Blogging
From Abroad

This past Saturday I was cordially invited to a luncheon hosted by Doris’s parents; Ingrid and Harry. It was a bonus that lunch also included a birthday celebration! Doris has an older brother, Thomas who’s girlfriend Kati, was celebrating a late birthday. So for lunch, 7 of us ate: Ingrid and Harry, Thomas and Kati, Hannes and Doris and myself. I had a lot of anticipation for this lunch, as well as a bit of nervousness!

For one, I speak but only a little German compared to the rest of the family I was eating with. Another, I was a bit uneasy about Austrian customs regarding guests and addressing elders. However, let me break any rumors about it. Viennese are very informal and I was welcomed into their house as one of them! I felt most comfortable at their residence, a generously sized condo (flat) with a large balcony. It was very clean, homey and well-appointed with fine furniture.

The ride across the Danube felt like forever, I tried to keep busy rehearsing some common phrases that would help me at the dinner table. Lucky for me, nearly everyone spoke nice English! English is taught as a sort of immersion from a young age for all Austrian students. Something I wish was required for all American students as well, I would love for my children to be bilingual!

Since it is customary to bring a gift to the hosts of such a meal I was attending, I brought a bottle of Baco Noir, from Forks of Cheat Winery (http://www.wvwines.com) near Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. This particular wine is a favorite of mine, I hope Ingrid and Harry enjoy it as much as I do! Doris and Hannes will have an opportunity to go there and taste some excellent wines!

For our meal we had salad with pumpkin seed oil from Styria (most delicious and very popular here!). This was dispersed into two bowls for everyone on the table to share. It was common just to eat straight from the bowl, whenever you wanted during the meal! I loved this, but a very new concept for me! I took a moment to snap this delayed photo:

The main course was served by plate steaming hot from the kitchen, a generous helping of very tender beef and a sort of pasta. It was called rindsschnitzel mit spätzle, everything had gravy mixed in as well, das schmeckt!! I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. In fact, I would make a bold statement as to dare someone to find an Austrian dish I would not enjoy!

It is customary after the meal to have a cup of coffee, so we did and yes, it was excellent coffee. Thomas had to make it to a soccer match, so we enjoyed Kati’s wonderful birthday cake next. The Austrians sing Happy Birthday much like we do, just with accents. Kati received some gifts next, Doris gave her a face fan powered by USB for her computer, pretty cool.

We all spent a long time chatting about travels and such. Ingrid and Harry are planning to come to America to visit Doris and Hannes in Morgantown, as well as see as much as possible in 2 weeks. I said I would help them in any way possible with their trip, I am pretty excited about it! I was sad to have to leave after a little while. I was meeting Nikki, an Australian friend of mine at the indoor climbing wall.

Overall, I had a great experience with an Austrian family. I think it will be very nice to spend more time with Ingrid and Harry, and I did, we all went to Bratislava yesterday (to be spoken about in my next blog). I think my lunch really reaffirmed my beliefs on Viennese hospitality, I can recommend it to anyone! Take my word for it, perhaps Austrian hospitality does not get the credit it deserves! I look forward to meeting more time with Austrians, it always a pleasure to spend time with folks who I can share beliefs with.

Bye!