The Autobahn is a big thing here in Austria. It’s long, it’s well used and it takes a lot of maintenance to keep everyone safe. So people are very diligent about reporting anything that might cause a disruption or be unsafe. With drivers travelling at 130km/h there is a good reason why. Not just for the ghost drivers (people driving the wrong way), but also for accidents, bad weather conditions, broken down vehicles and random things creating a hazard.
Like, for example, foreign objects. There is nothing more terrifying than coming around a bend at 130 to find a piece of ‘something’ on the road in front of you.
Not to make light of it, but more to praise the almost instantaneous way the radio and traffic authority tells us about these things, I do find myself intrigued about what might be found on the autobahn today.
The most common is a Ladegut which seems to be a generic term for an item that fell off a car or truck… or a Holzstuck (piece of wood)… or a piece of tyre… and so on.
But then there are the things that are not only less common, but sometimes have me giggling and wondering how the hell they got there in the first place.
When I was in the Ukraine a few years ago I remember being surprised by how much dill was in everything. Every dish had dill in and on it. Well, it seems that in many countries and cultures there is a ‘spice of choice’. And in Austria, their spice of choice is definitely… cumin.
I am no stranger to bee stings. As a kid it seems I was often barefoot, and I had plenty of runs-ins with the peaceful creatures. The result was usually just a swollen foot and limping for a few days – and of course the tell-tale itching.
an aussie in austria 