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Home  >  Blog  >  Ray, a drop of golden sun

Ray, a drop of golden sun

Trish Burgess Posted on12/08/201309/08/2016 Austria 26 Comments

When Julie Andrews was singing Do-Re-Mi around the streets of Salzburg with the von Trapp children, kitted out in stylish curtain-chic, there may have been a drop of sun but I’m certain the mercury wasn’t pushing 40 degrees Celsius.

During our visit to Austria this last fortnight, we were engulfed in a heatwave which only dissipated the morning we left. Expecting warm temperatures of around the mid 20s mark, it was quite a shock to be hit with a wave of energy-sapping heat as soon as the plane doors opened. The black hire car took some time to cool down before we could drive half an hour from the airport at Klagenfurt to our apartment on the Ossiacher See. But the views of beautiful Carinthia, a region of Austria in the far south of the country, bordering Slovenia, more than made up for the initial discomfort.

Apart hotel Legendar view from Alma Mahler Werfel apartment
View from our balcony: lake to the left, single track railway to the right. 

The Apart Hotel Legendaer, in Steindorf, was just as we had imagined: clean, stylish, spacious but, sadly, lacking in air conditioning. I suppose they have no need for it here, as it caters for skiing holidays in the winter and very rarely has to deal with temperatures over 30 degrees in the summer. It did, however, have full shutters on all the windows and patio doors so as long as we were careful to keep them closed during the afternoon and evening when the sun came pounding through, it was bearable.

Each apartment was named after a famous person or family. Ours, you may remember, was named after Alma Mahler-Werfel, the Austrian socialite who had been married three times and had various lovers of note. Numerous photos and items linking to Ms M-W and her husbands (Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius and novelist Franz Werfel) were placed in the apartment: a workable gramophone, a cabinet with photos, books and sheet music, copies of newspapers. A very unusual idea and, surprisingly, it worked and the items didn’t look out of place with the modern kitchen, wooden floors and clean lines of the apartment itself.

Apart hotel Legendaer, Alma Mahler Werfel apartment

I was quite taken with our hostess, Alma. There was something rather comforting about seeing photographs of her and her children. I researched her while we were staying, learned more of her life, discovered that she had suffered much sadness with the death of two of her children. But I think the main reason she had an impact on me was because I thought she looked remarkably like my cousin, and fellow blogger, Toni (Expat Mum).

Anyone agree?

Alma Mahler-Werfel and Toni Summers Hargis

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Next Article “There can’t be many budgies left in Austria….”

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26 Comments

  1. BavarianSojourn Reply
    12/08/2013 at 8:13 am

    yes, I can definitely see the similarity there! Still can't believe out of all the weeks, you managed to get the heatwave week! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 8:47 am

      Typical! We had made a conscious decision not to choose a location which was too hot. We could have been in Dubai and it would have been the same.

      Thought I'd start the posts with a little intro just to get myself back into it. Have plenty in the notebook to hopefully keep you interested x

  2. MsCaroline Reply
    12/08/2013 at 8:20 am

    Striking resemblance!…maybe you need to do a little genealogical research – distant relative, perhaps?
    Just starting to get up and moving again as the summer winds down. Still quite jet-lagged (we just arrived home late Saturday night) and have not blogged for so long I believe I've forgotten how. You have the honor of being the first blog I've read in weeks (or maybe months.) Can't wait to hear about the rest of it!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 8:48 am

      I'm sure there is some connection – her eyes followed me around the room and I couldn't stop looking at all the photos to see family resemblances.

      I felt I had forgotten how to blog too so I eased myself into it gently. Now I need to catch up with everyone else's too.

  3. Expat mum Reply
    12/08/2013 at 1:05 pm

    It's all in the eyebrow! Actually she looks like my (maternal) grandma. There's a photo of her somewhere I wish I had right now so I could scan it and show you what I mean. Am going to see what my mum thinks! (Yet another person who looks like me.)

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 1:27 pm

      You're right, she does look like your Grandma. Let me know what your mum thinks.

    • Expat mum Reply
      13/08/2013 at 12:02 am

      Zip, Nada. Nowt. Couldn't see it at all.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      13/08/2013 at 6:08 am

      I showed my mum the photo too and she vaguely agreed with me that photo looked like you but I'm not sure she was that convinced!

  4. Expat mum Reply
    12/08/2013 at 1:39 pm

    Have managed to squeeze my latest post out of it. With link, of course. Thanks!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 2:08 pm

      Happy to have provided you with a post opportunity! It will be interesting to see what your readers think.

  5. Sarah Reply
    12/08/2013 at 1:46 pm

    When I saw the photo of Toni, I thought you'd found one of her descendants.

    Looks a lovely part of Austria. How amazing that it was so hot. I must say, we always check for air-con these days. My DB is a bit of an air-con freak and if the hotel doesn't have it, he is an unhappy bunny.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 2:12 pm

      It didn't even cross my mind to check. I wonder whether the lack of it was also due to to fact that they were apartments rather than strictly a hotel. A shame as it would have made such a difference. Dougie found it a real pain, I have to say. Rory non-plussed , he seemed to wallow in the heat.

  6. libby Reply
    12/08/2013 at 3:59 pm

    There is certainly a similarity…and how wonderful to have such fab weather….looking forward to some more photos.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 4:58 pm

      Lots more photos to come, Libby. It was a great holiday x

  7. Mammasaurus Reply
    12/08/2013 at 8:08 pm

    Ah we had a 40s heatwave week in Sicily too recently so I feel your pain! And I didn't know Expat Mum is your cousin! Lovely shots x

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/08/2013 at 8:19 pm

      Middle Europe seemed to be hotter than anywhere else in the world. Takes some getting used to, doesn't it.
      Yes, Toni and I are second cousins – we discovered each other again via blogging.

  8. Susanna Reply
    13/08/2013 at 3:22 pm

    Wow, another long lost cousin?

    Heat can be stifling, I can only imagine. We went to Yosemote last year and had similar conditions (no air con).

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      16/08/2013 at 9:22 am

      Next time I will pay attention to the 'facilities' section on the accommodation!

  9. not from lapland Reply
    15/08/2013 at 3:49 pm

    oh what views! i love austria but haven't been for years. glad I wasn't visiting when it was that hot mind. Phew.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      16/08/2013 at 9:23 am

      We weren't prepared for it, which didn't help at all. I had cagoules and cardis.

  10. About Last Weekend Reply
    16/08/2013 at 12:00 am

    Dopelglamour!!!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      16/08/2013 at 9:24 am

      I like that!
      Funny but neither my mum nor Toni's seem to see the resemblance.

  11. Iota Reply
    16/08/2013 at 2:39 pm

    Yes, there's something there…

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      17/08/2013 at 9:37 am

      I wish I had a few more photos to show the two facing the same way. As you say, there's something there but difficult to be specific.

  12. Sarah Ebner Reply
    17/08/2013 at 3:23 pm

    So funny that you had such heat in Austria. When we went, all ready for an early summer break, it was snowing, which was also unexpected…
    BTW, if you can make it to London in the next few weeks, you really should go to the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park and see the Sound of Music. It's such a terrific production and will bring back Austrian memories for you 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      17/08/2013 at 4:13 pm

      I've seen some great reviews for it. Don't think I'll be in London over the next few weeks which is a shame as I love the musical. In Austria I may have sang songs from the show and annoyed my husband and son.

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