Renovations are stressful, costly and life-sucking. We (or should I say Thomas) packed a lot of improvements into the two very short months before we moved in. While the outside of the house was basically ready to go, the inside needed a bit of work – new kitchen, new bathroom… and then of course it seemed that every time we looked under something there was something more to do underneath!
Year: 2016
Chestnuts and Hot Beverages – the perfect wintery Christmas combination
As autumn winds down and the first frosts hit, it is a sure sign that winter is coming. Yet not everything about winter has to be cold and horrible. With the air cool and crisp and the first flakes of snow threatening, December is one of the most beautiful months to be in Europe – with Christmas markets aplenty!
Moving out of an Austrian apartment – oh, and please take the kitchen with you!
Welcome to the weird world of Austrian apartments. In Austria it’s common for an apartment to be rented out completely empty, as was the case with the one we recently moved out of. Now, I know what you’re thinking… you’re thinking: “of course you expect to move into an empty apartment.”
But I bet your concept of an empty apartment is not the same as here. In Australia, it means the place comes with a bathroom, toilet, kitchen, hell, maybe even a laundry sink if you’re really lucky!
The apartment that Thomas originally moved into was brand new and had only the following – toilet, shower/bath and very basic washbasin.
And. That. Is. All.
“Learn a language,” they said. “It’ll be fun, they said.” – Debunking the myth that there are ‘fun’ ways to learn a language
When I first started learning German, naturally I did all kinds of Google searches on hints, tips and tricks to learning a language faster. There must be some kind of magic formula, I assumed, and if I could just unveil it, fluency would be mine!
Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there just isn’t. Sure, there’s plenty of ideas, but none of them take away from the fact that learning a language comes with hard work and practice.
One thing I came across a lot was so-called ‘fun’ and ‘easy’ ways to learn another language. I clung onto those with everything I had. Options like watching movies in a foreign language, reading local newspapers and listening to the local radio… sure these may sound like fun, but actually, they’re not.
Here’s why these methods are actually no fun at all, and up until now, have barely helped me.
Finding your footing
I recently had a good friend come to stay for a week and half in our tiny little town. A word for the wise – that is too long for most in our tiny little town. Being autumn and getting colder, although the weather wasn’t terrible, there is still a limit to what we could do. On days where the sun takes until lunchtime to pierce the fog, it still feels dismal and cold and motivation is low.
The wondrous PAX wardrobe system from Ikea – and the many hours lost from my life
I went into the purchase of my first PAX system from Ikea completely oblivious. I was just so excited to be getting extra space for my clothes, I didn’t think of how much work it would be to put it together.
An Austrian blood donation – sure I’ll take red wine with that
Call me weird, but I’ve always enjoyed donating blood. I could say that I do it because I want to help people, and that certainly has to be part of it, but I think perhaps it’s mostly to do with the fact that since I was a kid I’ve always watched my dad donate. I have good memories of going into South Melbourne with him and watching him undergo the process, waiting eagerly to share his milkshake and sugar lollies afterwards.
Or maybe I’ve always just been a sucker for free food.
Radio Paradise
I love my music. I have spent ridiculous amounts of time creating playlists and organising my music files to ensure everything is exactly perfect. But sometimes I crave more variety than is available in my personal library… and when that happens, I always turn to Radio Paradise.
An Austrian (surprise!) filling
I never understood why other people hated going to the dentist. I always shot through appointments in record time with little more than a poke and a scrape. I never understood until recently… when I received my first (surprise!) filling.
And it was a surprise, because I had no idea what was going on at the time.
The closest thing to owning chickens… without actually owning chickens
I once owned three chickens. They were a by-product of the only reason I studied biology: the project where each student receives a freshly hatched chicklet with the aim of ‘imprinting’ (basically making it think you’re its mother) it in the first week of its life by carrying it everywhere you go in a shoebox. When the week ended, you could choose to either keep your chick, or send it back to the Stegalls’ factory, where its projected lifespan was very short!
an aussie in austria 