Australians are big into breakfast cereals. Growing up it was Weet-Bix all the way with the occasional Crunchy Nut Cornflakes thrown in on special occasions and of course Saturday morning porridge. The cereal aisle in Australia is pretty much that… wall-to-wall cereal options.
Continue readingMonth: April 2023
You know you’re in Austria and not Australia when… Ash Wednesday is not what you always thought it was
The day after Faschingsdienstag, or Shrove Tuesday is Ash Wednesday. When I first arrived in Austria and this day came up I thought to myself… woah… that’s weird… in Australia we also have an Ash Wednesday. Our Ash Wednesday, however, memorialises one of Australia’s most destructive bush fires which occurred on 16 February 1983. Or at least that’s what I thought.
Turns out that I’m actually just an idiot.
Continue readingMisconceptions about Australia
When you move to a new country there are a lot of questions about where you’re from, and along the way you also discover the weird and wonderful things foreigners believe (or have at least heard) about your country. Here are some of the misconceptions I have heard about Australia since I moved to Austria.
Continue readingSeasonal eating
I find that the seasons in Austria are a lot more defined that in Australia. Sure, Australia has a definite summer and winter, but a lot of things can be done in Australia all year round, whereas it’s pretty hard to play golf when there’s snow on the ground (though not impossible from what I’ve heard!). We don’t just have a low season here, we have an off season.
And the same goes for food. Sure, most restaurants all over are seasonal in the way that certain things are more available and cheaper when they are in season. But I never saw seasonal like this. Because if you visit a restaurant in Austria at particular times of the year, you’ll find common trends.
Continue readingA new country, new doctors… so how nude should I be?
Going to the doctor in another country can be a challenge. Things are just done differently. In Austria, you have a general practitioner for the ‘standard’ things – your Hausarzt (House Doctor) – but as soon as there is a specialization such as skin doctor, children’s doctor or gynecologist, you have to see someone separately.
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