Picnicking with Freundinen

One of my favorite things about Austria so far is how often I get to share meals with my new friends.

So far, I have a handful of Austrian girlfriends that I have met at all different places– this just goes to show that a Texan girl can truly make friends everywhere!

It also helps that I speak pretty fluent (getting there) conversational German. Often, upon first meeting me and hearing that I’m from Texas, they either don’t believe me or immediately start speaking incredibly slow English to me. They laugh when I respond to them in their native tongue, and we have officially hit it off.

I will write a post later about how nerdy I am becoming about this German language business…

Anyway, in these gorgeously golden fall days I very much enjoy spending my lunch hour outdoors and enjoying the company of some of my favorite Europeans!

Here are a few stories from days such as these:

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Here are my dear friend Sigrid and I at the top of a hike!

She graciously invited me to her hometown of Werfenweng, a tiny little town high in the Austrian alps near Salzburg. We hiked up from her house all the way to one of the little “Alpine huts” where one can rent a room for the night and stay (although we obviously weren’t doing that).

The hike was absolutely gorgeous. And even better was sharing great conversation with a great friend!

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This is the utterly breathtaking and simple little spot where we decided to picnic before heading back down the mountain.

The little place was made up of boulders covered with the softest moss imaginable, but cool enough that we still needed to place jackets underneath us to avoid catching the mountain chill.

The little round “rolling hills” there reminded me of miniature versions of hobbit-holes.

This picture can hardly convey the way such a simple and natural spot really takes your breath away.

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How amazing would it be to grow up in a place like this??

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This is the spot of one of my favorite places to run for a lunch break: Mirabell Gardens!

Imagine sitting here in the dappled shade, enjoying the feel of the briefly warming fall sun and the sound of street-players on clarinet and accordion (of all things) singing out fantastically well-done jazz and polka tunes.

Yes, this is a lovely place for a picnic!

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Here are my friend Bettina and I, taking a nice lunch together in the gardens of Hellbrunn Palace.

Once again, I am left feeling like a princess.

We brought a picnic feast of vegetables, salads, sandwiches, and sweet treats, grazing over everything on our soft blanket as we talked for hours.

I absolutely loved this afternoon!

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You can’t really tell, but this was part of our beautiful view that afternoon at Hellbrunn: a gorgeous statue, a calm and peaceful reflecting pool, magestically tall trees.

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Here are my friend Sybille and I during our afternoon “Spazieren” (strolling time) after a delightful meal at her cozy apartment.

How wonderful is it that here in this country, people spend their afternoons walking? They spend hours in the beautiful weather just walking, talking, sitting outside in the sun… it’s such a lovely way to live.

Why do we Americans constantly need “something to do” with our time together? When this is the alternative, I’ll take it any day!

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One last little bit about that meal that Sybille and I cooked together– Schnitzel with Noodles.

Yes, you read that right.

You can bet your bottom dollar I was singing the whole time!

“Never plan a picnic’ Father said. ‘Plan a dinner, yes, or a house, or a budget, or an appointment with the dentist, but never, never plan a picnic.”
Elizabeth Enright

 

Mandi