The Local Farm

Wednesday August 8th, 2012

Started out the day with making some chocolate pancakes. I've had trouble in the past making American pancakes here since the flour is a little different. Austrians also have their own version of pancakes which for Americans we would probably call a crepe. 

I think these turned out okay?

The day started out pretty quiet and my austrian siblings were gone part of the morning so I had a little time to myself. They came back in the late morning and did a myriad of activities. In the afternoon while attempting to get them off the computer, I suggested watching a movie in English. They looked a little panicked and suggested we go to the farm up the street instead.

Every time I drive to Villach I pass this farm (Landhaus Weber vlg. Hansbauer) but I have never actually stopped there before. The kids handed me some mud boots to wear and we walked up the street to the farm (the kids know the farmer pretty well).

In the pasture next to the road.

This time they are looking at me.

The really only thing I know about the farm is that is also doubles as a gasthaus (guest house; i.e. they rent out rooms) and I often see the farm guests on the lake where the farm also has a lake house/hut.

Approaching the main part of the farm. A.K.A. the barn

Approaching the farm I learned that the property contains several different buildings. The pasture (containing many apple trees) connects to the barn where the cows are kept at night and during bad weather. The barn has an upper level where hay is kept (also on the other side of the street they keep rolls of hay) and then even a level above that with some equipment. The highest level also serves as a convenient jumping platform for the kids to jump down in the hay between the exposed beams. Another building on the farm contains the pig sty. It looks quite nice on the outside however I was barely able to enter the building because of the smell. Attached to the pig sty building is suppose to be an area for bunnies however we didn't see any bunnies while we were there. Next is the actual house where the family and guests live. Attach to the main house is a place where they can butcher animals for fresh meat. Behind the house is the chicken coop and more pasture.

Other then seeing the cows, the kids love to visit the farm so they can chase and catch the barn cats. I was expecting the barn cats to be more feral. Most of the young cats/kittens would run away from the kids, once caught they were pretty calm. Although I noticed the kids didn't hold onto them for too long and would often let them go after a couple of minutes. A few of the older cats didn't really care about the kids and just laid in the sun. Of course the kids weren't as interested in the older cats.

The cat enjoying the weather.

One cat caught. Not trying to hard to escape though.

I climbed up into the mid level of the barn with the kids although I wasn't quite as nimble as them around the hay. I also saw a young cat catch a bird up in the highest level of the barn.

View from mid level inside the barn.

Isn't that a nice building in front of us? DON'T BE FOOLED! ITS THE PIG STY! The house is the building in the back.

The stairs to get to the mid level of the barn.

The cat again.

Austrian sister and cat on farmer equipment.

Chickens!

One of three roosters in the chicken coop.

View of the barn from the house.

Younger cat. I think this one caught the bird.

Hiding from the kids.

Also keeping an eye on the kids. Under the cars was a popular hiding spot for the cats.

Front of barn. The cat moved but almost every time I saw him he seemed to be communicating that it was too hot for him.

The farmer brought in the cows and asked us to stay still since he first brought in the calfs. The calfs are still getting use to being brought in to the barn with all the other cows so they can still get spooked easily.

Inside the barn.

Front of the barn again. But notice that something has moved...

And this time you can see the cows inside.

Oh snap, he moved again. But this time he has company.

Another view of the barn stairs.

We headed back to the house after the kids were starting to get hungry. We made pizza which mostly consisted of taking frozen cheese pizzas and adding extra toppings according to our preferences.

Sun, good food, and some cultural differences

Started out the day with my austrian brother mowing the lawn. As the morning grew warmer (would eventually reach 88 (F)) we were glad to escape to the lake to cool off. We played around with the surfboard and water balloons. When the swans showed up we threw stale bread at them.

Eventually my austrian cousin, aunt, grandmother, and grandpa would show up as we all tried to cool off and stay in the water or the shade. We took a break for lunch which was made up of vegetables from the biofarmers market.

Lunch with tomatoes, potatoes, a mix of carrots and squash, and what you see in the lower right corner is some sort of cucumber dish which is often made. And yes that is some limetten radler in the background to go with lunch.

