World War II

The Nazis surrendered Upper Austria/Steirmark to the Americans at the close of WWII. Coincidentaly, the surrender took place at the mayor's office right here in Windischgarsten. It still amazes me how much history can be found in this little village.

The German troops were all gathered in Liezen, about 20 minutes by car from here. I assume, back then, maybe a few hours by car on an old war torn road. The soldiers were defeated, hungry and tired. They planned to hand over the state to the Russians, who were on the other side of the river, but the Russian troops had a reputation for torturing and killing the Germans after previous surrenders. So what to do?

I've spoken with some old folks around here - people who experienced the great war. I don't judge them or offer my opinion. I only listen. It's interesting what one can learn when you stop talking. One thing that grabbed my attention was how well they spoke of the WWII American troops. Both Russians and Americans soldiers walked through these parts at one time or another, so they developed their own opinions. They told me how normal it was for the Russians to beat the locals and rape the women/girls before leaving. The Americans seemed to have a sort of kind respectfulness about them not found in other troops. I'm sure not all the Americans were so pleasant, but that was their reputation.

The Nazis didn't surrender to the Russians in Liezen - a few meters away on the other side of the river. They walked 25 miles to Windischgarsten, where the Americans were, and surrendered to them instead. As expected, the German troops were treated with respect and fed, and for this reason, the Americans watched over this part of Austria after the war, not the Russians.

Austria could've turned into a very different place if it weren't for the insight of a few good American leaders. I can't help but feel a little proud of those guys - the Greatest Generation. Today, I hope people around the world understand that America is more than a tangible place. America is a state of mind, a feeling, and a shared idea. America is a verb.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Back in the Saddle

Hi everyone. I just wanted to thank all of you for your well wishes. As some of you know, I had knee surgery on Sept 28th. Both the articular cartilage and the lateral meniscus were bad. The doc had to fracture a bone so the cartilage would get fresh blood. Boy, that felt good! Still does. Anyway, the surgery was free of complications, and free of payment too - compliments of the amazing Austrian health care system.

Physical therapy is slow but ongoing. I can even cycle and hike slowly now. No problem there. I can't think of a better place for that type of recovery.

Take Care - Gabe

Our Austrian Balcony

I never really cared whether I had a balcony or not. Honestly, I can't remember every living anywhere that had one. Not that there's anything wrong with balconies. I just never had the opportunity to think about it. Balconies in Austria are pretty common. I suppose they're common in California too, but more popular here.

The typical house out here has a basement and two stories above it with at least one balcony. We live in a built-out apartment on the second floor of my wife's parent's house and it has two balconies. One off the master bedroom and a larger one for the kitchen and living room. Noah, our son, has his own strawberry plant on it he tends to, or well, his mama does at least. The wooden tray that spans the railing holds tons of colorful flowers. There seems to be a silent competition between the neighborhood wives about who has the prettiest flowers. I'm not a flower kind of a guy, but I must admit, our flowers are right up there with the best.

This morning I woke up to my daily Austrian cappuccino. Instead of drinking it in front of the BBC, CNN, or the other english speaking channels, I decided to head out to our balcony. The sun was out and the snow topped mountains reminded me that winter is coming, which also reminded me that it's time to put the snow tires on the car, inspect the skis, locate my winter clothes, bring up wood for the tiled heater, and all the other stuff that comes with living in the Alps. The view from our balcony isn't just a view; it's a four season alarm clock.

I like balconies now. Maybe I'll get one someday when we move back to California. I can pretend I'm in the Austrian Alps overlooking the unreal landscapes, or get some flowers to hang over the railing. The friendly neighborhood wives could join in the fun right? Perhaps I'll sit at a table, drinking a 'California' cappuccino this time, and wait for the seasons to change too. But I suppose we need seasons for that.

Driving Down to Croatia

Slovenia lies between Austria and Croatia to the south. Croatia, our destination for 7 days, 7 nights at the amazing Falkensteiner Resort in Zadar. You hear the word Croatia and may conjur up images of war, AK-47s, deperate people doing desperate things. At least that's what I invisioned. In fact, it's quite different than that.

Slovenia should have been experienced more. Driving down to Croatia from Austria, it's more of a mediator between the overly visited countries of Europe and the up-and-coming. We didn't even buy gas there - only breezing through it on a foggy night. Like shaking hands with a stranger, you've touched him, but don't know him. The border crossing was effortless. Nobody was there. European Union border crossings are invisible within each other. The Slovenian/Croatian border is a whole other issue.

We left Austria at 2am for a reason. Horror stories of three hour border traffic jams after daylight were plenty. 'Leave Austria early,' everyone said, 'or pay the price.' So we left early, and consequently, the Slovenia/Croatia border took us only 20 minutes.

