Austrian Stereotypes

Brocade

I stopped into an interior design shop yesterday to see what the latest trends in this area were. The shop owner had beautiful heavy brocade and matelasse drapery and bedding. The shop was refined, elegant and fascinating. The accessories were ingenious. The valances looked like they'd just come from the Palace of Versailles. And size, most everything looked like it was created on a grand scale. Thought and care were evident in the layout and selections.The predominant flavor conveyed to us was "this stuff should be in a castle". We were impressed.

Matelasse

When the owner approached and engaged us in conversation, we discovered he was educated in Austria and his name was "Wolfgang". Okay. Wolfgang. Wow! 

If you are like me, the only thing you know about Austria - this is where Hitler came from.  It was a teeny bit weird to be standing there talking to this incredibly handsome man, trying not to think of Hitler and trying not to imagine a little black mustache under his nose. Wow, where did that come from? I realized that without proper education or research, we all default to stereotypes. And I was guilty! 

Then my husband says something about Australia and I realize he's misheard the man and I'm off thinking about kangaroos. Wolfgang was quite nice about it.

AUSTRIA IN YELLOW BORDER

So I went home and looked Austria up on Wikipedia - mainly so I don't think of Hitler every time someone says "Austria". Here are some quickie facts I discovered. 

• Austria is bordered by 8 other countries and is the 12th richest country in the world (United States is the 11th, Canada is 9th, Luxembourg is 1st). 
• Austria is a neutral country and does not allow foreign military bases on its soil. 
• 74% of the land is part of the Eastern Alps. 
• The country gave birth to many famous artists and scientists including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sigmund Freud and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• The Pez candy was invented in Austria - yay!
• Einspanner Coffee - A Viennese specialty of strong black coffee served with whipped cream and powdered sugar - something I am dying to try!

I also looked up the meaning of the name Wolfgang. Who names their kid that? Evidently a lot of men in Germany and Austria are so named! Wolfgang is in the top 100 names for baby boys since the mid 1950's. There are a variety of meanings for this name including, "wolf's path", "traveling wolf", "running wolf" and "wolf leading in victory".  Pretty cool! I'm thinking maybe I'll name my firstborn Wolfgang! 

Lastly I google his website...holy smokes!  You have got to see the drapery section. I'll let you discover it on your own...www.wolfganginteriors.com. Oh, and to top it all off, he's a television celebrity and never mentioned a word!

All this guy really needs now are some beautiful Stained Glass Fireplace Screens!