We went back down to the lake, and after digestion some packaged desserts were pulled out. The german name escapes me for the moment but it was quite good. I was asked for the English translation for this treat. The many different types of breads and cakes I encountered here don't really have a English word or direct translation. My austrian family always seem somewhat confused when I inform them of this.

Crisp and flaky. Covered with sugar on the outside. Apparently if you do a direct german translation it means something like 'leaf pastry' which doesn't make much sense in English....

 After the snack the children's sail boat was pulled out and both my austrian brother and cousin went out on the lake. There wasn't much wind though and they were at some points stuck out in the middle of the lake trying to adjust their sail.

Austrian father and brother getting the small sailboat (for children) back on to shore.

Of course, dessert wasn't over and some cake was pulled out. My austrian grandmother had made it (again, no direct translation for the cake) and it was jokingly said that it was a 'no calorie' dessert *wink wink*

Cake. Little sugar on top and there is a layer of apricot (?) which adds some sour/sweetness to the cake.

As we were lounging around at the lake I noticed a 'Women' magazine laying around and asked if I could look at it. It was mostly in German with some English phrases and was in many ways similar to a   U.S. magazine. There were celebrities, make-up, clothing, and the latest fads included within its pages. However there was some noticeable differences between this magazine and a U.S. one.

McDonald's ad in Women's magazine. Looks very different from the U.S. McDonald ads. Considering though  how common bread, cheese, and ham/salami are in a Austrian household I'm not sure why they would stop by McDonalds for this breakfast.

One of the differences is that nudity is treated differently. For example I turned one of the pages to discover some advertisements on plastic surgery (?) which contained before and after photos of breasts. From an U.S. perspective it is a little shocking since we are seem to be very paranoid about nudity. In addition, photos of female celebrities/models who might have something peeking out from one of their shirts aren't subjected to the blur/spot treatment at all. The difference in the treatment of nudity here though doesn't mean that women run around naked. It means that young children are more often naked or almost naked on a hot day. It also means that there is less self consciousness about nakedness and people aren't typically going to lock themselves in a room to change from a swimsuit to regular clothes (towel method popular). As always, differences between Austrian and U.S. culture are surprising but informative and interesting.

In the late evening we had some dinner and my austrian brother grilled some sausages. They were not wrapped in bacon this time but they were filled with some cheese.

Some tomato salad w/ feta, sausage filled with cheese (potatoes were also available but I didn't have any)

After dinner we had a light snack of pears and nectarines. My austrian family and I will head to Mallnitz tomorrow to drop the kids off at camp. Ciao!

Interesting Austrian fact (Austrian military): I learned this in Hallein during my Salzburg trip but I forgot to mention it in that post. I have learned that when austrian males reach the ages of 18-19 they are required to go into the Austrian military for 6 months (unlike the U.S. where it is more of a profession). If they don't want to be part of the military they do have an alternative option which is to do 9 months of social work instead. Social work seems to be defined as taking care of the elderly and different jobs described to me included driving elderly around, delivering meals to elderly, etc.

Alcohol + Food + People = Barbecue Austrian style

Today started out quiet if rather cloudy (temperature didn't get above low 70s (F)). Since today was the day of the barbecue for my austrian parents, they kept a close eye on the weather, especially as some dark clouds rolled by. Luckily, the weather held cloudy but not rainy and we began to prepare for about 16 people to visit for a barbecue (austrian parents dance, the guests were there dancing partners). The guests were to bring salads an desserts and my austrian parents worked on appetizers and meat (as well as beer).

We stopped for lunch and my austrian mother made a batter of eggs, milk, and flour that she would drop into boiling water to make a type of pasta. It was interesting as I had never seen it done before. My austrian father also pulled out some more lemon beers for lunch. We finished eating around 1 pm and then my austrian parents went to the lake to sit for awhile (I did some reading) and then came back around 2:30 pm to finish the appetizers and other preparations.

Appetizers included tomato on toothpicks with oregano and mozzarella, and sliced bread with a light sauce or a liver pate (photo below).

