Before leaving Austria for good this winter, I had the opportunity to spend time with one of my favourite women in the world – my awesome skydiving and adventurous cousin and thus sister of the heart Claudia. Memories of a very sunny and warm end-of-year gathering.
December 30 is usually not the day that you would expect to have an outdoor photo shoot with short sleeves, eh? At least not when you live in Central Europe and your country is best known for skiing, snow-covered romantical chalets in the mountains and Hüttenzauber that time of year.
Alas! If you have a date with a sunny, optimistic character like Claudia, you can be sure something surprisingly good will happen. Because, well, she believes in karma and makes sure to pay her debts to the kind spirits out there. So no wonder we had sun, beautiful light and all the time in the world to take some long overdue pictures in and around her house in her hometown in Südburgenland, Austria.
I remember when we were kids, Claudia would always be the one joking and making a fool of herself. Well, she has definitely grown into an independant, determined woman, but you can still see that playful fire in her eyes and she definitely kept her spontaneity.
As a successful team leader in a travel agency she has made her curiosity for other cultures her profession and has travelled all over the world. And travelled she has also all directions of the windy sky as a skydiver – a passion that is reminding her constantly how precious every moment is with family and loved ones.
As much as she loves to be ‘out there’, she is happy to retreat to her newly renovated home in a quiet little town, the same town where her/our grandparents raised her mother and four uncles. A place that we all have fond memories of. Sledding down a snow-covered hill between frosty apple trees and landing in the thorny gooseberry bushes. Walks in the woods with our grandfather to pick ‘Parasol’ mushrooms. Our grandmother’s kitchen were we would play with plastic bowls all day long. Lazy, long summer vacations with sunburnt legs and our bellies full with ripe berries.
I admire and adore you, Claudia, you strong and beautiful woman! May you travel many more unknown roads, always with the faith that something worthwhile will cross your path. Always with the faith that home is where your heart is.
