Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Austria: Innsbruch
Innsbruch
In Austria, I worked in Innsbruch, in the state of Tirol, at
the Universität Innsbruck’s Fakultät für Sprach-, Literatur- und
Kulturwissenschaften (School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the
University of Innsbruch. There I lectured on the psychology of language
learning, partly in German and partly in English, depending upon the audience.
For some reason, I still have handwritten copies of my lectures; they bring
back a host of wonderful memories of a gentle life and good people.
Reaching the university from Johanna’s apartment meant
crossing Altstadt (Old Town), a dense cluster of shops: small boutiques, souvenir
shops, cafés, traditional Tyrolean clothing stores, bakeries and pastry shops, jewelry
and watch shops, and tourist‑friendly stalls around Das Goldene Dachl (The
Golden Roof), the centerpiece of Old Town and the symbol of Innsbruch then and
now. This landmark, a late‑Gothic oriel balcony, was commissioned by Emperor
Maximilian I and completed around 1500. Covered with 2,657 fire‑gilded copper
tiles and a façade decorated with sculpted reliefs, frescoes, and symbolic
imagery tied to Maximilian’s life and territories, it served as a royal viewing
balcony where Maximilian and his wife could watch festivals, tournaments, and
events in the square below.
Cobblestone streets wound through this medieval center of
colorful buildings. Along them bustled any number of tourists, stopping at
shops, and taking longer than usual to pay for their souvenirs and other goods,
thanks to the early 2002 switch to the Euro from the Schilling. For a few
months, all goods were marked in both Schillings and Euros, and customers
played the conversion game, depending upon what money they were carrying—and it
was even more complex for me, with my dollars, balancing three currencies years
before the advent of personal calculators. I managed, though, sometimes with the help of
sellers and sometimes with the help of other shoppers. It made shopping
somewhat more than simply transactional.
The Austrians were more fastidious about their food than we
were back in California. Fruits and vegetables all got washed. (Not that we
should not have been doing that, but we just didn’t, not in those days.
Nowadays is another story.) Of serious concern was mad cow disease that was
causing considerable illness. For that reason, Johanna and Franz purchase all
their beef from the herd of a friend whom they trusted.
That Austria was a Catholic country was clear. That it was a
conservative country was even clearer. Franz loved to talk about politics. I
mostly listened since I have a fairly apolitical nature and certainly did not
know enough about Austrian politics to have an opinion. Franz loved to talk,
and he did have opinions. That made for easy conversation, a good combination.
An ancient rood cross (life-size crucifix) was found while I
was there. I do not remember where it was found and why it took centuries to be
found, but show up it did, along with a lot of social turmoil. The statue was
naked! Much discussion engendered whether to add a loin cloth. I don’t recall
how that ended. To an American, it all seemed quite silly, but it was no
kidding serious to the Austrians.
The Austrian laid-back attitude toward life showed up every
day along the banks of the Inn, where it seemed like the whole town was taking
Volksmarch. 5:00. Every day. Johanna, Franz, and I, too. I often wished that I
could experience that healthy, relaxed approach to life in my own country.
At night, I slept on a pullout bed under a very comfortable
and warm duvet and fell asleep under the stars shining through the windows into
the fifth floor apartment of Johanna and Franz on Hoher Weg 3, on the edge of
town, at the foot of the alps. I would deliberately stay awake long enough for
the moon to arise over the majestic, snow-covered peaks and drift off to dreams
of life in fairy land.
by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
For more posts about and from this book, click HERE.
For more posts by and about Betty Lou Leaver, click HERE.
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