Monday, March 12, 2007

Sunday Scribblings #50 - Dream journey

When I was 3 my parents left Austria to start a new life in Australia and although these 2 countries share a similar spelling, they are very different from one another. I was lucky enough to come to Austria on holiday with my family when I was 12, we stayed for 3 months and I got to know my relatives and experience life here. When I was 16 I came to Austria for 5 weeks by myself and it was a real adventure, I felt very grown up checking in at airports and boarding planes alone. I always felt quite comfortable here as things seemed more small scale than in Sydney, it was cosier, people knew each other and everything was very old, there was history everywhere. When I was 22 I decided to come to Europe again on a dream journey, I planned, daydreamed and wrote about everything I wanted to do in Europe and although I travelled around a lot, Austria became the base where I sought refuge when travelling got too much or when I ran out of money. I stayed with my grandmothers who lived in the same town where I was born, I found work, met my future ex-husband and had babies, built a home and settled in. When I left Sydney and started my dream journey to Europe, I suspected that I may not be coming back but it wasn´t a strong thought in my mind. I was a drifter, a traveller, a free spirit. Now I see that I slipped easily into this life, there were obstacles but they seem small now. I live in the village where my father was born, 25 kilometers away from the town I was born in...so, you could say I have come full circle.

6 comments:

Michelle said...

What a lovely post.
I too think I am a drifter and a free spirit.

I like what you said about the two countries with the same spelling. I travelled for 6 months through Canada with a girlfriend from Austria. We would introduce ourselves and say we are from Australia and Austria - Silke would then always say "Australia has Kangaroos - Austria doesn't!"

African Kelli said...

I wondered about how you were Austrian/Australian/Austrian. Beautiful post!!
And I'd guess it made your dad proud that his children wanted to return to the place he and they were born.

Kimberley McGill said...

Quite a journey home!I hope my journeys take me full circle too - for me that would be New Orleans. Take care.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful, lovely post. I guess we all come around full circle in some way or another in our lives, don't you think? I'm glad that your full circle has brought you such happiness. It is delightful to read about your adventures. :)

gautami tripathy said...

Life does come full circle..

You went back to your roots.

gautami

Journey within the mind

Anonymous said...

Nice post. What an adventure you've had and after that to be just really back at home. So cool. Love the photos too - I long to be back there.