The story of the immigrant – the recurring tale of people
with two identities, their lingering attachment to their birth country
and their love for their new homes... For many people immigrating
to a new country can be an almost schizophrenic experience.
My experience is a little unique: I left my home country of Austria
at the tender age of 20 and will soon be celebrating my 21st anniversary
of living in Canada. Any gifted mathematician will tell you that
I have spent more than half my life, and virtually my entire adulthood
in Canada, my new home country, a country for which I have great
respect and love. On the other hand, many people are surprised when
they hear me speak in my original Austrian dialect. They can’t
believe I have been away from home for more than two decades and
I still speak my East Styrian dialect exactly the way I spoke it
20 years ago. You could call me a truly bi-cultural individual.
The main square of Weiz, my home town
During my first 10 years in Canada I travelled back to Austria
once a year to visit my family – my father, grandmother and
brother. Unfortunately my mother had passed away a couple of months
after I first arrived in Canada, and I had many sad memories of
growing up. Then a significant milestone came to pass in 1995: both
my father and grandmother passed away within half a year of one
another, an event that affected me deeply for a long time, especially
since I had a very small family to begin with (no uncles, no aunts,
no other grandparents). After this I took an almost nine year hiatus
during which I did not travel back home at all. It was not until
2004, at the occasion of my 20th high school graduation anniversary,
that I travelled back home to Austria again.
View of the Taborkirche
Since I had started travel writing in 2004 there were so many other
places to visit in the last few years, and I have since explored
fascinating places like Havana, Mexico City, Sicily, New York City,
Chicago, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and many interesting
towns and places across Canada and the United States. So there had
not really been an opportunity to travel back to Austria, my native
country.
Another view of my home town
But with the occasion of my brother Ewald’s 50th birthday
this year I decided to make a trip back. That was a celebration
I simply could not miss. In addition, I had set a deliberate goal
to travel back home and to explore my birth region through the eyes
of a travel writer and to compare Austria, and more specifically
Styria, my home province, with the many other places I have had
a chance to visit over the last few years.
Gleisdorf, a nearby market town
So I set off in late July and flew into Vienna, Austria’s
famous capital. On a gorgeous day I drove south on the A2 Highway
through rolling hills into my home province of Styria. It was as
if time had stood still, the quaint villages were still there; the
fields, orchards and forests still looked the way I remembered them.
One thing I distinctly noticed was the fact that virtually all the
houses were beautifully renovated and everything seemed in tip top
modern condition.
Austrian bakery products - delicious and healthy
Upon my arrival
and a warm welcome by my sister-in-law Anneliese (my brother was
still at work) we went for a little walk through my home town of
Weiz, and I had a chance to see some of the new buildings that had
gone up since my last visit. After a great reunion with my brother
and a restful night recuperating from my jet lag, the following
day, a Saturday, was going to be the day of my brother’s birthday
dinner.
Harvest time
Ewald is a very talented professional chef, so the three off us
set off right away in the morning and started the day with visits
to the farmers markets in Gleisdorf and Weiz, my home town. Local
produce, meats and baked goods made my salivary glands work overtime
and my brother picked up the necessary ingredients. Then he started
preparing the feast while he sent Anneliese and me on a brief hike
through a portion of the Raab River Gorge, a popular hiking and
recreational area close to my home town. I added a little driving
tour through the scenic areas surrounding the local Goller and Gösser
mountains and explored the old mining village of Arzberg. We spent
the evening savouring a multi-course gourmet dinner, admiring my
brother’s cooking skills.
Getting ready for the birthday dinner
Sunday was set aside for a full-day
outing: we met with our friends Luis and Isabella (who had already
visited us in Toronto in 2005), and drove about an hour into the
area of South West Styria, which is a very well-known winegrowing
region. We went hiking in a picturesque area of rolling hills that
is often referred to as the “Austrian Tuscany”. After
all this exercise we enjoyed a scrumptious late lunch in a local
winegrower’s restaurant, and in the evening I went for a quick
bike ride through town.
