Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, Liebe Österreicher!
Grüße aus Salzburg!

Wir wünschen Euch friedliche Weihnachtsfeiertage, in denen Ihr hoffentlich auch auf positive Momente dieses außergewöhnlichen Jahres zurückblicken können … und viele Weihnachtskekse essen könnt.

Startet hoffnungsfroh ins Jahr 2025! Möge es viel Gesundheit und Erfolg für Euch bereithalten!

Jedes Jahr denke ich, dass dieses Jahr anders sein wird. es wird langsamer gehen und wir werden mehr Zeit haben. Das höre ich auch von anderen … und es kommt nie ganz so, wie wir denken.

Nächstes Jahr feiert Wien den 200. Geburtstag seines goldenen Sohnes, des außergewöhnlichen Walzers Johann Strauss. Jede Woche eine erstklassige Veranstaltung. Sein Gesamtwerk umfasst das Jahr vom Neujahrstag bis Silvester wird Freude wecken und Wien kulturell erstrahlen lassen.

Darüber hinaus feiert das Jahr 2025 einen der erfolgreichsten Musicalfilme aller Zeiten, der vor 60 Jahren in und um Salzburg gedreht wurde. Seitdem hat es Millionen von Sound of Music-Fans an die malerischen Drehorte gelockt.

Als einige lustige Fakten; „Edelweiß” war so gut, dass Filmregisseur Robert Wise es auch für ein echtes österreichisches Volkslied hielt. Als sie die Szene bei den Salzburger Musikfestspielen drehten, verzögerten sich die Dreharbeiten um Stunden, während Hunderten von österreichischen Sänger der Text beigebracht wurde. Die von Trapps flohen zwar aus Österreich, als die Nazis an die Macht kamen, aber sie flohen nicht über die Alpen, sondern stiegen in einen Zug nach Italien und reisten dann nach Vermont, USA, wo sie eine Konzerttournee planten. Am Tag nach ihrer Abreise ordnete Hitler die Schließung der österreichischen Grenzen an. Als sie Österreich verließen, waren Baron von Trapp und Maria bereits seit Jahren verheiratet und hatten selbst zwei Kinder, ein weiteres war unterwegs.

Na ja, das ist die Film Industrie

Wir werden vom Samstag, 21 Dezember 2024 bis Donnerstag, dem 6 Februar 2025 zu haben. Die Osterreichische Botschaft wird zur verfügung da sein.

Austrian Embassy Canberra
12 Talbot Street, Forrest ACT 2603
Tel: +61 2 6295 1533 or +61 2 6295 1376 oder https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/austrian-embassy-canberra/about-us/contact-and-office-hours

Mit freundlichen Grüßen von Debora und mir und natürlich Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr.

Susanne Tegen
Austrian Consul
AUSTRIAN CONSULATE SA NT

                                  ———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Dear Austrian Community
Greetings from Salzburg!

We wish you a peaceful Christmas, in which you can hopefully also look back on positive moments of this extraordinary year.

Start the year 2025 with hope! May it bring you good health and success!

Every year I think this year will be different. it will go slower and we will have more time. I hear this from others also… and it never quite comes the way we think.

Vienna will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its golden son, Waltz extraordinaire Johann Strauss, with a premier event every week. His complete works, spanning the year from New Year’s Day to New Year’s Eve, will inspire joy and let Vienna shine culturally.

In addition 2025 will celebrate one of the most successful musical films ever which was filmed in and around Salzburg 60 years ago. It has since drawn millions of Sound of Music fans to the picturesque movie locations.

As some funny facts; “Edelweiss” was so good that film director Robert Wise also thought it was a real Austrian folk song. When they were shooting the scene at the Salzburg music festival, filming was delayed for hours while hundreds of Austrian extras were taught the words. The von Trapps did escape Austria as the Nazis came to power, but they didn’t flee over the Alps, they got on a train to Italy and then travelled to Vermont USA, where they had a concert tour scheduled. The day after they left, Hitler ordered the Austrian borders shut. When they left Austria, Baron von Trapp and Maria had already been married for years and had two children of their own, with another on the way.

Well, that is the film industry !

We will be closed from Saturday, the 21 Dezember 2024 until Thursday, the 6 February 2025. Die Austrian Embassy will be hier for you in case of emergency.

Austrian Embassy Canberra
12 Talbot Street, Forrest ACT 2603
Tel: +61 2 6295 1533 or +61 2 6295 1376 oder https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/austrian-embassy-canberra/about-us/contact-and-office-hours

With our best wishes, from Debora and me,

Susanne Tegen
Austrian Consul
AUSTRIAN CONSULATE SA NT

Dear Austrian citizens, dear Austrian Association members, dear Friends,

Brigitte (Gitti) Schuster

I formally advise you, that after 25 years of being employed by Robert Gerard and me as Austrian Consuls, Gitti Schuster has retired to spend time with her very active and growing family.

Since I have known Gitti, first applying for passports for my family members and myself, to then employing her when I took over the Austrian Consulate office in Adelaide. I have found Gitti to be helpful and welcoming to Austrian citizens, and a great team member for me. She has seen six different Ambassadors, all with different visions and personalities. I wish Gitti well, but she will still be around, her laugh will be heard, and I am sure the Austrian community will remain in her heart.

Debora Ferris

I’d like to officially introduce Debora Ferris, whom some of you met recently at the Club, as the Austrian Consulate SA NT employee. She supports me in my duties as Consul, and I am really pleased to work with this vibrant and capable person.

Debora was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and spent my formative years in the lively neighbourhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. She immeused herself in sports, particularly volleyball, while pursuing marine biology academically. From childhood, she harboured a deep love for Austria, fuelled by my passion for its composers as a pianist.

In 1987, she travelled through Europe and discovered Lech, Austria. There, she developed a profound love for the Alps and skiing, prompting her to pause her academic pursuits and embrace life in the charming town of Lech am Arlberg.

There she eagerly engaged in local events and choirs, embracing the vibrant culture of the town. Debora worked at various renowned hotels, looking after many guests, including royals, celebrities, and state leaders.

She married a local Austrian and welcomed two beautiful children, Patrick and Hannah. Eventually, amidst a marriage break up, she and her children returned to Brazil. There she worked in events management at the prestigious Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio. However, after two years, they still longed for the familiar warmth of Austria.

Upon their return to Austria, she met her now-husband, Peter Ferris, an Adelaidean, during his visit to a mutual friend who introduced us.

After living in Austria for over two decades, she and her family started a new chapter, settling in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide.

As Debora said “I am deeply honoured to be working at the Austrian Consulate, where I have the opportunity to give back to the Austrian community. I strive to contribute positively to the vibrant community, fostering cultural exchange and supporting collective growth in South Australia and the Northern Territory”.

She very much enjoyed meeting some of you recently at the Austrian Association.

Regards
Susi Tegen