We went hiking again on the weekend. This time we decided to explore another corner of the Vienna Woods, Gumpoldskirchen. You can easily get there with the S-Bahn from Vienna, takes about an hour or so. You get off in Gumpoldskirchen and you walk about 15 min. to the market church, and voila, you are at the start of the Anninger/Wilhelmswarte trail. We went what seemed to be the steeper way up, and came down a different route which took us by a couple of small chapels and some wineries, and a chestnut tree that was blooming and carrying chestnuts at the same time!

The Anninger is a “mountain”. With only 2,142 feet it is the tallest in the whole region of thermal springs and wineries. For us the altitude difference was about 1,300 feet but it was short and brutal. So we stopped by a cabin or two on the way for refreshments. The new fresh squeezed grape juice is everywhere (Most) so we don’t miss any occasion to have some of that. In a month or less it will be fermented to wine, therefore gone. The special thing about the Anninger is Wilhelmswarte, an old tower, where you can see some of the Alps on a clear day (Schneeberg, Ötscher - the “magic mountain”, etc.). Unfortunately for us, even though it was a beautiful day, there was too much fog to be able to see very far. But the hike in the beautiful old beech woods, still green, was worth the trip. These Vienna Woods have been a jungle for centuries, only wood cutters or coal miners would venture inside. Just like the famous Sherwood Forest, the woods were suspected of hiding thieves and outlaws. It was the Biedermeyer Vienna, after leaving politics and settling comfortably in salons, who discovered the region. The Wienerwald has many faces: sometimes shady beech green, then again sunny in the scent of pines. Just when you think the forest is getting thicker, the trees step aside to reveal the beauty of hidden meadows.

Once you have escaped the charm of the Wienerwald, it’s back to Gumpoldskirchen. This little wine village, about 20 km (12.5 miles) south of Vienna in the thermal springs region with its favourable climate, is first mentioned in a document of 1140, but it is far older that than. Numerous finds give evidence of settlements here in prehistoric times. The enchanting center with its Renaissance buildings and the arcaded Town Hall chiefly date from the 16th century. The Gothic Parish Church St.Michael’s is cared for by the Teutonic Order. It has a worthy counterpart in St.John’s Chapel of Thallern.

There is always season in wine-growing Gumpoldskirchen. Green bushes invite you to the Heurigen (wine taverns) throughout the year, and, moreover, there are two big wine festivals twice a year. Here Spitzenweine (best table wines) can be sampled, and old and new friends of the world-famous Gumpoldskirchner come together. The wine of Gumpoldskirchen is justly praised as king of wines and wine of kings. Soil condition, climate and the sites of the vineyards have established its fame. Hard work, know-how, and experience of the vintagers have made its majesty. Rotgipfler und Zierfandler are of excellent quality, they have established Gumpoldskirchen’s reputation. Other popular species are: Burgunder, Neuburger, Rheinriesling, Welschriesling and Traminer. All these are white wines, but red wines St. Laurent, Blauer Burgunder and Blue Portuguese are also choice ones. Here is a little Vienna wine history for you.

Today I was a little bored, so I went to Monster to check out the job situation in Seattle, for my area of expertise of course. Didn’t find anything terribly exciting, but I found a nice list of benefits at Isilon Systems. They list, among other things, medical & dental care for employee and dependents, business travel insurance, paid time off, etc. What seems like really nice perks is the commuter pass and views of the Olympics and the Puget Sound (probably for those times when you are called to your boss’s office and don’t want to look your boss in the eye, but look out the window and wish you were on top of the furthest Olympics peak).

All in all this is a nice list for IT benefits in the Pacific NW, I am sure they did their best. But after having lived in Austria for a over a year, some of the benefits listed strike me as ridiculous. Medical care? Paid time off? The Austrian worker, even the lowest paid one, would wonder if a company like that should be taken seriously. What do you mean medical care, and insurance, and paid time off? For the Austrian these things have been set in stone and signed in blood long before they were born, by various trade contracts, very union-like except you don’t have to join or pay anything. Surely sometimes Austrian employers attempt to circumvent such regulations by presenting you with work contracts where they sneak in extra hours for no extra pay hoping you won’t read the contract. But the vigilant applicant knows how to shame such an employer to where they quickly retract such things. There is, for example, a 2 month notice period in Austria, meaning you can’t just be asked to clean your desk and go. Ok, it takes that much to land an interview, things don’t move as fast here, but you have protection from employer abuse. There is also the Arbeiterkammer (workers council) where you can go complain and most likely get your employer to pay for all that you got cheated out of.

The Austrian, for the most part, is completely oblivious of his good fortune. So he likes to complain about how working conditions are bad, how work is too stressfull, how there is not enough vacation, or enough money for vacation, and so on and so forth. The Austrian is very human, thus always inclined to complain about everything, endearing really. Well, I am not an Austrian so I can appreciate all of the benefits work in Austria has to offer, which makes for good quality of life, especially family life. So even if I have a bad day at work, I remember that there will always be bad days at work, no matter where your work is, but there are benefits that will make up for it. So I will stay here for as long as the Austrians will have me and nod with compassion when they complain about their quality of life, while all the time I will be thanking my parents for sending me to German school….

These are some of the standard benefits an employee gets in Austria, for no extra pay:

• Medical (100% coverage, no copay, 100% hospital stay, you pay extras only for alternative medicine and some tests)
• Dental (similar to most US insurance companies - 80% fillings, 50% crowns and orthodontics)
• Paid time-off: 25 working days + 10 legal holidays a year
• Sick time: no limit, starting with the 2nd sick day need to bring a doctor validation
• Pension plan
• Severance in case of lay off
• 2 months lay off notice
• 14 salaries: 12 regular months, 1 salary is vacation money, 1 salary is Christmas compensation
• Maternity leave: 2 years!!!
• Special paid time off: 3 days for marriage, 2 days for family member passing away, etc.
• Paid overtime, weekend time, night time, etc.

I have said this many times, and I’ll say it again: Fall and Spring are the best times to visit Vienna. Ok, I tend to be a bit partial to fall, it is my favorite season. But it really is wonderful here. Those of us who have lived a very long time in the Pacific NW love and appreciate the evergreens all year round, especially in February, when the greyness seems to have no end. But it comes at a price, brilliant fall colors are clustered in few precious spots. So you learn to cherish a maple here and there, a chestnut alley, a yellow bush in-between fir trees.

Here in Vienna fall is a feast for the eyes. And every day brings new shades, new brilliance. Fall in the Wienerwald is one more celebration before the November rains put out the vibrant foliage colors. October, for the most part, offers sunny days, with mid-day highs around 70 F. The mornings can be a bit chilly, but the air is so crisp and fresh that you don’t mind. You just learn to carry scarf, hat and gloves with you at all times. Then at noon you can tie your scarf to your handbag, tres chic. It is still warm enough that you can sit in a cafe courtyard and have a Melange, or any other Viennese coffee specialty. Or take a stroll in the park, and take in all the colors. Half of Vienna is covered by parks, it has more parks than any other European capital. And if you get cold in your walks just buy some hot roast chestnuts, called Maroni here, from the next street vendor. They keep your hands warm and they are delicious. And if you’ve got a whole day to spend, then up to the mountains for a hike in Styria, or just take a walk to the nearest section of the Wienerwald. No time for museums and galleries yet, November is made for that. We are going to enjoy every free minute of this Vienna Fall outdoors. We are going to take in all the sun and all the colors, we are going to make colorful leaf collages, we are going to gather chestnuts, and we are going to go “swoosh, swoosh” in the thick carpet of dry leaves, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…