Settling into Europe

Before returning to Germany, I had another Germanic country to have my first introduction with, and catch up with some old friends there: Austria.

Traveling via the Munich train station, which blew my mind as it felt like an airport to me, I made my way to Innsbruck, a beautiful little city in Western Austria known for being a groovy student town, with heaps of outdoor activities right on the doorstep.

I stayed with my friend Connie, whom I'd met while she was on a student exchange in Auckland. We'd even bumped into each other at Lake Pukaki in the South Island at the free camp, while my family had been on a road trip, and she was traveling with the Danish man she'd met and fallen in love with. I'd promised her I'd come and visit.

She lived in a cute but somewhat squished apartment, and while she was studying, I'd explore the city, and go for hikes. It was so easy to catch the bus to the edge of the mountains and take any number of trails to various adorable huts called "Alm" where you can sit and drink a coffee, and enjoy the view over the magnificent Austrian Alps.

She introduced me to her friends, and was a wonderful host. I put my foot in it one day when I ran the washing machine without consulting her, having wanted not to bother her, and she gave me an important lesson about just asking, as it may be more important that she gets to choose how and what gets washed, than not being bothered. I felt quite ashamed of myself, and I definitely wasn't very good at handling the feeling of being a nuisance to someone. Though I know of course she would not have held onto it tightly.

I entertained the image of what it might be like to live and study in Innsbruck. Be one of the cool cats who skates to uni, and snowboards on the weekends. A cool image, but not my world.

I left Connie's, and traveled further east to the beautiful Salzburg, to reunite with a beautiful family I'd spent a precious few months with at Sonshine Ranch. Susanne and Martin, and their kids Maria and Simon, lived at the ranch while I did my course, and they became so familiar to me, I was so happy to see them again. It was incredible how back then I couldn't have picked the difference between their German and a German's German, and now I could hear the adorable dialect so much more clearly.

Martin worked a lot, so I didn't see him so much, but it was lovely to catch up when we could. I slept on the couch in their little apartment, which was situated within an apartment complex that I thought was quite well designed, in a sort of horseshoe layout, with a playground and outdoor common area in the centre for the residents.

It was a handful being around the kids again, but so much fun. Maria and I played a lot, Simon tried to play, and gave a lot of those cheeky grins, but also acted like a bit of a pest. Susanne and I planned a getaway down to Lake Garda in Italy, Her driving over the mountain pass was to this day the only time I've ever actually thrown up from carsickness.

We stayed in this gorgeous villa-like motel, and the first night after the kids went to sleep we sat outside in the balmy air and drank Aperol Spritz. It was so nice to see her away from the kids looking relaxed and free. She told me more about her life. There was a man before Martin who she said she loved more, but he didn't want children, so she had to make the decision to leave him. Now more than ever, that story impacts me a lot to think about.

We met up with friends of hers who also had children and were on holiday there. Lake Garda was incredible. We hiked in areas along the lake's edge, these rocky, barren mountains that surrounded the lake. I was astounded by the wind that kicked up at the same time every day, delighting the windchasers on their kitesurfs and windsurfs who traveled from far and wide to play there.

We'd go out for dinner, my favourite kind of evenings which were warm and breezy, with the cobblestoned streets leading us to ornate Italian restaurants that served the most fantastic food.
It was wonderful practicing my German with the kids. I knew my brain was in sponge mode, being attentive to, and soaking up every conversation I could to grasp more of how the language works. That, I believe is one of my brain's element states.

After a few days in Italy we returned to Austria. The next trip with Susanne and the kids was to her parents' place, in a town about halfway to Innsbruck, called Neukirchen am Grosvenediger.
We arrived at night, so I couldn't see much of what we were driving into, and were welcomed so warmly by her parents. Their English was limited, but they were the loveliest people.
I had my own little room, and I fell asleep very easily.

It's one of my favourite things to wake up after having arrived at night, and now knowing what it's going to look like outside. I got up and pulled back the curtains, to a view that took my breath away. A little balcony stood overlooking the mountains, and we were up a bit higher too so it felt almost like we were right in them. It was absolutely incredible.

Being summertime, the mountains were bare of snow, and lush in greenery up until the top of the forest line. We went for a lot of walks, and picked wild raspberries in the forest. The Austrian wild places enthralled me. This country had a fairytale-like energy to it.
We had a wonderful few days in this gorgeous town, and I knew I'd come back in the year ahead.

Once we got back, it wasn't long before I needed to leave Salzburg and get back to Germany. It had been such a wonderful visit with Susanne and Martin and the kids, so enriching to be a part of their family for a while.

A train ride, followed by a very long Flixbus journey, and I found myself home again in Neuffen, ready for round 2 of this small village and the shenanigans with Gesine.Read more