"Schneiders glasses"

Egg liqueur

Eggnog is a dangerous drink - sweet and strong.(Bild: A_Bruno)

"Krone" columnist Robert Schneider is once again reminiscing. When he was a child, he was "forced" by his father to visit relatives at the turn of the year. One visit left a lasting impression.

"New Year's wishes are to be delivered by Epiphany. Any wishes that come after that are a cheek and tell you how unimportant you are to them. Remember that, boy!"

My father lived by this maxim. That's why he hurried to shower his dear relatives with congratulations shortly after the New Year. There were a few unwelcome ones among them, namely those he wanted something from. So he put together a well-planned excursion to Koblach and the Bregenzerwald, where the relatives lived. For us children, these were incredibly boring afternoons. The endless chatter of the adults, the rock-hard coconut cookies that you could no longer see and which we gritted our teeth on, the precious vacation time that literally melted between our fingers as we sat around pointlessly in other people's rooms. So we passed the time with a bit of "Gschänden", sneaking into the attics of our relatives to see what there was to discover.

I found what I was looking for in Aunt Resi's closet. Behind her jacket (it wasn't hanging but standing in the wardrobe because it was so stiff), I came across a bottle of eggnog. I stealthily unscrewed the cap of the bottle and sipped it. It tasted delicious and I took a good swig straight away. Because the afternoon was so tough, I stole into the bedroom every now and then to indulge in the eggnog. "Why does the boy have such a red head and sing all the time?" my father wondered on the way home. For the first time in my life, I was drunk.