South-west Styria is a well-known wine-growing region
The weather did not cooperate the next day and it was drizzling
or raining the entire day. This gave me a chance to visit my friend
Andrea whose daughter Nina had spent several weeks at our place
in Toronto last year. I had not seen Andrea, the older sister of
one of my schoolmates, for at least 23 years and the reunion was
fabulous. A little round of tennis with my friends Luis and Isabella
capped off a low-key day.
The baroque Weizbergkirche
A brilliant blue sky and beaming sunshine woke me up on Tuesday
and I embarked on my first photo
tour of my home town. I checked out the imposing baroque pilgrimage
church called Weizbergkirche in my home town, and visited Schloss
Thannhausen, a Renaissance castle that is still used for concerts
and special events. I then drove through the Weizklamm mountain
gorge that features vertically dropping limestone cliffs, a river
and a main road that is patched against the rocks. The road is so
narrow in some areas that one side of traffic has to wait for the
other side to pass, there simply isn’t enough room for two
vehicles to get by side by side.
Quaint country beauty in St. Kathrein
The road took me up into the mountains to a village called St.
Kathrein, a picturesque little place with gorgeous mountain views,
lots of local bed and breakfasts, hiking trails and a nearby ski
area. In the afternoon I connected with Andrea and her family again
and together we embarked on a special excursion: a visit to the
Katerloch, a well-known limestone cave that features the greatest
variety of stalactites and stalagmites in all of Austria.
Limestone formations in the Katerloch
Fritz, our guide, took us on a two-hour walking tour and with his
dynamic and entertaining speaking style he explained all the features
of the cave, including the various rock formations as well as several
big caverns with names such as the Hall of Fantasy, the Enchanted
Kingdom and the Lake Paradise which features an underground lake
135 m below the cave’s entrance. He also told us about the
former owners and explorers of the cave, a deeply religious married
couple that discovered and made accessible extensive new sections
of the cave in the early to mid 1950s. These two individuals definitely
believed that willpower and conviction can move mountains.
Rural scene near my home town
Another gorgeous summer
day followed which I decided to start off with a hike through
the wildest section of the Raabklamm, Austria’s longest gorge
and a designated European nature conservation area. My friends Andrea
and Herbert set the pace which was enhanced by our Nordic walking
poles. I stopped for a couple of Austrian culinary treats at a local
restaurant before I continued my excursion to Graz, the capital
of Styria and Austria’s second largest city.
Andrea and I went hiking in the Raabklamm
Graz is a really underrated destination, the majority of North
Americans has never even heard of it. When people think of traveling
to Austria, the destinations Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck instantly
come to mind. Surprisingly Graz is still mostly flying under the
radar as far as North American travelers are concerned.
Ancient trade symbols in Graz
But what a shame! Graz is an absolutely gorgeous destination: it
is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site because it has one of
the most well-preserved late medieval and Renaissance city centres
in Europe. It was also designated as the European Cultural Capital
in 2003. Graz is known for outstanding architecture, music and various
leading edge arts festivals throughout the seasons.
The imposing baroque pilgrimage church of Mariatrost
On my way to Graz I made my first stop in Mariatrost to visit the
impressive baroque pilgrimage church on the hill. I then stopped
my car near the Opera House and walked down the Herrengasse, Graz’
popular shopping promenade and part of the extensive pedestrian
area. I admired the Renaissance courtyard of the Landhaus, seat
of the Provincial Styrian Government, and made my way to the Hauptplatz,
the city’s main square. It is a beautiful public space, anchored
by an impressive late 19th century city hall that overlooks stately
houses flanking the square.
The City Hall of Graz
The view from the Hauptplatz is framed by the Schlossberg, a rock
that is located in the middle of the city that once featured an
imposing medieval fortress. Most of the fortifications were destroyed
by Napoleon’s troops in 1809, but the citizenry of Graz paid
significant ransom money to retain its most beloved landmark: the
Uhrturm (“Clock Tower”), the tower with the four oversized
clock faces whose hour hand is longer than its minute hand.
