Traditional Austrian Dishes – Glundner Käse

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Austria is well known for many different types of food – some you will definitely have heard of: strudel, schnitzel, goulash etc. Each region also has specialities they call their own. Though consider that Austria has nine states in a total of 84,000km² (compare that to Australia’s 8 in 7.7million km²) – this means that a dish ‘local’ to one area is very often found in other places too.

I live in the state of Carinthia (Kärnten) and I work in the state of Steiermark (Styria), so I’m familiar with quite a few.

I’ve already talked about Kärntner Nudeln and this week I’m focusing on Glundner Käse.

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The Autumn Transition – from one day to the next, clothing completely changes

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autumn is over winter is coming
Afternoon aperol time is almost behind us

There’s often a day between summer and autumn in Austria, where the weather turns, and everyone knows that at that point things are going to go downhill (certainly in terms of temperature). Winter is coming.

It’s not always a hard and fast rule. After a couple of weeks in the low-teens, it’s not unheard of for temperatures to pop back up to 18-20.

But by then it’s too late.

Austrians have changed their wardrobes.

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And then the German language just comes out of nowhere and trips you up

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accidental blow waveIn the aftermath of passing my B1 test, I was experiencing renewed confidence in my German abilities. But of course, what goes up, must come down. A few weeks later, two incidents happened within about 20 minutes of one other, leaving me to realise I still have some work to do before I can call myself fluent.

Incident #1: Accidentally agreeing to a blow wave at the hairdresser.

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Weird things Austrians… do… 4am fireworks on your birthday

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fireworks

In Austria, if you celebrate a round birthday, or something else of particular note (eg. A wedding), don’t be surprised if people turn up at your house at 4am with fireworks. And no… I’m not kidding. Not quite sure where this crazy tradition comes from, but it’s a common, and accepted occurrence. A whole group of your nearest and dearest will get together, bring along some fireworks, some food and some music, and shoot rockets off in the dead of the night to wake you up on your big day.

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Giersch – the garden devil weed from hell

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giersch
Evil evil stuff

The back of our veggie garden, directly in front of the composting area, is separated by a small fence. Behind this fence live four charming redcurrant bushes and a forest of strawberries. During the first summer in our house we enjoyed a lot of strawberries from this part of the garden. Last year, however, I noticed a growing trend. Maybe it was something we changed, or maybe it was just bad luck. It seemed the back part of our garden was getting taken over by this weird green, leafy plant. We were told it could be eaten, if one so desired. We did not desire. My strawberries were soon engulfed by these beastly plants, with only small pockets of mint surviving the takeover.

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The B1 Integrationsprüfung – damn, it’s time for another German test

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german test B1A few weeks ago I undertook the German B1 test. When we originally looked into taking the test, hubby and I decided it made sense to do it together with the Austrian Integration component, which is what you need if you want to live here indefinitely. Since I have no intention of giving up my passport (and Austria doesn’t allow dual citizenship), it’s unlikely I’ll actually need this, but still, it’s done if for some reason I suddenly do.

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B1 – the next step to German understanding – it’s time for some lessons

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B1 german test booksThe start to my German learning was intense, with private lessons a couple of times a week for the first year I was unemployed in Austria. After I passed the A1 test and got a full time job, I also dropped my lessons, but I dutifully continued studying, almost daily, on a strict regime that I stubbornly adhered to (well, mostly).

My plan was to work through the necessary six books in my own time and reach B1/2 level. It was partly because I needed a goal to work toward, and partly because I’d heard that B1 was necessary at some point for my living in Austria arrangement.

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