The best traditions are the kind you can eat. I also find that they’re the easiest to be a part of when you’re an outsider to a culture. No matter who you are and where you come from, you have to eat. You might as well eat traditionally!
Therefore, the best Austrian tradition I’ve experienced is the traditional eating of krapfen on and around Fat Tuesday. Krapfen are like jelly donuts, and here they’re usually filled with apricot. A fun fact about Austria is that the whole country is actually just one giant apricot. If James and the Giant Peach had been made here, it would have been James and the Giant Apricot. If the Veggie Tales gang were Austrian, they would be talking apricots. Everything is apricot, from sweets to alcohol. It should be the country’s unofficial mascot.
Interestingly, edelweiss, which is widely considered one of Austria’s actual mascots and is perhaps best known on our side of the ocean as the subject of Captain von Trapp’s solo in “The Sound of Music”, is nowhere to be found. Our professor told us that the white and yellow flower is extremely rare and that you aren’t allowed to pick it if you find it growing.
And yet every souvenir shop has edelweiss key chains, and I haven’t seen a single apricot-shaped knick-knack. Personally, I think it’s a massive missed opportunity for the Austrian tourism industry.
Another custom I’ve personally noticed here is eating a lot of pork. I don’t know if this is actually true or if any Austrians would agree with me, but it seems like I eat a lot of it. There’s plenty of chicken too, but I eat way less beef here than I normally would in the US. That may be less about Austria and more about what the lunch and dinner places I attend like to make, but all I know is that I miss steak.
In terms of traditional Austrian dishes, they are, like most things in life, a mixed bag. For instance, I love bosna, which is curry powder and sausage in a bun, and basically any other sausage dish.
Conversely, a popular Austrian tradition is the consumption of schnitzel, which is (usually) pork with a crunchy fried coating. I hate to disagree with Julie Andrews here, but it is not one of my favorite things, even with noodles. That is an Austrian custom I have not enjoyed partaking in, and I look forward to leaving it in my rear view mirror in three weeks!
