Mach Ma Party

So...we decided to have a party when I got back to the States to celebrate all the Austrian thing I experienced for the past two years.

chocolates - received as "going away" present

Yeah, I've been back since June. It's been interesting being back, since most everything is the same as how I left it. Weirdest was when I dated something as being in 2010 a few days ago--like the past two years haven't even existed! But they have, and that's what worries me.

I baked a Sachertorte for our guests, and Mom and I found Austrian and Hungarian wine at Festival Foods. Honestly, I was most excited about that--you don't find Grüner Veltliner in the States very often, which is likely because of the wine scandal in 1985. Some vintners were putting antifreeze in their wine. I found an old New York Times article on the subject for those interested: thank God for internet archiving!

Anyway, that's old news, and most Austrian winemakers work above board nowadays!

The party was yesterday, and went over quite well. We made a PowerPoint slideshow, Mom make Kaisersemmeln and pizza with eggplant (which she thinks is Austrian) and we enjoyed the company of some great people. We shared stories, and I got to see people I haven't seen for a very long time.

I feel like I'm getting closer to being at peace with my Austrian persona and American persona the more distance I get. Is that normal? I suppose it is. I felt for a while that, being in Austria, I didn't have much perspective on myself, but now I do.

It's gratifying, and not just because I can pig out on Mozartkugeln.

900 Jahre Amstetten

This year, Amstetten is turning 900 - kind of amazing, huh?

photo courtesy of meinbezirk.at

The town has begun to celebrate in May, with posters displayed all around the downtown area, espeically the Hauptplatz. Other festivites include: a farmer's market in, a tractor pull (I feel like I'm back in Wisconsin!) and live bands on the weekend. One ice cream shop even has as "Mostviertel" flavor, which I have not tried.

Amstetten has been populated since prehistoric times, through the Roman settlement of the Danube (at one point, a fort dedicated to Jupiter stood in the area); Schloss Ulmerfeld, erected in 995, lies at about a 15 minute bus ride from Amstetten, and was at one point considered the seat of Amstetten...back when the ruling body came out of Passau. Amstetten was first known as "Passauer Markt Amstetten" in 1111, the date at which Amstetten was "founded."

The town was protected by the bishop of Passau during the Ottoman-Habsburg wars, but nevertheless razed twice, once in 1509 and again in 1529, and basically abandoned from 1542. Later, a hospital was founded (around 1660). I am not sure if this is the same hospital that exists in the town now, and sometimes serves as doctor-training/residency facilities. If it is, I'm sure it's not the same building.

Amstetten wasn't much more than a market until 1858, when the Empress-Elisabeth-Rail was put into operation. That meant a direct train route from Vienna to Linz (currently still running, thank God) and easy access to other larger cities, including Salzburg, Munich, Budapest, etc. Also used by the Nazis, which unfortunately led to the bombing of Amstetten by the Russians. Which ruined most of the cool architecture. I, for one, continue to be outraged. In fact, another unfortunate news case for the city (after just getting over Frtizl, really!), Hitler was, up until very recently a citizen of honor in Amstetten, due mostly to oversight by past and present mayors and city council members. He is no longer.

Today, roughly 23,000 people live in Bezirk Amstetten (including the surrounding towns of Preinsbach, Allersdorf, Eisenreindornach, Greinsfurth,Viehdorf, Neufurth, Boxhofen, Ulmerfeld, and Pittersberg). The town of Amstetten has a population of circa 13,000.