines music performances and aerial views of the village and its surroundings. I guess it's not easy to get your town a TV-Frühschoppen.

The first time I catched a Fernsehfrühschoppen in TV I was astounded. I did not understand what was going on at all! What was the program about? Was it really about a bunch of people completely unknown to me, funnily dressed up in traditional costumes, happily drinking beer accompanied by alpine music? And that on TV? What a country! :)



My goal by writing this blog is to narrate life in Austria through a foreigner's eyes. I always thought that living abroad is a very healthy and mind-opening experience. I came here with all my spanish biases, just to find that most of them do not apply to austrian life. I had to begin from scratch, building up new biases through my experiences here.

Now I'm writing them down.