I’ve been unemployed for over one year. I guess that might depress some people, it might make others go crazy, but I think it suits me.
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is: but what do you do all day?
My answer:
Whatever I want.
I love my life.
I’m talking about Christmas Markets. In Europe around Christmas the streets come alive in the evening with brightly lit markets and stalls squatting out in the cold, snowy streets.
The light fades early here, around 4pm and the temperature drops as soon as the sun disappears, but in European towns and villages, the locals rug up and head out for a night of festivities and celebrations. Continue reading
Local radio really is the same as at home… they just speak in German (not really surprising). And though I’ve always been a dedicated Triple J listener, due to the time difference, a few hours after I wake up in Austria late night music starts in Australia… which is generally not that enjoyable.
I’d like to introduce you to my current radio station of choice, and the somewhat odd songs they choose to play.
You’ve probably seen people doing it, you’ve probably scoffed at them. It’s called Nordic Walking but I prefer the more literal translation of Stick Walking. That is, walking with sticks.
I myself have scoffed at people doing it. Now, why on earth would you go walking with sticks when you can just walk, or run? Surely it’s just an old person’s sport for people that need help walking?
That was until I tried it.
My first winter, I had exactly one.
In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad. Though at the time, pretty traumatic.
I scraped the car windows and drove out of the slippery, ice covered parking lot. So far, so good. The weather conditions weren’t bad, but I had a 45 minute drive on the autobahn… and as I found out, conditions can change a lot.
an aussie in austria 