Austria – a country full of beautiful surprises

04 October 2016

The first thoughts that comes to mind when characterizing Austria is the cosiness, friendliness and tradition. There is the Salzburg classical festival, the Vienna opera ball, snow-capped mountains, idyllic alpine resorts, the sweet “Mozartkugel” and neat girls in traditional dresses. But if you look closer, there is more to discover. Much more …

Strolling today through the streets of Austria’s capital will make you aware that this typical, a bit slow, Viennese cosiness is fading away. The hunger for novelty can be felt at every turn; in the art world as well as for fashion and the clubbing scene. Almost every month painters, sculptures, curators and collectors open new art spaces, the scene  is more international than ever before. Biennials are organized in basements, old apartments or former flower shops – the so called off-spaces. These places are called “Praterstraße” or “Clubblumen” all garnished with the typically Viennese touch. Contrary to New York, Berlin or London here you can sense a certain serenity as Austrian radio presenter Zita Bereute explains: “Unlike Berlin Vienna focuses not only on new, but also on tradition. This is sometimes a big advantage”. And so for artists and clubbers the scene at Vienna is less hysterical than at London and much more personal than at Berlin. Here the Austrian atmosphere is a decisive competitive factor.”

Next to the field of art, the Austrian fashion world has mastered the balancing act between tradition and avant-garde brilliantly. The best example is Lena Hoschek reinterpretation of costume and alpine fashion, born in Graz/Austria. Lena mixes petticoats with punk, folkloristic blouses with tattoos and so it’s no wonder that stars like Katy Perry or Charlotte Roche wear pieces from her collection. Or Susanne Bisovsky, the master student of Helmut Lang who developed an inimitable style by picking up traditional motifs and transforming them into couture. She combines folkloristic elements with punk and so her collections are not accidently named “Viennese chic”, “dowry” or “folk-punk”. “I love to play with clichés and it is very exciting to present Austria in form of fashion”, so she says and admits her liking of Vienna’s past epochs. “To lift up a typical Viennese girl of the historical era onto a new step is what characterizes my work best”.

However, Austrians not only wore folk fashion – in their free time you can see them in their skisuits. After all, Austria with its 7200 km of ski slopes is one of Europe’s biggest ski areasin Europe. Ischgl, Kitzbühel, St. Anton, Lech/Zürs and the “Wilder Kaiser” are only a few of the most well-known. Jordan’s king Abdullah, his wife Rania and son Hashem spent their holidays at the “Almhof” hosted by Lore and Gerold Schneider at Arlberg, the Dutch Royal family traditionally spends their winter holidays in Lech in the well-known “Hotel Post” and back in March 1965 the “Beatles” visited Obertauern/Salzburg for filming their movie “Help”. See and be seen is the motto. And above all, to eat especially good food in Austria. No wonder that some of the most renowned chefs come from the alpine country: Eckart Witzigmann from Hohemems in Vorarlberg, Johann Lafer from Styria, Wolfgang Puck of St. Veit an der Glan/Carinthia.

Leisure and Tourism ranks skiing only fifth in the list of the most popular Austrian sports. Ranked first: cycling, jogging and hiking, for which Austria is a real paradise too: numerous lakes landscapes, the lovely foothills of the Alps with its orchards, the hilly South Styria – Austria’s nature is the perfect setting for cyclists, canoeists, climbers and hikers.

The trend towards sustainable nature holidays in “slow motion” is most evident in Austria: discovering old traditions, revive old craftsmanship – also this couldn’t take place anywhere else. In today’s fast moving age full of changes and increasing complexity people yearn for simplicity, they want to feel the ground under their feet – they look for grounding.

For several years, more and more tree hotels, organic farms and discovery trails were opened. Frolicking in alpine meadows during summer time, fetching the cows from their pasture together with the herdsmen and finally fall into bed at candle light.

Mixing tradition and science is also the slogan of Austria’s beauty branch: For years the domestic organic cosmetic market has been increasing. Edelweiss, gentian, Styrian pumpkin seeds – organic ingredients from the local area are very much on the way with typical trademarks such as “Styx natural cosmetics”, “Seppl” or “Sonnentor”. Even those favoring luxury, are spoilt for choice: Considering thatAustria has only 8.4 million inhabitants, it offers a surprising number of spa hotels. More than 1000 distributed all over its regions. 11 % of all Austrian tourists enjoy a wellness holiday which nowadays not only offers the traditional massages or sauna visits: also wellness here is interpreted in a Austrian way. Why indulge in Far Eastern customs if the good is so close. For instance in Styria – in Austria’s “green” garden – natural applications with elderberry, hay or apples are offered. Some swear on a potato-wrap which magically should cure tensions, joint complaints and even sleeping problems. And the most demanding wellness gourmets love a Barrique-bath or a classical facial treatment based on “Sauvignon” wine which allegedly refines the complexion. For special gourmets of course accompanied with a glass of wine.

For those who do not have time for country holidays and wellness hotels but still want to do something to gain a firm figure and beautiful skin, Austria offers a unique solution: the HYPOXI-Method. In a country where innovations are born from tradition it was founded by sports scientist Dr. Norbert Egger. In 1983 after opening the first fitness studio exclusively for women he soon realisedwhat women want: to get rid of excessive fat on belly, thighs and buttocks and fight cellulite. Norbert Egger’s result after many years of research: A good blood circulation in combination with targeted training best promotes fat loss. The HYPOXI-devices do just that- by the innovative combination of positive and negative pressure treatment. The success was inevitable. Today HYPOXI is used in more than 50 countries worldwide and the fan base is growing rapidly as proven by many happy customer reports. Fortunately for all Austrians and tourists there are 11 HYPOXI-studios situated in the alpine republic. Among others in Salzburg, Linz, Vienna, Innsbruck, Dornbirn. For further information and your nearest studio view: www.hypoxi.com. A visit  is worthwhile, even if you are “only” visiting this beautiful country.