Famous Austrians VI: Felix Salten

Felix Salten is less famous than his work of fiction, Bambi, a Life in the Woods.

Yes, the Disney movie Bambi is actually originally Austrian! Who'd a thunk?

Salten was born in Budapest in 1869 to a Jewish family, but moved soon after with his family to Vienna. At the turn of the 20th century, he was involved in the Young Vienna movement (Jung Wien, promoting art noveau ventures) and various other artistic endeavors. He made his living as a theater critic, but wrote and published plenty of original poems, plays and stories.

Perhaps this comes as no surprise to those who know how much Austrians love nature and the natural world. Bambi: eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Wald is similar to the movie in many ways, excepting that Bambi is a roe deer in the Austrian version, but a white-tailed deer in the American version (the difference in species being the difference in continents). The novel also goes into much more detail about Bambi's life, following him into old age, having him philosophize about life, death and the mysteries of the universe. The novel was also meant for an adult audience, and after translation became a huge book club success in the United States in the 1930s. Hitler believed the story was an allegory for the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany (and occupied Austria) and banned the book in 1936.

While in exile in Switzerland during the Nazi occupation, Salten wrote a sequel, Bambi's Children. He also sold the rights to Disney at this time. The film version came out in 1942. According to legend, Disney originally wanted to create a live-action version, but discovering it would be too difficult to film deer (um, duh?) he opted for a cartoon feature. Bambi: eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Wald is also considered one of the first environmental novels. Environmentalists can disagree all they want; the Bambi Effect has turned plenty of people into vegetarians.

Que Sera, sera*; or, a Few of My Favorite Things** about Austria

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
 - Abraham Lincoln

Yes, it's that time again - time to freak out about where my life is going. It's become one of my special talents, and now I'd like to share it with you. Or, at least, share the news I've got. Next year, I will be staying in Austria, as the Fulbright Commission has renewed my contract. In Austria, you are allowed to ask for an extension of your teaching assistantship (other countries only allow one year per Fulbright grant), and I have done just that. For the time being, it looks like I will be in Amstetten again next year. In the meantime, this summer I will be working at a camp in Zell am See, which is near Salzburg.

This is both an exiting thing and a thing that makes me nervous. First, it is good, because I will be able to strengthen relationships I have made here, most importantly with my schools, and also with the friends I have made and even with the landscape itself. Amstetten doesn't lend itself to poetic rhapsodizing exactly, but I have enjoyed my time here, and, as my mother tells me, traveling to the big city of Vienna for the weekend is a definite improvement over traveling to the "big city" of Sioux Falls for the weekend, which is what she did at my age (her first teaching job was in a town of 1000 people in western Minnesota). What makes me nervous is that after this year I don't know what I'll be doing. I will be 25 years old at the end of next school year - which seemed impossibly old to me when I graduated from high school, and in some ways still seems old to me.

I had hoped while in Austria to improve my German. Although I have learned many things about Austria, Austrians and Austrian culture, I don't think I can speak German any better than I could when I got here. I suppose I could come to one of these conclusions: a) I need a formal setting to learn anything, b) I only think I need a formal setting to learn anything, which is actually keeping me from learning anything, c) I will never truly get the hang of Austrian German and - a nod to the American stereotype - I don't need to because everyone speaks English here anyway, or d) another year is all I need to perfect my German.

Having now spent the past seven months here in Austria, I'd like to take the time to consider my experiences, and prepare myself for the months ahead, to hopefully continue enjoying Austria, and the things it has to offer.

Here is a list I've thought about - and compiled, obviously, - which expresses what I like about Austria:

1. The Countryside: on my daily walk around Amstetten, most recently since the weather has become nicer, I've had the chance to see some beautiful scenery - the river Ybbs, wildlife on the Nautrerlebnispfad (sometimes just squirrels and ducks, if they count). Farm fields within the city limits and I mean livestock, too! Sheep AND cows. On my walk I often see a cow and her calf out to pasture less than a kilometer from the hospital. Scoff if you'd like, but I have never in my life see something like this, not even in Wisconsin! Livestock within the city limits simply doesn't happen (health codes and all)...

2. Fresh food. Like much of the rest of Europe, Austria offers many delicious options for fresh, local produce, honey and dairy products (that's the benefit of having cows in the middle of town, perhaps?) and although many basic products are more expensive than they would be in the USA, organic products are not only more abundant in Austria, but also less expensive than organic products in the USA. And, the price difference between organic and regular products in Austria is smaller than in the USA (for example, the difference between regular milk and organic milk per liter is 5 cents, rather than 20 cents, i.e. a gallon of regular fresh milk in Austria is about $5.26; a gallon of fresh organic milk is roughly $5.55...to compare averages, a gallon of fresh regular milk in the USA is about $3.79; a gallon of fresh organic milk is just over $6).

3. Having pride in one's work, and the abundance of handmade articles, hobbies devoted to do-it-yourself, etc. I find it quite admirable that so many Austrians knit, sew their own clothing, garden - and produce the food they eat by themselves - and build their own houses. Also, the importance of family in Austria. I was surprised to discover how many of my students live with their grandparents. That is, in the same house, three and sometimes four generations under one roof! They reassured me that it's often the case to have two to three households in one house, though. Mom and Dad will live on the bottom floor while Grandma and Grandpa live on top. Everyone does their own thing, but gets together for dinner, church, and so forth. When the houses get too small to hold everyone, they build additions on! This is something that happened in America during the pioneer days, but I doubt whether most Americans would willingly live in their parents' homes for extended periods of time after they got married...like, for the rest of their lives. Owning one's own home, car, etc., buying the "best" and "newest" and being able to flaunt each of these things to your neighbor is something Americans not only enjoy doing, they also sort of expect this, not as a privilege, but as a right of passage. Independence can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be isolating and stressful, and unnecessarily so.

