Hi Everyone!
I think I can finally say
that summer is over here in Austria. They tell me that we’ll have at least one
more hot spell but I’m not so sure. It went from being in the 70-80 range to in
the high 50s to 60s range. A drop of 20 degrees is exciting in anyone’s book as
far as I’m concerned. Add some rain to that and you’ve got a drastically
different temperature than the scorcher that happened last weekend.
Beyond that, two other
momentous things happened here in Austria this past week. First was a rather
hazardous happening. One of the new buildings down the street, it was being
completed as we arrived here, lost a tile. Now, that normally wouldn’t be much
for anyone but when that tile is over a 100 feet up, it could have been a very
tragic moment.
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| Where the Tile Fell From |
The DH happened upon it right
after it happened and took these pictures. One is of the spot it fell from and
you can see there are many more like it in place. Very quickly they cordoned the
place off and made sure that no one could walk the sidewalk around the building
at all. And while this has caused some despair on my part since this is our
most common route to places, we don’t know just what happened.
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| The Pieces |
We speculate that the heat
was so high it actually did something to whatever was holding the tile in
place. We don’t know if glue was a factor but we do know Austria is not
prepared for the heat we saw this past summer. Most of the older buildings have
no air conditioning and it’s only been in the last decade that it has been an
option in newer homes. There were many nights that people just stayed outside
around fountains because it was much cooler than being in their own homes. Like
I’ve said before, unfortunately, this is not going to change at all. As the
climate changes, the earth will be getting hotter. So we all better prepare
now, no matter where we live.
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| The Lack of Sidewalk |
Another event that happened
was even more momentous to me. I have not hidden the fact I’ve always been
weirded out about where I live and the relationship it had concerning World War
II. My DH says I’m just strange for feeling this way but part of that has come
from the Austrian people themselves. While most are friendly there are just as
many who are standoffish and don’t like foreigners. They are a stoic people
that just have never given me warm fuzzies. Now there are a few I have come to
dearly cherish but overall, not so much.
On Saturday, we went to the
mall at the Hauptbahnhof, which is just up the street from our flat. It’s
become a very convenient place to shop since it’s just a train ride away. When we arrived at the station where we get
off, we were greeted with a mass of humanity. There were people and clothes
plus other essentials everywhere. At first, the DH and I thought it must be a
fundraiser for the Syrian refugees we knew would be passing our way. We went
about our business and walked the platform toward the grocery story. One of the
tracks held a train where people were getting on and off but we really couldn’t
see since it was on the next platform over.
We speculated just what that
train was as we went on our way. I was only getting bananas at the SPAR grocery
store so it would be a fast visit. It was our last resort since we’d been to
the Naschmarkt and didn’t find any nor at our grocer around the corner either.
I was thrilled they were unpacking them when I walked in, quickly picked my
bananas and paid for them.
When I came out, we went back
up the steps and were again greeted by a mass of humanity. There were kids
everywhere and I was never so proud of Pup Harry as when those kids ran to pet
him. He took it all in stride and was very good considering he’s only been
around the grandkids once. We went back through and the train was still on the
tracks, which was odd and by the time we got to the end of the platform where
we’d catch our Stassenbahn, there were cots set up.
We knew immediately it had to
be some refugees and that those children we’d seen were just happy to be alive
as well as seeing a dog. Their parents had to be equally happy to be in a
country where it’s peaceful and they aren’t fearing for their lives. That
evening as we listened to NPR, our thoughts were confirmed as Austria was one
of only two countries who were going to take in hordes of these refugees
flooding Europe. The other was Germany. Imagine that…the two who has started
the worst war in history with some of the biggest atrocities stepped up to the
plate whereas my own country floundered…and I wondered what was in the thought
process of the US that very little was being done to help these people, who no
fault of their own, were displaced.
In that moment, I couldn’t
have been prouder to be here rather than at home. I had always wanted to help
those without or those in desperate need. My best friend and I were all
prepared to sign up for the Red Cross during the Katrina crisis and were talked
out of it by our husbands. She and I have regretted the fact we didn’t just go
and do something. Today, I live in a country where the UN is very prominent.
And I if I can, I’m going to find a way to help these people as much as I can.
Just as soon as I figure out where to go and if they will take someone who
knows only English.
I flipped through the stories
at NPR and came across one about those refugees. They had been held up at the
Austria-Hungarian border while awaiting visas. Hungary wasn’t going to let them
through without a valid visa to somewhere in Europe. Germany had started
issuing them a while ago and at first Austria was a little hesitant but
eventually got on board. Once that was all decided, the trains started and had
been going. The picture of the young child being held by his mother made me
tear up. The country I was living in was helping those kids and I was deeply
touched.
I try not to make this blog
or this column anything that it isn’t supposed to be but here goes…humanity is
just that…humanity. It doesn’t matter what color we are, what religion we are,
young, old, rich, poor, straight or gay – we are people and we need to learn to
value everyone on the planet. I feel that there will come a time when we as a
species start dying out and we’ll need every one of us. It’s as important as
the need to get off this rock someday. We need to care for each other and live
those Christian values we are taught because if we don’t, we aren’t living the
life intended by the covenant of our religious teachings. The wellbeing of
others is part of that charter and it’s time we start making good on it. Love is
love and we need to start spreading it around.
Hope you enjoyed this little
look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!
Lynn
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