Being in London for more than 4 months now, every now and then I encounter certain “things” that remind me of the country I was born and raised.
First, I would like to mention the Austrian Club London. This club is basically a chance for Austrians, who ended up in London one or the other way, to socialise at events with Austrian “flair” and meet guys who speak their mother tongue. For example, every two months they are holding After Work Drinks at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub, and, of course, their highlight of the year is the Austrian Ball in October. So if you are a fan of the Austrian culture, you are most certainly welcome to join…
Last Wednesday, I got to see The Sound of Music (the movie) for the first time. When I went to the states for the first time in 2003, I came back with the impression that this movie (with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer) is the only thing that comes to an American’s mind when they hear “Austria”. Apart from the fact that it is Austria, not Australia, bitch! (thanks Phelim).
So thanks to Cineworld, which was showing this marvellous piece of cinema last Wednesday only, I was able to finally close that gap of cultural ignorance in my brain *sigh*. Sidenote: As the footage was, of course, not digital, they had some trouble with the sound at the beginning of the movie. The whole thing started, Julie Andrews appeared on the screen on one of the mountains around Salzburg, singing her heart out…but no sound. Apparently, they took the sound out of The Sound of Music. My girl and I had a lot of fun. Finally, after that bad start, they fixed it and restarted the movie.
And finally, beloved by all of my fellow Austrians (including me) for their best on-board service, Austrian Airlines does some advertising on the London tube. I recently saw some posters at Leicester Square and Camden Town tube station. Awesome.