Rome | Talk to me about Austria

Okay so what do we mean by Carnuntum? What is that? Well, Carnuntum was one of the most important Roman army camps and settlements of its time on the Danube river in the Noricum province and after the 1st century the capital of the Upper Pannonia province. Its remains are situated in Lower Austria halfway between Vienna and Bratislava on the so-called “Archaeological Park Carnuntum”, extending over the area of 10 km² near today’s villages Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.

Every kid growing up in Austria will remember going on a field trip to Carnuntum, the Roman City of Ruins. I still remember walking across the path ways, across stones much much older than I was or my family. I still remember glancing over walls and across buildings that are not more than ruins anymore, imagining how people, long gone and lost, have lived and breathed and survived every day.

Carnuntum is definitely a one of a kind experience you wont want to miss while traveling or being in Austria, especially among the history and architecture lovers among you.

Oh! And the wine lovers, I almost forgot to mention ;). Because equally remarkable, besides uncovering these ancient ruins many years ago, are the findings of the 910 hectares of prime and fertile soil for red wines that reflect regional characteristics.
The popular ‘Rubin Carnuntum’ wine is produced by a selection of the region’s dynamic producers. With the image of the Roman Heidentor (Heathen’s Gate) imprinted on its label, it is a recognition of the region’s cultural history. Check out the following video for more info: http://youtu.be/KoT7QSPq9wg

You will see that the Lost City of Emperors has been definitely reborn. Uniquely throughout the world, the basic types of architecture in a Roman city quarter have been reconstructed in Carnuntum in their historical context and you will be able to visit and enter: a citizen’s house, a splendid city mansion, temples, public baths and much more. All the buildings have, furthermore, been equipped with Roman underfloor heating systems and fully functioning kitchens, and all the rooms are furnished. All layouts and decorative details refer to a single era, as does the level of the streets in the city quarter.

Just as if time had stood still 1700 years ago, when Carnuntum was the scene of an event that was to change the world permanently…Do you know which event we are talking about :)?

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