Schooling in Austria

The view from our little cabin in Dalaas.

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Dalaas, Austria

September 1, 2006

It’s September and I am finding that the start of this month brings with it mixed emotions. September usually brings with it the start of a new school year and thus, many fresh and new beginnings. This year is different for us as we realize that instead of buying school supplies and gearing up for homework and busier schedules all around, we are continuing this rather routine-less life of being foreigners in a foreign land. In a way, it is making us stop and contemplate why we are doing this whole thing of stepping back from routine and structure and the duties of an established pattern of living. It is a good time for us to stop the touring and make sure that we are still on target with our objectives for this year.

One objective is certainly that this would be an educational and enriching time for Karsten and Stephanie. To this end, we are starting up with a more regular routine of ‘school’. David has started supervising their Grade 8 and 9 math lessons. So far, so good. Stephanie got 94% on her first unit test and we’ll see how Karsten’s test goes soon. Both kids are choosing topics on which to do research and essays on, and as we travel there is no lack of interesting topics. Some of the highlights of our trip the kids will continue to post on our blog. It’s interesting that all over Europe, when we have shared with locals that we are traveling for 10 months, the first question that we ALWAYS get is “How can you take your children out of school?” Home schooling is totally unknown and not allowed in the European countries and the thought of taking your children out of school is quite astonishing to everyone. We are blessed to have this freedom in Canada and the support of the principal of our high school to take this year “off”, and yet we feel the responsibility of ensuring their education.

The easy hike up to a mountain pasture where they make cheese in a little hut.

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Another objective that we are re-focusing on, is the objective of not just being tourists but allowing the culture of the country we are in to surround us and impact us in a way that can’t happen as easily when you only have 3 or 4 weeks to see as much as you can. This was easier to do in Romania because we were interfacing with the locals as we volunteered and worked there. It takes a bit more work if you are only in a place for 5 to 7 days, but renting self-contained suites in peoples houses has offered us the wonderful opportunities of meeting locals in their homes and having them guide you in where to shop for groceries, which restaurants are good to visit, what sights to visit, etc. Of course, sometimes this can be dangerous, too!

Last week, we rented a wonderful 2 bedroom suite from Rita and Hubert Burger (www.burgerh.at.tt) in the small Austrian village of Dalaas. The first few days were rainy and very cold, but we did school work and watched the snow level on the mountains drop lower. The view was straight out of ‘Heidi’ we just couldn’t believe the beauty of the mountain villages and alms around us. But after a few days of being shut in we were very happy to see sun and clear skies and head for the hiking trails around us. The first hike was a pleasant hike up to an alp hut where the shepherd and his family lives all summer long with a herd of cows. They make cheese up there and host hikers to cool drinks and good rye bread with homemade cheese. The 8 year old daughter was a very capable waitress. It was a great day and we were eager to repeat the mountain experience a second time the next day. Alas, we asked for advice from a local – our land lady, who was born and raised in these mountains and likely thinks nothing of a stroll up to the peak and down on a fair day. The view from the top is stunning, so why wouldn’t she recommend the hike to these tourists from Canada?? Because they obviously aren’t all in as good shape for hiking up and down mountains as she is! The path was steep and narrow and wet and rocky and often with sheer cliffs on one side. Thus we never did make it to the top. That night and the next day I felt muscles in my legs and buttocks that I never even knew I had. To add insult to injury, as we had just given up in defeat and were turning back down the mountain, two local strode by us as if they were just walking down the road to the mailbox! They didn’t even bother with the little trail we had been following, but whacked their way straight down the mountain face. It gave us a new definition of ‘off-roading’. We are sure that they were long finished their après-hike beer and pretzel and on to the next project by the time we dragged our tired bodies into our rooms.

Our little waitress who served us up on the mountain pasture.

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Nevertheless, Austria was beautiful. Salzburg and Innsbruck are lovely cities and had their own fun surprises (Salzburg’s was watching all the VERY fancily-dressed people rushing into the theatres), but we once again enjoyed the rural scenery and small towns the best.