Graz' most famous landmark: the "Uhrturm" - it's 2:20
pm
This clock tower has for centuries been the symbol of Graz and
I enjoyed my view over the city from its terraces after my funicular
ride up the mountain. I also took in the afternoon performance of
the carillon on the Glockenspielplatz, where since 1905 the music
of 24 bells accompanies the mechanical dance of a couple made from
wood, entertaining dozens of tourists who congregate to watch.
Habsburg emperor's mausoleum in Graz
My brother and sister-in-law had taken the next day off and we
were planning an
excursion further afield: our destination was a mountain peak
called Mangart in Slovenia, located about a three-hour drive from
my home town. The beauty of Central Europe is its diversity of landscapes
and its small distances, and in just a few hours of driving through
the Austrian province of Carinthia we arrived in Val Canale, an
area where Austria, Italy and Slovenia meet. Incidentally this is
also the only area where the Germanic, Romance and Slavic language
families come together right next to one another. We passed by the
picturesque Predil Lake and continued our climb into the high mountains
and crossed the Italian border into Slovenia.
The picturesque Predil Lake in Italy
But as it can be with the best laid plans of mice and men, our
hiking trip to the Mangart Mountain was not to be: our car overheated
and there was no way we were going to make it any further. We had
to stop, let the car cool down and turn around to go back down the
mountain. Fortunately, our disappointment did not last long since
we came up with an alternate plan: we took the cable car up to Monte
Lussari whose summit area features a tiny mountain village with
a small pilgrimage church. An absolutely stunning 360 degree mountain
vista opens up from the top of this mountain and we enjoyed a hearty
lunch on the balcony of a rustic restaurant, taking in the phenomenal
Alpine panorama.
Three hikers and a dog on Monte Lussari
On our way home we stopped in the town of Tarvisio, a border town
that has benefited for a long time from the traffic between Austria,
Slovenia and Italy. We stopped at the market, my brother picked
up a few Italian delicatessen and we enjoyed our stroll through
town. After our return in the late afternoon I embarked on a little
local excursion and drove to the Teichalm – Sommeralm area
close to my home town.
Pedal boats are waiting for customers at the Teichalmsee
This region is now marketed as the “Almenland’, which
literally means “Alpine meadow country”. The Tourism
Region Sommeralm -Teichalm represents the largest contiguous high-altitude
alpine meadow area in Europe. It features a lake, many hiking trails,
ski lifts and phenomenal views into the surrounding countryside.
In addition, the area is used as grazing pastures for hundreds of
Alpine oxen, animals whose tender and tasty meat is prized highly
by chefs and restaurant owners throughout the entire area.
A huge wooden Alpine ox on the Teichalm
Poor weather returned on Friday,
so I spent a quiet day making visits to acquaintances and doing
errands. The highlight of the day was a classical concert organized
by the local Weiz Lions Club: a charity concert and fundraiser that
featured musicians and an orchestra from AIMS, the American Institute
of Musical Studies, a Graz-based organization that offers intense
summer vocal, piano and music programs to international students,
most of whom come from the United States.
The AIMS Concert - dozens of young talented singers and musicians
We listened to pieces by Mozart, Strauss and Verdi and were thoroughly
impressed by the young sopranos, tenors and musicians who put on
an outstanding performance. The event even raised 15,000 Euros for
the local charity. I interviewed several of the young music students
after the concert and they were thoroughly enjoying their international
exchange program and sure to return home with memories of a lifetime.
Aims concert emcee Andrea Huber with international music students
Finally, the sun had returned and my
second last day in Austria was going to be gorgeous. My second
photo safari through my home town resulted in several encounters
with acquaintances whom I had not seen for more than 20 years. Old
memories were stirred up even more when I connected with my school
friends Klaudia and Doris. During our walk up to the local Weizberg
we also had a celebrity connection: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
mother, father and brother are buried in the Weiz cemetery. His
parents lived in this town for many years, and his father was a
local police officer.
Three peas in a pod
Of course we reminisced about our high school adventures and after
a scrumptious garden lunch we went to go hiking on the nearby Schöckel
mountain. The Schöckel is the largest mountain in the region
around Weiz and provides a phenomenal 360 degree panorama over the
entire region. Southerly views extend into the Slovenian and Hungarian
plains, and northerly vistas feature the high Alpine peaks of Northern
Styria. To the east and to the west the scenic Styrian hill country
opens up. The three of us climbed up the steepest portion of the
mountain, securely equipped with our Nordic walking poles. Several
restaurants offer refreshments and hearty Austrian food at the summit
area, and high-speed excitement is provided by the summer tobogganing
track that runs down the mountain, a nice adrenaline kick I just
had to experience.
