Official name: Republik Österreich
Founded: 966 A.D. Population: 8.6 million (17th largest in Europe) Size: 32,385 square miles (slightly larger than South Carolina) Languages: Austrian German Major industries: Finance, consulting and tourism Famous foods: Wiener schnitzel and apfelstrudel |
Five Fun Things About Austria
- Austrian humor is sophisticated and cynical, as exemplified by our local guide Gerhard, who also owns Vienna's Third Man museum.
- Vienna is filled with impressive palaces, buildings and crown jewels. It may sound ignorant, but we didn't realize how important Austria was as a European superpower prior to World War I. At its largest, the Austro-Hungarian Empire stretched from part of France in the west to Ukraine in the east, and from Poland in the north to Serbia and Italy in the south. And from 1415 to 1806 every Holy Roman Emperor (first among the European monarchs) but one came from Austria's ruling Habsburg family.
- Austria has a rich tradition in opera, classical orchestras, folk music and even really classy marionette shows. We were lucky enough to be in Salzburg while its famous Salzburg Folk Festival was going on and got to see people dressed in traditional dirndl skirts and lederhosen heading to the show. That said, most Austrians haven't heard of "Edelweiss," the fake Austrian folk song that was written for The Sound of Music.
- Austria gives you wings! Salzburg, Hallstatt and the surrounding Austrian Lake District is crazy for Red Bull, which was started by a local entrepreneur and still has its headquarters in the region.
- Austria has some seriously weird desserts. While most of us are familiar with apple strudel, some other Austrian desserts haven't made their way to the U.S. yet. We were surprised by a widespread delicacy called Kaiserschmarr'n (essentially "king's cake"), thin strips of pancake mixed with raisins and served with plum compote or applesauce for dipping. We had it twice. Our last night in Austria featured a dessert called "canoodle," fried vanilla ice cream stuffed with apricot jam and topped with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. It was tasty if unexpected.
Where We Went in Austria
- Salzburg: the hills are alive with the sounds of Mozart, the singing von Trapps and a famous folk festival
- Hallstatt: right on the water of Austria's beautiful lake district with the world's oldest salt mine in the hills above
- Mauthausen: lessons from the Holocaust come alive in a concentration camp that is largely unaltered since 1945
- Vienna: sophisticated and cosmopolitan seat of the Royal Habsburgs is as alive as ever