The weather could be deceiving....From inside our house looking out it seems cold because the skies are gray. We had planned to take a walk by the Danube last Saturday and watch a film later so I got the kids into jackets and a sweater too! We arrived by the island and the sun was shining happily...so off they took the jackets and left them under a tree. :)

The Danube river has always appeared blue whenever I take pictures of it save for those times that it's frozen and covered with snow. I've always loved the hue of this river. Ironically, it also makes me feel blue being a foreigner in this land.Yesterday, I wrote about the red party, SPÖ, today I pertain to the opposition FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, Freedom Party of Austria). FPÖ is defined as a right-wing political party and has political elements of both liberalism and nationalism. The party aims for the betterment of locals which in a way is a good thing. However, this betterment, for them is attainable by being hostile (this is too strong a word) to foreigners. In truth though, the party is not against all foreigners because during the campaign for the recent elections, slogans tend to be an attack against a belief system, that of the Muslims...sounds familiar? Well, 65 or more years ago, from this same country, there was a man  who was hostile towards the Jews...is it surprising that he left his ideology behind? And as if being sarcastic to that ideology, the  photos and posters of the party leader's blue eyes are always photoshopped...I mean accentuated.

I don't generalize the people of Austria as being one in this thought, there are a lot who tolerate us, foreigners. It's just that the thinking of such politicians are easily passed on to adults and kids alike. There are locals who do not share their sentiments but it still saddens me that a lot of them do.


Foreigners who migrate (in other countries too whose language is different from theirs) surely has difficulties of integrating. That should not hinder though the process, even if it takes years. When I came here, I always hold a Philippine hero's words  by heart "to learn the language of the country you're going to is the first thing that you should do." However, he also said that ;"He who does not love his own mother tongue is worse than a rotten fish." For this, my family became multi-lingual.It was not easy at first, I learned the language myself because then I had 2 kids to take care of. I had my share of hostility then too...a doctor's assistant "barked" at me and said that I should learn the language...in my broken German I said: "I plan to but I just can't do it now, having two kids in tow." So I learned and now I can talk straight to her. Still, her eyes are cold as always.

Now, what has this got to do with the topic above? Not all foreigners are willing to learn the language and integrate...even for being here 10 or more years, they haven't had the initiative to do so, for what reason? Well, I don't know.This is what set the ire of others aflame...understandable though...Hispanics learn English when they migrate to the US. Koreans learn Tagalog/English when they want to live in the Philippines, Filipinos learn Korean when they migrate to Korea and so on...it's the person who has to adapt to the culture and the system not the other way around but not doing so does not give the locals a ground for hating.

P.S.Last week's toxic sludge spill  that damaged the Danube is in part that of Hungary. It is a sad incident that led to the death of four and destruction of many homes in Kolontar. Here are hopes that the spill gets contained and do not contaminate any further the Danube River in other countries.

Wasserpark (water park) in Autumn taken from a moving train. See the Wasserpark in summer here.

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 Finally, the promising colors of Spring. Agree?

The Wasserpark (water park) situated in Floridsdorf, adjacent to the Danube is approximately 143.000 m². A frequent destination for kids and adults alike, there's a playground and a small court, vast open spaces to play football and other amenities. Since the Danube is just nearby, there are smaller lakes that had been a delight for birds and ducks. Walking the dog is a good exercise here too!

There are also benches by the lakes where one when can idle time watching the ducks peacefully or simply stare at the water and reflect upon life (I guess...) or have a good chat with a friend. It is always a pleasure to see old couples there on the benches, perhaps reminiscing their youth together and the life they've lived.