The boat next to us was for sale, and a couple in their mid-thirties surveyed it. The two immediately reminded me of the good old days of the 70s, when people liked to show themselves as alternatives. She had long, light blond wavy hair. He was dark blond and not second to her in hair length. The clothes were, according to that era, colorful and casual. His interest was in our boat and mine in modern hippies who have become rare. Soon interesting conversations developed, as the two dropped by several times. They are Austrians and fled the country at the end of October 2021. At that time, Vienna threatened all residents with compulsory vaccination and high fines for non-compliance. The two quickly managed to take six months off from their jobs, fled to Croatia, purchased a boat, and sailed to the Balearic Islands until August. In the meantime, Austria has refrained from compulsory vaccination. Nevertheless, the strict action of Vienna has caused critical consideration of their country. And not only in them. They said we thought we were exotic as we did not submit to the government’s bullshit. You can’t imagine how many people we have met from Austria and Germany. Folks who have already left their country or are planning to do so. And then they dropped the sentence we often heard; we never thought our government would stigmatize its people like this. The methods reminded us too much of the ugly past of both German-speaking countries. Both are seriously thinking of leaving their country and settling elsewhere professionally. He works in aviation – finding a job should not be too difficult.
Two Austrians fleeing their country
