1. Austria can fit in a nutshell
Austria, on one road sign, can fit Prague, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and Linz. Or for the geographically challenged, that’s virtually every major city in Austria, as well as cities in two other countries — on one exit sign. Give or take a few square miles, this pea of a country is about the size of South Carolina.
2. Austrians speak “German.”
I’ve been studying the German language for over eight years, and have lived in Germany long enough to confidently say I have the ability to understand what I need in order to survive.
Well, not in Austria.
Austrian German is like listening to German through a water tank. Sure, it actually shares quite a few words with Schwabisch (sh-vay-bish), the dialect spoken in the southwestern most part of Germany where I live, but if I were to find myself needing direction to a hospital, well, let’s say I’d lose a limb.
So thankfully, I had friends around. My buddy Martin, whom I met at the University of Minnesota, lives in Austria and speaks their language. I guess I never thought I’d need a German-to-German translator.
3. In Austria, culture has remained remarkably intact.
Sadly, due to World War II, most industrialized cities in Germany (see: Dresden) were almost completely obliterated. However, in Austria the picture is very different. In Linz, I was fortunate enough to see a truly medieval alley, complete with creepy goblin statues and, of course, archery stations at a castle fort.
One part of the Austrian culture that I was at first hesitant to sample though, was the widespread use of marmalade. Like many other societies, Austrians will spread marmalade on toast with breakfast. What I did not expect, however, was to watch my friend Martin enjoy a dollop of raspberry jelly on his Wienerschnitzle.* I opted to take my first bite with ketchup, but succumbed to the Austrian way of life for the next and …. I’ll be damned, it was much actually much better than with ketchup!
*Wienerschnitzle is essentially a tenderized filet of pork that is battered and fried.
