You will be both thankful and disappointed there are no specific photos for this blog post.
I’ve mentioned mowing in previous blogs, Austrians’ need for a perfectly manicured lawn and their penchant for mowing around the flowers. But I have forgotten to mention one detail so far. There seems to be a kind of mowing ‘uniform’ in Austria… and it’s… bathers.Whatever you might call bathers that is: swimming costume, swimmers, cozzie… that’s what I’m talking about. The men are often out in their speedos, the more conservative ones might go for boardies, the women… a one piece or bikini with a t-shirt is generally the going trend.
And why, you ask? I don’t know. Maybe they’re about to go jump in the pool. Maybe they don’t want to get their clothes sweaty and bathers are easy to wash, maybe it’s just so hot (yeah, 26 degrees) that they can’t possibly wear much more. I saw a lady mowing the grass in the areas around my work – to be fair she was fully clothed, but she was wearing flip flops! Isn’t that dangerous? Doesn’t mowing require at least some hint of safety items for protection against rogue accidents, random stones etc?
Still, why they do it doesn’t really matter. They usually seem happy on their weekly pilgrimage around their gardens, getting some sun, sweating it out and hey, at least the sun danger is not so extreme here in Austria. Whatever floats your boat, guys.
And perhaps there’s some people in Australia running around in speedos and thongs right now mowing their lawns… it could be that I just never noticed it before.
an aussie in austria 
Haha! I think your Australian roots betray you here! Mowing the lawn in Australia means hitting rocks, unleashing spiders and snakes and stepping on who knows what. Heavy footwear is essential.
In contrast an Austrian lawn is almost like a soft pillowy substance, even, gentle and begging to be cut pedantically. What harm vcould there possibly be. Austrians have subjugated their lawns, while here in Sydney there is at best an uneasy truce with the bindi’s and rocks.
The idea certainly scares me – uncovered feet near a bunch of spinning blades, but the joy of walking on that soft, freshly cut lawn might be worth the risk?
Oh the joy of running under the sprinkler over spiky brown lawn as a kid and getting bindi’s in your feet constantly! haha. I think most Australians are smart and wear good, protective gear when mowing… I am just not sure they all do 😉
I still have to remember that wearing shoes on our lawn is ‘optional’ – though you do have to watch out for bees roving in amongst the flowers 😉