4. The Mountains. Although I live in the Alpenvorland and not the actual Alpine region, there are a few hills in Amstetten. Since going to the actual Alps on the school ski trip, and discovering how incredibly breathtaking they are, I've decided that I really, really love mountainous areas. I like them so much that I would probably choose to live in a mountainous landscape over many other landscapes. One of the reasons I look forward to a second year in Austria is to get out into the Alps more, something I'll be able to do quite easily this summer when I work in Zell am See.

5. Being able to speak German every day, of course! Although, I do speak a lot more English than I am accustomed to doing in a foreign (non-English speaking) country. And more than I really should, especially outside of class. But sometimes I feel like my teacher personality comes out, and to help the students improve their English, I can't help but keep my German to myself. But then again, maybe this is just and excuse.

As for next year, it will be in many respects the continuation of this year. Less abrupt and defined than my year abroad, which saw me go to Germany and France. Here, I find nothing hemming me in (such as a looming bachelor's degree), or any expectation beyond what I expect of myself. Of course, two years of "bumming around Europe" is probably enough for me before I enter the so-called "real world" (by the way, I would consider both terms cliche, and culpable in undermining the spirit of youth and discovery - unless you are literally doing nothing. I, thank God, am doing something, rather than nothing, in Europe).

Who knows what the future will hold? I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.


*Song made famous by Doris Day, who sang it in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much
**Song made famous by Julie Andrews, who sung it in every Austrian's favorite***, The Sound of Music
***Just kidding! Ironically, most Austrians I have talked to do not actually like, or have never seen, The Sound of Music

Föhn: or, Frühjahr in Amstetten

Spring has sprung in Amstetten!


The Eiscafés have opened their doors, the normal cafés have put out their outdoor dining tables and chairs. Lovers are loving each other with more fervor than ever. Animals are out and about. My favorite walking path has again become accessible. And, best of all, Austrians have begun preparing their gardens for the season. Gardening, as any Austrian can tell you, is a national obsession. 


But, I must say, Austria, your winter output is a pittance, at best. I expected massive snow storms, fierce winds, having to muster all of my strength to make it out of doors - sort of what the weather was like in December, or like your average Wisconsin winter (FYI - snowfall is recorded in inches, temperatures in Fahrenheit). And, yes, I've already been told this year's winter was affected by the Föhn (or Fön - incidentally also the word for "hairdryer"), that pesky southern wind* that whips up from Italy and through the Alps and makes skiing more difficult because it eats up all the snow...


There are other hypothesized consequences of the Föhn. According to studies at the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität in Munich, during a Föhn year, the suicide rate in Central Europe can increase up to 10%. A famous example: on September 18, 1931, Hitler, living in Munich and working on an electoral campaign, complained of being in a bad mood. A colleague said it was probably because of the Föhn. Later that day, Hitler returned to his Munich apartment to find his neice, Geli Raubal, dead from an apparent suicide.

An example of the Föhn wind near Karlsruhe: photo borrowed from© Bernhard Mühr 

On a cheerier note, the weather has been gorgeous this past week. On a more obvious note, except for a spike in temperature on Wednesday, I didn't notice any difference in weather from the past few months - due, of course, to the Föhn.

*NB: Known in other parts of the world by different names: the Chinook in the Rockies, the Zonda winds in Argentina, the Santa Anas in California, and the Sirocco in the Mediterranean are each famous types of Föhn winds. Unfortunately, I am not an expert on these...you'll have to ask a meteorologist if you'd like more information - other than geographic location. :)

Farm der Tiere u. Tierisch gut

Trying to get some more exciting posts up here...the thing perhaps, is that I feel my social life is not spectacularly interesting...

This takes me back to about two weeks ago. The students in the 3rd form recently read Animal Farm and the play came to Amstetten - which means I got to see it!

I forgot how much I completely LOVE Animal Farm, seeing as I haven't read it since high school. But it is still one of my favorites. It's more...what shall I say? Satirical than 1984. I mean, it's less hit-you-over-the-head with doom and gloom and the destruction of modern civilization, etc. And plus, animals improve everything.


The acting troupe that put on Farm der Tiere was from Salzburg. And I must commend them on their great show: three actors, no set, no costumes - except that the three of them were each wearing white painters' pants and used the occasional prop to signify a character change - for example, Napoleon had sunglasses, Boxer had rolled-up sleeves, etc. There was a lot of physical humor, and some crudeness (like, one of the actors grabbed his crotch at one point...)  but, hey. They're playing animals. What do you want?

And then, later that week, I was invited to Klaus and Ilsa's choral concert. I went with one of the English teachers, Gabi, her friend, and her friend's parents. The audience was (unsurprisingly) mostly older people. And, now that they know I also sing, they're trying to get me to join the church choir. Well...they suggested I go to the practices. Which I am planning to do, as soon as I figure out when they practice. It's just a little confusing.

The concert was titled "Tierisch Gut" which referred to the choice of songs. All of them were about animals, with poems or stories about animals in between the songs. Many of the pieces were baroque, and performed a cappella. Very interesting.

One of the poems selected was...mildly amusing. About the love life of a wild boar named Horst. Who falls in love with another pig named Vanessa. And takes her out for a movie and ice cream. My one concern is this: who would name a pig Vanessa? Pigs should be named things like Tinkerbell. Or Roxy. Or not named at all if they are destined to be eaten. But then again, once named, a pig has a certain power over its captors - think Wilbur in Charlotte's Web or Babe. 


And, well, I felt vindicated when Gabi leaned over and whispered to me, "Vanessa? Would it have killed them to change the name?"