An Austrian Road Trip....

While in Austria, we got to take a trip to a small village in Eastern Austria called Bildein. The village of Bildein is located in the northeastern part of the Güssing district at the Hungarian border and a stone's throw from where the Iron Curtain stood. It's where Linde's parents lived and raised their three daughters as they operated a guest house on the "free" side of the curtain. I have been hearing about Bildein for many years from Kim, Linde and Jean. They have stories that would curl their parents' hair. Little things like being in their early 20's and trying to smuggle a young man across the Iron Curtain as border guards aimed their guns at the car and then through the (open) car windows. The story goes that he had to get out and they roared away while a Joan Baez cassette proclaimed their indignation....

The land is so beautiful: rolling hills lush and green. It was very hard to imagine that this area was a place of such misery for so many. I have an image of a bunch of bureauocrats and cigar smoking military men just willy nilly declaring their lines. Luckily Linde and her family were on the free side. She grew up in the shadow of that curtain.

Here we go...

Here are a few scenes at the guest house...

Linde seems to related to everyone in the village. So many people are her cousins, or aunts...Why, here's one now.

While others worked...

we took long walks. We were introduced to "walking sticks" and quickly became fans of their use. Used properly, you also get an upper body arm workout.

Shadows of ourselves.

They have hit a stride.

A few sights along the way....

This is an old guard house.

Later, we drove to a sweet little town that has these straw houses The houses are from the 1700's and were moved here to preserve them. Straw houses are cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Kim would not let me rescue this innocent little guy...

Mud is used a lot. Here they were sprucing up around the foundation.

Then, we drove to Hungary, 5 minutes away. We saw signs advertising the "Iron Curtain Museum". Linde had never been to it so we decided to go explore...This small town of Pernau, Hungary is just a couple miles from Linde's home and it was behind the curtain.

This line and marker is the border between Austria and Hungary.

The Iron Curtain stood between 1948- 1989. The man who created this museum, Sandor Gorjak, served for 27 months (1965-1968) as a Hungarian border guard. He says on his informational board that he didn't want the world to forget what took place here. He grieves for the many who lost their lives here or were imprisoned for trying to escape. Many border guards also made those attempts and didn't make it.

Linde shows us Bildein and the line of the Iron Curtain. She spoke poignantly about all of the suffering that took place--starting actually with WWII. She spoke how the Hungarian villagers were very religious and just wanted to practice their faith, own a few cows, support their families and work their land. This was not allowed.

Land mines were used. Linde remembers growing up and periodically hearing explosions.

Guard tower.

View from the tower.

Mr. Gorjak speaks to visitors...

Linde writes in his visitor's book.

Later, we had a wonderful lunch at a small dining house operated by a very happy and lively woman, Judit Boroshaz. The food was great, the day beautiful, and I couldn't have been in better company. I have learned so much.

Many thanks.