When you Wear your Dirndl to Dinner

For Ben's birthday, we went on a weekend trip to Hartberg with our friends, Johannes and Amy.  The trip has to be broken down into a few posts; we jammed a lot into the few days we were there.

First, we traveled from Salzburg to Weiner Neustadt.  We had to switch trains in Vienna, and man, we picked the wrong train to go on.  There were three different trains leaving for Wr Neustadt within ten minutes of each other, and we had to pick the one that stopped abruptly 10 km outside of our destination.  We had to exit the train and wait for a huge bus to drive us to another train station for us to finish our journey.  As we pulled up to the train station, we steeled ourselves, grabbed our suitcases, and prepared to pounce on anything or anyone who stood in our way.  The bus door opened and we sprinted for the train station.  Workers in reflective vests yelled, "Bahnsteig drei! Your train is waiting for you!"  We dashed to Bahnsteig drei as our fellow passengers were still getting off the bus.  As soon as we took the closest seats on the train, the doors closed and all of the older passengers from the previous train and the bus were stranded at this dinky train station for who knows how long!  I felt bad that the train didn't wait for them, but I also was tired and was done being hassled so I had to laugh at the situation.

So, we made it to Wr. Neustadt, and after a friendly Grüß from our friends and from Leinie, we boarded a train for the last leg of our journey.

 

There was a big ski competition on Friday, and Johannes wanted to watch it while on the train, but Leinie wanted some attention.  Too bad an American was the best at those Austrian slopes...

Actually, I don't care at all.  American myth: everyone loves sports.  American myth-buster: me!

So as not to recount everything, suffice it to say that we met Johannes' father at the train station; he showed us around his house, which is a testament to Austrian planning and to being environmentally friendly; and then it was time to go to a Bushenschank.  And what would three Americans and an Austrian wear to said Buschenschank?  Lederhosen und Dirndl, natürlich!

A Buschenschank is a restaurant that specializes in wine and farm-fresh ingredients.  The farm and the restaurant are usually owned by one family, which makes it easy for them to control the quality of their products.

I ordered a Käsestangerl, which I will forever remember how to pronounce because I pronounced one of the vowels like an American, and I was rightly corrected by the waiter.  It's a cheesy roll loaded with ham, peppers, and cheese.  It was delicious.  It was less than 4 Euro.  And I ate 80% of it.  Woof.  Ben had a Brettljause: salami, hams, cheese, horseradish, pickles, pepper aufstrich, eggs, tomatoes, thick bread, etc. etc. 

Johannes and Amy ordered a Schinkenteller, or a plate of different hams and toppings, and Sauer Bohnen, beans and onions drenched in vinegar.

*For more information on vinegar, read my blog later in the week! It can be delicious! Who knew?

We got some peculiar looks during our outing.  We walked into the restaurant, and it was like in a movie when someone walks into a party and the turntable screeches and everyone stares.  It's not common for people to wear Tracten in the winter, but we made an older woman who sat next to us happy.  She said that Trachten was going out of style, but the younger generation is bringing it back.  Well, glad to have charmed her and we had fun too.  P.S. Her dinner was a piece of heavy bread covered in schmaltz, or lard mixed with garlic and herbs.  Gulp.

Wiener Neustadt and the Inescapable Past

When we visited our friends in Wiener Neustadt over the holiday break, they gave us a tour of the town.  The weather was absolutely miserable; the rain fell at such a pace that my glasses could not be kept dry despite my hood or my annoyance.  That easily has to be one of my biggest pet peeves.  Why hasn't someone invented a solution to this yet?  (And don't just say contacts.) 

We didn't see the town on one of her better days, but we were left with impressions that are worth sharing.

In the Stadtpark (city park), Johannes and Amy pointed out that the city of Wiener Neustadt had been fortified several times and they showed us portions of the different city walls within the Stadtpark.  Then, we came upon these gravestones from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that were displayed in front of one of the walls.  As the story goes, there used to be a bustling Jewish community in Wiener Neustadt until the reign of Emperor Maximillian in the fifteenth century when he ordered Jews out of the city and converted their synagogue into a Catholic church.  In 1846, city workers who were digging around the city walls uncovered these tombstones, evidence of a more tolerant past toward Jews in the city.     

