Lent

Today is the first day of Lent. Enough of Faschingskrapfen and balls with or without costumes, such as the "Maschkara-Treiben" I saw advertised in Garmisch-Partenkirchen: 
I've never given up anything for Lent and been quite impressed by people who don't eat sweets for 40 days,  like the Empress did last year. I'm afraid I lack the religious conviction to see that through, never mind the fact that I would really pity the people around me who would have to endure the sugar-withdrawal-symptoms-induced bad mood. I'm sure that Easter chocolate tastes all the sweeter when you've been craving it for weeks, but I have a good excuse this year: I won't be home for Easter, but in far-away Japan, where I definitely will not fast!