Fun, feminine and flirty, the Dirndl convinced British designer Vivienne Westwood that “there would be no ugliness in the world if every woman wore a dirndl.” We like the way she thinks. The Dirndl is the most visible, and very likely the most popular expression of a wealth of traditions that are still very much part of Austrian culture today ;)!
People from all over Europe come to Austria on a regular basis to enjoy it’s Thermen culture!
We Austrians are seriously big on Wellness, Saunas and all that good stuff. Every year we try to at least make one or two vacations for a few days (or over the weekend) to one of the countless beautiful Wellness Hotels in Austria. Austria’s Wellness culture is a culture of its own and just as popular among Austrians and surrounding European countries, as it is for Finish People to go to Finish saunas!
The Austrian Spa’s we are talking about are called THERMEN in German, or singular THERME. And believe us when we say, that you cannot compare the American spas to Austrian ones. It is something completely different.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of Thermen throughout Austria. Part of the reason which makes the Austrian Thermen so popular throughout Europe is that pretty much almost two-thirds of landmass in Austria consists of the Alps, and as a result, 95% of the Thermen you can go to in Austria stem from Natural Healthy Mineral Hot Springs ;)!
In addition to that, the hotels are top end at a reasonable price. Whenever we go to a Therme, it is all about relaxation – in every way, and just enjoying life. Top-notch cooks from all over the country work at those Thermen and the food that you get to taste there is just as amazing as the Thermen Experience in itself. They usually have a bunch of fitness programs at every Therme, as well as hair stylists, masseurs/masseuses, skin experts, you name it! It’s all about Wellness.
In Austria we are furthermore pretty open about our bodies. So in contrast to some American Spas or Korean ones, to which we’ve been to, you will find that the genders intermingle in Thermen and that there is no separate male and female area in Austrian Saunas.
However, we do distinguish between naked and non-naked areas, so you can decide whichever one you prefer. A little tip though on the side in case you do want to enter the naked area that usually has the coolest and newest technology Saunas, Steam Rooms and other nice things: no one has ever asked us to leave the naked areas when we wore a bikini or bathing short. However, in most Thermen there are signs where it says that it is not allowed to wear any kind of swimwear. Why? Because the material of swimwear is supposedly not good for your skin when you enter steam rooms, saunas, etc.
Though what you can do in case you feel a little uncomfortable about the glances from the people around you who are walking around naked, just try and wrap a towel around you and just use the Therme like that ;).
FURTHER READS:
http://www.austria.info/us/rejuvanation/thermal-spas-1130913.html
http://www.austria.info/us/rejuvanation/alpine-spas-1130901.html
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/travel-tips-and-articles/76040
http://www.wellnesshotel.com/en/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/austria/1757020430.html
While doing a study abroad semester in Seoul, South Korea, I met many many people from all over the world and made more friends than I thought I would in those six months. I seriously met people from like 74 different countries (when I was bored one Sunday afternoon, just lazily sun tanning besides the pool, I started counting off the countries and – was amazed).
So the thing was that I started to figure out the Ugly Truth in Korea, and a Truth it was indeed. That 95% of the people did not know a single thing about Australia! Ups. My mistake. Austria, I mean of course :). Furthermore, they did not seem to care. 
This, in turn, stirred up my Austrian pride (of which we unfortunately sometimes have a lot) and I began to ask myself and to ask myself: ‘Why does no-one care, but everyone talk about the amazing Pasta or Pizza they want to eat in Italy or rent and ride a Vespa through the ancient city of Rome, or sit in a cute Parisian cafe and eat Croissants before heading for taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower…?’
Okay. Let me get this straight. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting those things and Italy and France, and Ireland and Amsterdam, etc. are amazing European countries and it is super fun to go there and hang out and stuff. However, growing up in Austria I knew all the just as amazing fun things you could do in my beautiful home country that are so unique to Austria, that no one really seemed to know about it! Only the people who have actually traveled to or lived in Austria are full of passion and excited to talk to me about Austria.
The same goes for my experience of living in the U.S. for 7 years now. No one knows about Austria, except for – of course – The Sound of Music, a beautiful AMERICAN film I truly admire. Well, and there are some hard-core classic fans who know Mozart. Thank goodness! And then, last but not least, there is good old Arnie (as we call him in Austria) or better known in the U.S. as THE TERMINATOR. What would Austria be without him?
Anyway, so because all of these things started to hurt my pride and I became more and more annoyed after talking to fellow Austrian friends who live abroad in different parts of the world, by the fact of being taken for an Australian (nothing against Australia, but I’m just sayin ;), that I decided it was enough and I am going to TALK ABOUT AUSTRIA to you guys!
This is indeed a declaration and I want you guys to know that I am trying my best to bring you the coolest things about Austria. The cool things as well as The Ugly Truth. And well, The Ugly Truth is that too many people don’t know about this diamond in the rough, this small country called Austria!
I am talking to the seekers and the travelers, to the ones who are still searching, searching to learn more, to discover more, to explore more. For those of you, this is an amazing site, filled with interesting facts and unique things about Austria and Austrians, as well as general travel tips from people who grew up in Austria (such as me) and local insider tips (from my brother who lives in Vienna and travels around Austria as a personal coach constantly). And lastly, you will be able to get a different perspective on Austria from my husband, who is originally from Denver, Colorado and has lived and worked in Austria for 5 years.
I am also talking to you Austrians, to help me make this website the best it can be and to let me know about any kind of cool things, events or facts about Austria that I might have not featured on the blog yet. And if you like the website, fellow Austrians, please feel free to contribute via comments (as my opinion is just subjective and I would love to hear your guys’ opinion on some of my posts, especially the ones about cultural topics), or donations as I invest a lot of time in making this website the best it can be. Dankeschoen ;)!
All in all we, the TTMAA Team,hope to address and change this Ugly Truth. We want to believe that it is not because they do not care, but because they have no source where they get the information and as such, this website will be the ultimate source for you.
And don’t be shy, please email us questions or comment in the comment section below! That is why we’re here ;)!
Bis Bald und noch ein schoenes Wochenende!
~ the TTMAA Team
Talk to me about Austria 