Fact or fake: Grillitsch on Austria

Flo, is it true that all Austrians are skiers? And that there are only mountains everywhere you go?

“Many people can ski, that’s true. But certainly not all of them. That’s what people outside of Austria believe. However, it is definitely fake that there are only mountains everywhere you go. There are no mountains in Burgenland, Vienna and parts of Lower Austria. There are hills, but you Germans only think about mountains when it comes to skiing.”

You can only eat Schnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn in Austria.

“Austrian cuisine is OUT-STAND-ING! It doesn’t just consist of Schnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn. In any case, what I can say is that our cuisine is better than Germany’s. (laughs) They often serve traditional food at mountain huts, they have a great many good things that I really like to eat, such as very delicious cheese or sausage platters, for example.”

Austria is only worth it for us Germans if we’re passing through on the way to Italy.

“That really is madness. (laughs) No way, Austria is the most beautiful country in the world. We have the most liveable city in the world thanks to Vienna. But it’s even more worthwhile if you don’t just drive through, but stop along the way. You can really enjoy the country everywhere thanks to the landscape, the sun and the good air.”

Vienna is as liveable as they say.

“Absolutely. That’s not just my personal opinion or the one held by Austrians. Vienna has topped worldwide surveys for the most liveable city for years, and I can absolutely confirm that. I love walking along the Danube Canal with my children and my dog.”

The Viennese in particular are bad-tempered Austrians.

“It’s unfortunately a fact that the Viennese in particular often seem a bit grumpy, but that is also because of our special brand of humour.”

All Austrians love Falco.

“For us, he’s an icon who unfortunately passed away far too young. He released a great many hits that you come across everywhere in Austria. “Out of the Dark” and “Jeanny” are my absolute favourites. Falco is the biggest star Austria has ever produced and his music is known across the world. He has definitely given our country’s popularity around the world a big boost. All Austrians feel proud that our country has produced such a global star.”

Austria will never go far at a major football tournament.

“I hope that we can quickly prove this to be a fake. We’re on a very good path at the moment, have a great deal of quality in the squad and have developed enormously over the past few years. I hope that we qualify for EURO 2024 and achieve a lot in Germany. We’ll probably never be favourites for a tournament, but we don’t need to talk ourselves down either. I’d rather not say anything about the German team right now.” (laughs)