Croatia is popular with the Austrians. Even more so with the Germans. But you'll see other people there too. Slovenians, Algerians, English, Italian, French, and so on. I was the only American at the resort. English and german were the common languages. The Croatian children learn german as a rule, but lately english has reared its head of importance. You will be humbled by the Zadar locals; their ability to switch languages is an art within itself. Just don't be 'that tourist', the guy who expects everyone to know 'your' language. In fact, ask them about the Croatian language. Learn a few words. You just may find a new international friend.

I liked Zadar better than Paris, Rome, Vienna, Prague, and the other popular cities combined. I used to think the big, and well traveled, cities must be loved first. Not anymore. The warm weather, the mild Adriatic Sea, the layed back atmosphere, food, and the mix of culture and architecture may remain my favorite forever.


Meeting new friends in Croatia.



Don't forget to leave your hotel for the tourist stuff!

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.

"Otzie the Iceman"

Have you heard about Otzi the Iceman? If not, he was found half buried in ice way up in the Alps by some German hikers. At first it was thought that he was discovered in Austria, but a few years later Italy argued that Otzi was 100 yards inside their border. He was probably a pizza eating, cafe drinking, greasy haired, womanizer. I think I read about him first in National Geographic. He popped out of a receding glacier which almost perfectly preserved the 5300 year old mummified murder victim.

How cool is that? A murder victim. He was put down with an arrow. It looks like he bled to death right before the ice came.

Fast forward to this morning. Here I am, Gabe, getting ready to go for another hike up in the Alps - up in the globaly warmed melting ice!

By the way, I tend to set goals for myself during my hikes. Sometimes I photograph local flowers, sometimes study geological formations etc. You know, stuff I wouldn't be caught dead doing back in my 20's. But really, shouldn't I be looking for frozen mummies popping out of ice?

Oh yeah! Today was my official "Find a Glacier Giving Birth to Old Dead People Day". Hey, it beats watching television in deutsch.

I started my hike here - Gleinkersee, Kalkalpen National Park. It's up the road from our house. The trail goes up through that valley and above the surrounding mountains. It's steep and you must have an 'eye of the tiger' attitude.



Here's a flower. Exciting huh!? Sorry, no dead icemen yet.


This is where I'm headed today. The first sign I saw said two hours. This one is kinder.


The valley was full of fallen trees. It's exceptionally weird. This place must get some nasty winds. The dead trees were everywhere...but no dead icemen.


Glacial striations on a rock - a common sight in glacially formed valleys.


At last, my destination, Dumlerhutte Almhouse. It's a restaurant/cabin, although this one is on the large side, typically found at hiking destinations in the Alps.


Yum, beer and.... salad at Dumlerhutte. And no, I didn't know Scharfkase was salad when I ordered it!! Oh well. That'll do.


No dead people at Dumlerhutte. They're all alive.



I saw some melting ice above the the cabin/almhouse. Should I go? I bet there are mummified icemen up there.



Too bad for National Geographic. They'll have to wait until, maybe, next week. The receding snow was at least another two hours away, and I had to get back down to town to pick up Noah from kindergargten. Besides, that hill looked steep. I'm afraid I'd end up like Otzie if I went. In 5300 years someone would rename me 'Otzie".

We can't have that.

So no old dead mummies on this hike. Only rocks, trails, flowers, views, food, beer, people, exercise...and pure peace.


Oh, and I thought this was cool. As of last week Noah rides the bus to school. For you parents out there who remember seeing your child ride away in a bus for the first time, this will bring back memories. Here in Austria they start riding the bus at 3 or 4 years old. So cool.

41 Photos and a Broken Hand

Coming back from a 4 week vacation in California was, as they say, a double edged sword. Family and friends will be missed for another year, but at the same time I was happy to get back to my Austrian life. It seems I have two lives now. Which one leads my thoughts? Only time will tell.

So I made it back to the door factory! Work is work. What can I say. Interestingly enough though, as some of you know, I broke my hand in my kitchen. Ouch. So no work for 5 weeks! Can't lift doors with a broken hand right?

So what is one supposed to do for five weeks?

You got me. I have no clue. For this simpleton, I set my daily goals after a morning cup of cappuccino. Most days I throw on a backpack and head for the front door. I've been on local trains, busses, and mountain trails. Sometimes I'll even walk into the village for more cappuccino at a favorite cafe. Life is good.

Anyway, I took along my camera on one or two of my post-cafe outings. A picture of a church entrance, my favorite local Pizzaria (Austria is next to Italy. The pizza here is amazing), a park, an ugly house, clay tennis courts, a lonely wooden bus stop etc. Basically, a photo of pretty much anything I thought was cool enough to empty my camera battery. So if you're one of those people who enjoy looking at slide shows of someone else's family vacation, then, well, you scored today.

I hope all is well back in California. Take care everyone......Gabe