Bread covered with liver pate and/or a light spread

Guests showed up beginning at 3:30 pm (barbecue started at 4 pm). Some of the guests spoke English but a majority seemed not to. I ran into my austrian grandmother who was talking to me in German. I ended up saying "no sprechen Deutsch' and then my austrian grandmother said 'no sprechen Englisch.'
When a majority of the guests had shown up we walked down to the lake and had some champagne to toast.

On the dock at the lack

 Back at the house my austrian father began to grill both sausages and some sort of steak? to the barbecue.

Austrian father grilling

It seems that those who brought the sweets brought  A LOT of sweets

Cake row

Cake row from other direction

I had dinner outside (was given another lemon beer) and I found that I was enjoying myself even though all the conversations around me were in German. I usually could figure out what was being talked about by the hand gestures and occasional words that were in English (or sounded close enough to their English counterpart). At one point I was asked (in English) about items coming on to Washington shore from Japan (tsunami debris). They seemed worried about the radioactive possibility of the debris and I tried to explain to them that it was more environmental worry (foreign plants, wildlife, etc.) in Seattle.

Dinner plate as I was trying to fill it up.

Dessert was an interesting affair and I tried to have a sample of as many different types of deserts I could.

Dessert time! Upper left is bascially like a chocolate covered cream puff, Everything else was sweet)

The guests left around 10:45 pm leaving a very late late night for my austrian family and I. Tomorrow should be a relaxing day though.

Candle after guests left (on outside table)

Villach (On hot day #3)

It seems I brought the warm weather with me when I came to Austria. Today was another scorcher. Today in Villach it got up to 86 (F) and it was common place in the suburban areas to see grandparents in swimwear sitting on their porches.

Since it was my day off I left Sattendorf (where I live) to catch the train at the St. Urban train stop (which is almost in Bodensdorf). It was about a 15 min walk and I managed to catch the 9:32 am train into Villach.

Train ticket machine at St. Urban

The next couple of paragraphs are paraphrased information from my Villach brochure:

 

Villach is the closest large city (the other being Klagenfurt) with a population of about 58,000. It was founded by Romans (initially was just a road and bridge point). Over time it traded hands quite a bit going from King Henry II to Archdiocese of Bamberg in 1007, purchased by Marie Therese in 1759 (including properties that are now modern day Italy), market law declared in 1060, and finally in 1240 it was declared a city. The city also experienced many disasters like earthquakes, fires, epidemics, and being crushed by a piece of mountain (1348). Apparently though the city was able to survive with the traffic of goods from Venice. During Reformation, Villach became protestant (1526) however during the Counter Reformation all the protestants were driven out.


Apparently even Napolean reached Villach and held it with his regiments from 1809-1813. During WWI, Villach was used as a front city to Italy and during WWII the Allied Forces chose to bomb Villach (because it was an important railway junction). In total Villach experienced 52 air raids and in addition to the railway being destroyed 1,300 civil buildings were destroyed including large parts of the historical town centre.

The train ride was only a half an hour and I arrived in downtown Villach. I didn't really have a plan of where to go other than to wander around. Right away I saw a church with a clock tower so I made my way towards it. On my way over I stopped by a bakery and bought some strawberry ice cream (throughout my wanderings I discovered that a simple cone with a single scoop of ice cream is 1 euro). I also ran into St. Nikolas Church and the tourist information booth (where I picked up my brochure). I crossed the Town Bridge (which apparently is considered the oldest in Carinthia, Carinthia being a region in Austria). From my reading I learned they used to collect tolls to cross it and that it was wooden until 1858. The bridge I saw today was built in 1960. Once I walked over the bridge I entered into what appeared to be the main street of the historical district (no driving, only walking) and my map tells me it is called the Hauptplatz. Much to my amusement I saw a McDonalds (yes I took pictures) and a Oakleys on the street.

Map of Villach (courtesy of PlanetWare)

Crossing the bridge

Looking up the old main street Hauptplatz

The McDonalds on Hautzplatz!

