Front: Gueuze Saint-Louis. Rear: Faro.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Saturday, December 30, 2006
This is my first trip to Austria. I've been to Germany and thought that it would be similar to Bavaria, but the differences to me are both dramatic and subtle. The dramatic differences are the mountains and in the light. The mountains give me a strange sense of visual perception, almost like my world here is in 2-D. They seem so close and detailed. The first days in Austria were spent at Kirchdorf in Tirol (ski resort). The mountains were wrapped in a soft mist, the trees all had a sugar-coating of snow, and the light was a smoky blue.
I went shopping one day and bought a few tiny plastic animals and photographed them. At first, I thought the pictures were just cute little vignettes, but then I realized that they reflected my visual perception of Austria. The backdrops for the photos are postcards, creating a double two-dimensional world.
The subtle differences are that in both the small towns and in the city of Salzburg, I've found people to be very sweet - I experienced kindness in Germany, but to me, I found a more of sense of peacefulness and contentment in Austria. However, this may just be a reflection of something inside of me at this time.
And, in a minor note, I can feel the impact of the mountains on a very personal way - my hair seems to be responding to the minerals and is requiring much conditioner and patient combing - it's so tangled and dry.
The similarities are in what's available to eat! Not much for a vegetarian on a limited diet. That's fine, though - my choices are lots of cheese, noodles, and pastries! My drink of choice this trip has been Campari and soda. Don't know why I started ordering it...
Linda
Salzburg, Austria: city of, uh, whatshisface... oh yeah, Mozart
More importantly, it's the city of:
=>6 Euro coffees filled with booze and whipped cream
=>endless pastries
=>a funicular up a big mountain to a fortress shrouded in fog
=>massive natural rock walls cuddling the old city up against the river
=>many well-behaved dogs and horses pulling carriages, but shockingly little poop on the streets
=>lots of souvenirs that say Mozart
=>smells of woodsmoke, roasted nuts, hot mulled wine and punch, sausages, cigarettes
=>many layers of sounds on many levels: church bells from above, loudspeakers playing american pop in the street stalls, rock band sound tests (in preparation for New Year's Eve), Mozart piped everywhere, and constant streams of talk in several languages
Mike
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