We have reached the summit!
After our hike back down we stopped off at Doris’ house,
a beautiful property in the countryside, that features a brand new
pond and large garden. Doris even equipped us with delicious freshly
picked peaches from her father’s orchards. Klaudia and I headed
back to Weiz and an hour later we met up again for a backyard barbeque
at my brother’s place. Klaudia’s entire family, her
sister Andrea with daughters Nina and Katja as well as the two grandparents
joined us for a delicious dinner that showcased my brother’s
culinary skills in a multi-course feast.
Dinner will be ready soon, fresh from the fire...
My last
full day in Austria had arrived and Ewald and Anneliese had
planned a special outing: an excursion to one of Austria’s
most famous fortresses – the Riegersburg. In existence for
more than 850 years and located in the border region of the old
Austro-Hungarian Empire, this impressive fortification has withstood
many attacks from the east and was never conquered. It has often
been referred to as the “strongest fortification of Christianity”,
having successfully defended repeated attacks by Turks and Magyars.
One of the many gates of the Riegersburg
With its numerous fortified gates, its unique location on an extinct
volcanic cone, its extensive defensive walls, wooden drawbridges
and moats, the Riegersburg is an authentic medieval fortress that
has seen architectural additions from the Renaissance and Baroque
eras. An exhibition in the fortress explains the historic era of
the 16th and 17th century and sheds light on feudalism as well as
two fascinating female characters who inhabited this fortress more
than four centuries ago: Baroness von Galler and the “flower
witch” Katharina Paldauf.
The Riegersburg - a real medieval fortress
Our East Styrian tour continued through volcano country with a
drive to Schloss Kapfenstein, another medieval fortress that has
been expanded into a castle and today holds an upscale restaurant
and hotel. This castle is also located on the extinct cone of a
former volcano. We enjoyed a tasty lunch in the outdoor patio of
the castle, against the gorgeous backdrop of the distant Carinthian
and Slovenian Mountains.
Austrian country charm
My last evening in Austria was capped off with a visit to our friends
Luis and Isabella, and all five of us enjoyed the late evening sun
in their beautiful backyard. Luis even took me on a little motor
scooter adventure around town. Back at Ewald’s place we spent
a few more hours reminiscing until I had to pack my bags for my
departure to the airport in Vienna Monday morning.
Sculpture of Austrian poet Peter Rosegger
These nine days have been one of the most wonderful travel experiences
in my life. They were greatly enhanced by my connections with family
and friends, but in addition, my eyes were truly opened to travel
opportunities in my birth region of Austria.
Renaissance arcades in Schloss Thannhausen
Styria, with its medieval cities, imposing churches, monasteries
and fortresses offers a great variety of destinations to history
and architecture lovers. Music, visual and performing arts are ever
present, even in small communities. Outdoor lovers will find a whole
smorgasbord of activities, from hiking to mountain biking, skiing,
horseback riding, mountaineering, hang-gliding, river rafting and
many other varied pastimes.
The Teichalmsee at dusk
The diverse landscapes featuring fertile plains, rolling hills
full of orchards and vineyards, high Alpine peaks and meadows, pristine
rivers and scenic lakes enchant at every corner. And food, wine
and beer lovers will definitely enjoy the diverse culinary offerings.
In addition, Styria offers affordable prices and great value to
international travelers. I realized my birth region is right up
there at the top of any destinations I have visited in the last
few years.
The Glockenspielplatz in Graz, featuring the popular carillon
This trip truly opened my eyes to the astounding beauty and variety
of the area where I was born, and even though Styria might not be
as well known as other regions of Austria, my nine days back home
were far too short and I already have a whole list of things to
do and see next time I am over in the old country.
The Landhaus - a Renaissance jewel and seat of the Styrian government
