Weekend Away

This weekend, my Chris and I got a real treat.  Austrian friends arranged for us to get a way for the weekend.  They affectionately "shipped" us off to their parents weekend home in the Austrian Eastern most region called Burgenland.  It borders Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia and of all the nine Austrian states, Burgenland is the least populated.

Now, here's the kicker:  we weren't alone.  We got to stay at their parents home AND their parents went with us!  They were the perfect hosts!  They took us to see the sights, cooked for us, prayed with us and for us, talked, laughed, shopped and let us sleep.  It was incredible!

Before we proceed, there are two things you must know about the language.  The general public uses Hoch Deutsch which is the more formal German used in school and business.  However, each of the nine Austrian states have a spoken language that is specific to that region.  It is their dialect and is very distinctive and hard to understand for German speakers not from that region.

Sunday morning while eating breakfast, two family members stopped by for a visit.  (This was one of the highlights for us - the spontaneous entertaining of family or friends).  He was 82 years old and went by "Aldi".  When I asked him if it was a "Spitznamen" (nick name) he said of course.  No one goes by his formal name:  Adolf.  Enough said.

My Chris and I sat sipping our strong coffee and munching on our Muesli and yogurt as they spoke.  They were kind enough to continue their discussions in (mostly) Hoch Deutsch so we could be a part.  (Usually, friends would speak dialect which was certainly entertaining but we understood very little!) Aldi's wife was the cousin of our host.  Naturally the conversation took a turn down memory lane.  As we sat there, we heard what we've read only in history books about the Nazi occupation being told as a personal account of their family history.  They didn't buy into the ideology of the Nazi regime, yet felt pressure to bear the label out of necessity.

Later that day, our host drove us around the wine country.  From one of the peaks, you could see Hungary's borders.  Before the Iron Curtain's destruction, soldiers stood in wooden towers armed with riffles patrolling the border.  No one dared to risk crossing.  If the soldiers didn't get you the mines hidden in the fields would. (For more information about this region, please check out Wikipedia under Burgenland, Austria.)

This weekend was such a needed, restful get-a-way.  What I most appreciated was the new perspective gained from being in a country far older than my own.  Americans would do well to travel ... to see the history of others ... to appreciate from where they come ... and perhaps learn lessons for the future!

unpacking bags and memories,
christina