Austria Sept 14

Sept 14

We met friends of my father for lunch. They live in Baden, a beautiful town, known for its casino, baths and gardens. It was popular as a summer resort for the nobility during the height of the Austrian Empire, so there are lots of stately homes. The Königs live in a lovely villa in the town centre, and they graciously treated us to lunch in a restaurant in the Vienna Woods, overlooking Baden.

Baden is a 45 minute drive from where we are staying. The drive is lovely, winding roads through the Vienna Woods, great views, small villages, no traffic.

In the afternoon Marion took us on a tour of the school where she teaches. The system in Austria is quite different. After 4 years of elementary school, students attend high school, but not all high schools are the same. Most schools specialize in areas such as academics, trades, business. 

Marion teaches in a Gymnasium, which is an academic high school, in Purkersdorf, on the outskirts of Vienna. It's a lovely old town, but the school is very new, and modern.

Students stay together, as a class. The students have their own classroom, the teachers move around. The class does move for science labs. Another interesting aspect is that, not only do the students stay together the whole year, they move to successive years together. 

Marion has a home room class, that she teaches German and History, which has been her home class since they started in Grade 5. They now are in Grade 11, and they will have been her home class, and teacher for 8 years, when they graduate next year.

When I went to high school, in Hamilton, we had the same system. I was in the same class, ever day, every year, except for Grade 13. You certainly develop strong bonds.

Even the physical layout of the school is different. There are no lockers lining the hallways. The lockers are inside each class room, so the halls look more like in an office building. There are even sofas in the hallways. I wonder how long they would last in one of our schools.

Marion served a great goulash for dinner.

We watched the news after dinner, and we were lucky to get to Vienna when we did. The roads are closed again, and no trains from Hungary. The roads to Germany are also affected. To go to Germany now takes hours, the lineups on the roads, leading to the border are many kilometres long.

Photo 1 lunch with the Königs

Photo 2 a hallway at the Gymnasium; you notice no lockers, they are inside the classroom. I wonder how long the couches would last in one of our schools?

Photo 3 a gateway in Purkersdorf, dating from the 1400's

Photo 4 a driving school. Note that you need a permit even for a tricycle. Austrian are very law-conscious.

Photo 5 Albert's robotic lawn mower; it works very well. It's the only mower he has. After it finishes cutting it automatically finds its "home" to recharge.