Gmunden

Schloss Orth. Lake Traunsee. Gmunden. Upper Austria. Clear blue sky.

Aurachkirchen

(From left) Audience at the Christmas performance at the castle; putting up the ornaments;

Christmas lunch; Thinner-than-usual advent candles and assorted homemade Keks;

Noah with chubby cheeks; sitting and singing around the Christmas tree

I left Vienna joyfully for upper Austria, and was very warmly welcomed by Elisabeth's family. I loved having Noah around and even got along well with Brandy the dog. It was a very typical Austrian Christmas which included looking for Christkind in the garden, being told that the presents were from Christkind, eating many times a day with many family members around (fried carp, Wurst, amazingly delicious Lachs, and countless Keks), praying, singing, going to Mass, and had real candles on the Christmas tree as opposed to small electric light bulbs. At times I felt like watching a TV series about a family while being in it. Within and Without. I absolutely loved Christmas 2006 and cannnot thank the Reiter enough.

Schneeberg

 

 

Going to Schneeberg was not my idea, but retrospectively it was a good one. The "Salamander" train, the taste of plum, the vegetation, the stops, the grey, the wind, the nothingness, the cross at the topic, die Pflege und die Aufmerksamkeit.

Melk

One of the lasts, Melk had an impressive Stiff Melk (Melk Abbey), apparently.

Fürstenfeld

Fast and Furious indeed - it was quick but momerable trip to Fürstenfeld. Taking care of guests on site, having guests as judges, and the rare comfort of a stable car ride back to Vienna, while watching beautiful snow white dancing by.

Moosburg

It all started with conversation I had with Angie a couple of weeks ago. Angie spends most of her summers in Carinthia, so I subtly suggested that it would be a good idea to invite me to go along. I wanted to see what a typical Austrian family was like. "My family is not an exhibition," said Angie with a smile, I spent a lovely weekend there and was very warmly welcomed by the Angie and her parents. There were many "cultural experience of the day" with things like Kompott, strawberries in the basket on the terrace, Sunday lunch at Angie's grandparent's farmhouse in Moosburg, where they make their own bread, cheese, and all that.

Wörthersee

Admiring the view, swimming in Wörthersee and enjoying the outdoor cafe. Unlike lakes back home, there were so many houses, hotels and churches around the water. It was still beautiful, and you can choose how much you wish to be charged depending on where you enter the water - resort owned shore, or local government owned shore?

Klagenfurt

No we did not go there to watch the world championship of beach volley held in Klagenfurt in the same weekend (quite bizarre really - a country without a coastline hosting the world championship of beach volleyball every year)... but we went to that party, explored the city, and just enjoyed absorbing the atmosphere.

Villach

And then to Carinthia... Kirchtag in Villach with traditional food, drinks, music, performances, and many people walking around in traditional or modified Dirndls and Lederhosen. "Please don't think that people in this part of Austria dress like this everyday," said my personal tour guide with a smile and a frown.

Bad Leonfelden

Teambuilding afternoon at START at Bad Leonfelden - EB conference it was.

Deutschlandsberg

Colourful timeline from the planning process, outdoor theatre with an alternative Midsummer Night's Dream performance all in German, visiting a Buschenschank for the first time and learning how they do not only mix sparkling water with white wine (Spritzer), but also with red wine... I really enjoyed Deutschlandsberg.

Graz

Starting from Styria: simply put, I was in Graz just like Simone would go visit the Waikatoians, and they made sure I see the best of the city. My logic was: if Schlossberg (from Der Grazer Schloßberg) means castle+mountain, then if fortress is burg, that means a fortress on a mountain must be called Burgberg... it made so much sense yet they insisted no. 

Innsbruck

Thanks to Sonja's very special birthday we had lots of very nice Serbian food and drinks, with great company. What I liked most about Innsbruck was the surrounding mountains, and also the relaxing-but-not-too-quiet atmosphere. We even ran into a Tirolien music performance in front of Landestheather for a nice finish as my "cultural experience of the day".

Salzburg

Once upon a time some 250 years ago, a baby boy was born in Salzburg. His name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Even since then Salzburg has been filled with people on the streets with maps in their hands, also known as tourists, tourists, and more tourists. But Salzburg is of course more than the house where this great composer was born (with that terrifying baby doll lying right in the middle). Yes The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg but if you can sing any of the songs, you are probably not Austrian. Most Austrians have not heard of, nor seen that those kids dressed in curtains.