Five years ago today I arrived in Austria.
I remember the pre-winter sky being impossibly blue. Nine degrees and sunny was pretty good for that time of year.
I was there on an adventure – a quest of love – a gamble.
I had no idea what was to come.
I could not have imagined that five years later I would still be here.
It is with some surprise, and some trepidation, that I confront the fact I have now lived in Austria for 4 whole years.
4 whole years.
In many ways I feel like I’ve just arrived, in others I feel like I’ve been here an eternity.
There’s something very exciting that happens at noon every Saturday in Austria – and if you’re lucky enough to be near a fire station at the time… well all the more excitement for you!
The first time it happened my first thought was that war had broken out. Because every Saturday at 12, the fire stations test their sirens.
But yesterday it got even more exhilarating – because the first Saturday in October is THE ANNUAL NATIONAL SIREN TEST!
Hold onto your hats people!
Now that I’ve been living in Austria for over three years and married for w, I often have people asking me when I’m going to become a citizen.
The answer: Never.
It’s not that I don’t want to be. The red EU passport is something I’d love to have in my hot little hand.
But the thing is, I don’t want a red one, if I can’t keep my blue one.
Winter in Australia is… well… somewhat mild compared to Austria. And while there are some absolutely freezing days in Melbourne, especially when there’s a cracker of an icy wind blowing, it’s definitely not on the same scale. So here are 10 things I never knew I’d have to learn about what a real winter involves.
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.
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.
