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