We passed this building as we exited the Stadtpark.  Remember when I wrote about the Altes Rathaus in Munich, the setting for a hate-filled speech by Goebbels that led to Kristallnacht that has been transformed into a safe, innocent toy museum?  Well, this building shares a similar fate.

Beginning in 1938, this building was used as an office for the Gestapo.  It belonged to Jewish people, and was seized as were many other Jewish-owned properties in Austria and elsewhere in Europe.  Soon after establishing themselves in Wiener Neustadt, around ninety Jews and other political opponents of the Nazis were arrested over the course of two days.  Many of these people were later transported to Dachau (next to Munich) and other concentration camps after being tortured and abused here first.   

Now, it's called the Europahaus and it houses a kindergarten and a youth hostel. 

I'm torn when thinking about this.  No amount of remodeling or renaming can hide history.  I don't think that buildings such as the Altes Rathaus in Munich or the Europahaus in Wiener Neustadt should be torn down.  That would be a denial of history.  At the same time, we can't expect Germans and Austrians to keep the buildings as they were in the '30s and '40s.  That would make it seem like the people haven't moved on, and from what I know, most people here want to leave that history far behind them.  But, repurposing these buildings into innocuous establishments, like toy museums and kindergartens, also feels like a slap in the face.

The United States isn't exempt from this: plantations, Native American villages and burial grounds, lynching trees, the fence where Matthew Shepard was left to die, a movie theater in Colorado, an elementary school in Connecticut.  The list goes on.  What should be done with these places?

How do we successfully acknowledge the past as well as heal and grow as time goes on?

Our Holiday Break in Wiener Neustadt

After exploring Vienna, we accompanied Johannes and Amy back to Wiener Neustadt. 

The next day, we had to trek to the grocery store for lasagna ingredients, cookie decorations, and other assorted products.  The white stuff was everywhere.

The snow called for Russian-inspired headgear, which I LOVED.  I just learned that this type of hat is called an ushanka.  The more you know... 

Be careful.

This is a glimpse of Ben in the future.  We used the buggy to carry groceries.

Amy had Leinie practice his tricks during our stay.  She gave her commands and praise in German.  

We took the opportunity to use an oven (our kitchenette here is just two burners) to cook lasagna. 

And, by "we," I mean I sat, did crosswords, and took pictures.  

For lunch one of the days, we had this delicious Jause spread.  To Jaus, you take a piece of bread (in this case, homemade by Amy); coat it with spread, jam, or butter; and layer it with meats, cheese, pickles, tomatoes, peppers, and whatever else.  We each had a little cutting board to prepare our Jause.  So good. 

Christmas cookies with decoration FAILS.   

On Christmas Eve, the Christkind came!  Somehow, when Amy, Leinie, Ben, and I were locked in their bedroom, the Christkind (literally, the Christ child) visited the apartment.  When he left, a bell rang, and we knew it was safe to come out.  He left us all presents!  

For Austrians, the primary day to celebrate is the 24th.  It's a day for the family to be together, for the Christkind to bring presents, and for the family to go to church.  While some Austrians decorate with Santa Claus, it seems like most people here do not like Santa, whom they call the Weihnachtsmann (the Christmas man).  They associate Santa with America and with consumerism.  You can see the ads for Coca-Cola at train stations and around town, and I saw a few ads defaced.  Instead, their tradition is that the Christkind brings presents, and that's why we had to hide in the bedroom for Johannes, ahem, the Christkind, to visit the apartment and then leave.        

We played card games in which I dominated for quite a while, and hey look!  Trachten! 
They gave us a little fashion show.

For lunch on Christmas Day, we went to Heurigenlokal Wittmann in nearby Neudörfl. The wreath around the sign means that they're open for business.  It's in the Austrian state of Burgenland, where much of Austria's wine is produced.  Basically, it's a winery that serves hot and cold food.  This type of restaurant can be found in Burgenland and in Styria.  Another type of restaurant from the same area in Austria that we have yet to visit together is a Buschenschank.  There, the focus is more on the food. 

Don't be deceived; the food was very tasty!  I had hühner schnitzel and Ben had beef goulash. 

Johannes and Amy, thank you for having us and for showing us Vienna and Wiener Neustadt!  You both were wonderful hosts and we're excited for more adventures in the spring!