The goal is to live in a small Austrian village with my Austrian wife and our 4 yr old while learning everything about this beautiful corner of the world. We will live on the second floor of my in-law's house in a two bedroom apartment while skipping around in flowery fields like the one on "The Sound of Music". Well, maybe not the skipping part:)



The village is called Windischgarsten. Located in the lower half of Upper Austria, it is an amazingly beautiful area of the Alps known for skiing, hiking and biking. I don't have any local friends, I haven't learned the language, and I have no idea where I'll work. This could get really interesting. No problem right?







Saturday, July 16, 2011

Let your hair down....and your clothes.

I've never been much of a spa guy. In fact, even though I once worked at one in California, it all seemed a little boring to me. The whole massage thing is probably the turnoff. You check in at the front desk, sit and wait for your therapist, who are of course sweet and pleasant for an hour, then bam, you're done. The unspoken words go like this; "You're done, give me a big tip, and move on". It kind of reminds me of a good movie without a good conclusion. You later wonder if it was all worth your time.

Could the spas here be any better? Could be worth checking out though eh?

Let's rewind for a minute. I worked at a California spa. Things are a little different here. The people of Austria aren't hung up on the whole nudity issue. In fact, it's quite normal for me to pass ladies mowing their lawns in their bras coming home from work, which is hilarious to me:) Around here spas are co-ed, and the people are all butt naked...everyone. Let me say that again...everyone is naked..everyone. Fat, skinny, young, old. It doesn't matter. Oh my, this is not in my comfort zone at all.

Yvonne and I stayed at a hotel a couple weekends ago in Burgenland. This is a state on the right side of Austria known for their good wine. Anyway, there was a spa next door to the hotel. Should I check it out, I asked myself?

Heck yeah!

Perhaps I'm a boring guy, but I've never been naked in front of a bunch of women at a public place before. Plus, for those in the 'know', Austrians aren't circumsized. I am. I am an American. My thought was that everyone would be checking out my weenie because it looks different. With all my American 'nudity issues' do I really want the added stress of having an American weenie?

Yes, whatever, I'll deal with it.

I walked into the spa area, with my clothes on, very concious of my surroundings. Were there normal people here, were they all naked, and of course, where was the closest get-away door? To my suprise I saw mostly overweight naked old ladies at the front door. Must've been a knitting group or something on vacation together. The main room was packed full of all sorts of folks. Their one commonality was that they were all proudly naked.

But nobody cared about other peoples nakedness.

My heart quit pounding. It was time to undress. You know, it was as though I was doing something wrong, but 'naturally' I wasn't. It was all a bit normal. After stripping I scooted outside (while nervously holding a towel over my man parts). It was a hot sunny day with tons of oiled up skin laying around a pool - most of them on their backs with all to see. I didn't want to get caught looking so I ditched into a nearby sauna. I'd be safe there right? Well, that depends on your definition of 'safe'. There were only two of us in there - the other being a girl...a german magazine model.

Oh boy.

She was actualy very friendly. She was in town for a magazine shoot and had decided to stop by the spa for some relaxation. We spoke for maybe 20 minutes while laying totally naked next to each other. We later said our goodbyes and went our own ways. This is crazy. Remember, I'm married. Is this considered cheating, I thought? Best thing to do is tell my Austrian wife what happened. "Guess what honey? I layed naked with a beautifull german model today!" Geeeez, perhaps a black eye, or maybe a soon-to-be broken nose? Nope. All she had to say was-

Welcome to Austria.

5 comments:

  1. Way to go Gabe!!! You know the saying..."when in Rome..." Good for you to live life and not let your hangups stop you! I, myself, don't know if I could do it... :-)

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  2. I totally know where you're coming from on this. We Americans are just plain prude compared to Europeans. Good for you for giving it a try!

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  3. Hi, just found your blog and will follow with interest if you dont mind. I am English and myself and other half have just bought a place in Austria. We will be moving out there next year. He has told me all about the Spas and I have had many eek moments from the descriptions. Not sure it is something I could do but I guess that I had better get used to it if I am going to fit in. Will read back over your blog but just wondered how your language skills are coming along.

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  4. Hi Cheri.
    Well, regarding my language skills, it depends on who you ask. I've been here a year now so I can definately converse. My problem is with the local small town dialect, which isn't taught in schools. The deutsch courses are all high german. That will just have to do I guess. Just make sure you sign up for a class right away. You'll probably catch on pretty quick. Everyone keeps telling me females learn languages faster.

    By the way, you should absolutely check out a spa here. Its really no big deal once you do it.

    -gabe

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  5. I think I'm moving over there too. I would give everyone a good laugh. Good blog

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