The Oakley store on Hautzplatz

Statue on Hautzplatz

A couple blocks up I ran into the church I had spied earlier which I later learned was St. Jakob's church. Hoping there was a way to climb the clock tower I wandered around the church looking for signs or an entrance. I didn't see any signs but I did find two doors. One was open and has prices for adults in children. Assuming this was the clock tower I walked in and paid the man (who only spoke German) sitting at the counter 2 euros then started climbing the stairs. It turned out to be a very long climb. In some ways it was nice though because every flight of stairs there would be a wooden floor where you could take a rest and read the signs and information they had on the church. Unfortunately all their educational material was in German so I had to depend on my brochure:

It was first mentioned in 1136 as a Roman Basilica but they don't actually know how old the foundation is because the old church was destroyed in an earthquake in the 14th century. It was rebuilt in 1360 in Gothic style and in 1526 became the first Protestant church in Austria. However in 1594 it became Catholic again. The church's spire was destroyed in an earthquake in 1690, and while it was rebuilt it wasn't finished until 1847 and eventually it was connected to the church. It is 94 meters high (highest in Carinthia) and has 240 steps.

Church of St. Jakob

Statue near door of St. Jakob's church

Signs on St. Jakob's church in German

I had somewhat underestimated my climb and when I had reached a steep spiral of stairs I thought I was almost to the top but in fact had 2 more flights of stairs to climb. Once I reached the top though I was able to exit on a walkway that circled around the top and even included benches to sit on. I rested up there a little bit before navigating my way down (photos will be added in later).

Stairs of death in St. Jakob's Church

View from top of St. Jakob's church

View from top of St. Jakob's church

View from top of St. Jakob's church

View from top of St. Jakob's church

View from top of St. Jakob's church

View from top of St. Jakob's church (Hautzplatz)

Diagrams of St. Jakob's church found at the top

Photo of Hautzplatz (found at top of St. Jakob's church)

Once down I wandered into the church side of St. Jakob's church and took some pictures of the alter and then went back to St. Nikolas church to take pictures inside there as well. I then proceeded to wander the rest of the city. Other interesting shops I found was a Singer store (for those who know their sewing machines) as well as a 100% lavender store that had a purple bicycle out front.

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Jacob's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Inside St. Nicolas's church

Villach building

Lavendar Shop

Lavender Shop (bicycle)

Lavender Shop (bicycle)

Singer store

Statue in Villach

 Starting to get hungry I wandered into Park Cafe and tried to order some lunch (menu in German; waitresses spoke German). Luckily I knew the word for water ('wasser', the w is pronounced like a v) and I chose something called penne verdura (sounded safe). It turned out to be pasta with eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and peppers (turned out to be a large serving). I sat there for probably an hour working on lunch and rehydrating.

Park Cafe

Lunch in a big bowl!

Afterwards I wandered around the streets a little bit more and stopped for some ice cream. I tried to get some peppermint ice cream but somehow ended up with strawberry again. I worked my way back to the train station and bought my ticket back to St. Urban. When I hopped on my train back to St. Urban it took a stop before I realized I was on the wrong train. I had mistakenly thought that the final destination on the train I was suppose to get on was St. Viet when in reality I wanted the train going to Freindorf. I realized my mistake pretty quickly though and hopped off. I had to wait a half hour to get to catch a train back to Villach and then once I reached there I doubled checked my platform and train. Luckily I got it right this time although two minutes before arrival the train switched platforms (I followed everyone else to the right platform).

Strawberry ice cream for 1 euro!

Once back at the St. Urban station I walked back to my house in Sattendorf and had some dinner (bread, cheese, yogurt). My austrian family has some nice cheeses in there fridge which I might break into if I get hungry later this evening. I may or may not be in Klagenfurt for the next couple of days and I won't know until tomorrow. But I will keep you updated.

Overall what I noticed today is:
1. Villach doesn't have (from what I observed) English signs or many English speakers
2. Pointing goes a long way
3. Ice cream is EVERYWHERE and only costs 1 euro for a scoop
4. Cafes are more numerous than restaurants, however cafes often provide food so they are similar to a restaurant
5. The population seems very homogenous. From what I observed there aren't the same types of ethnicities I would see back in the U.S.
6. There are still many things I didn't get a chance to see or visit in Villach, so when I get a chance I will try to travel to Villach again.

UPDATE: Photos uploaded!