Impressions of Austria

It has been over a month since I last posted; time flies – especially when I am back in the classroom and papers waiting to be graded are  piling up. I also needed to take a break from posting since my blog postings could have easily turned into a rant about missing Italy  in particular and Europe in general. And since the semester has started again and I have met a new group of students, I am once again the oddity – the Austrian teaching in the US. Of course, this also means that I hear a version of the question “So what is it like – this Austria?” Well, how can one describe a whole country in a couple of minutes?

I try to avoid the well-known impressions of Vienna and Salzburg and of course Sound of Music (which very few Austrians know about; I learned about Sound of Music from a Scot on my semester abroad in Scotland, and this knowledge has come in handy when talking with Americans about Austria – but that is a story for another time). Well, so what is Austria?

Austria is centuries-old castles and grand palaces.

Courtyard of the Castle in Parz

Interior of Lambach Abbey

 

Austria means rugged mountains hugging crystal-clear lakes.

Traunsee in Upper Austria

 

And since Austria is small, these sights are compressed to have castle, and mountains, and lake all in one view.

Lake Traunsee and the Castle Ort on an Island in the Lake

 

Austria is orderly.

Padlocks on a Specially Designed Strcuture on the Banks of Lake Traunsee

 

And most of all, Austria is colorful; it is rich greens.

Schloegener Schlinge of the Danube – The Danube Loop by Schloegen

 

It is ultramarine and chartreuse in lively contrasts.

Austrian Countryside

 

And when the skies are grey, the buildings stand out in vibrant orange, burnt sienna, and playful pinks.

Orange-Yellow Facade of Melk Abbey

Rust-Colored Townhouse in Obernberg am Inn

Pink Staircase Inside of Melk Abbey

So most of all, Austria for me is color; that is the five-second answer to what Austria is like.

Back in Austria

Upper Austrian Hills in the Evening

Even though the blog is called An Austrian in California, the first postings are from Austria (where I feel more like an Californian in Austria, but more about this in upcoming posts). The trip to Austria finally gave me the last push I needed to actually start the blog and not just think about it. To start with, above is an evening view of Upper Austrian rolling hills that show the less mountainous and maybe less well-known but nevertheless beautiful side of Austria.