Fragrances and Cigarrettes

Given that this is my second return to Austria from the United States, I find it quite interesting to see what cultural differences I completely missed until now. Fragrances, for instance. Going shopping for shampoo, soap, candles and other smelly things in the US was always a bit of a lengthy process for me. I often ended up with Burt’s Bees or something equally pricey, such as artisan soaps from the farmers markets, and even there I was quite picky. I never grew fully conscious of why that was, but now it is completely clear to me. It was because the typical fragrance spectrum of your average CVS selection of cosmetics/home fragrances ranged from “sweet strawberry” to “candy store” with a little stop in the “baked goods” department (“carrot cake”, “pumpkin spice”, “vanilla cinnamon”….). On my very first visit to a “dm” drug store in my new/old home I immediately suffered from a complete overload of products I was actually prepared to buy. Everything seemed to smell like ridiculously expensive French imports (to the US, that is): flowery, moderate, not sweet or overwhelming, and far, far away from edibles. No raspberry-peach, no apple pie. Violets and calendula. I love it!

On a somewhat related note: Something has changed dramatically in this country, for the better. It took a couple days to sink in, but one day last week, Steve turned to me and pointed out that we had had four or five meals in restaurants and in none of them were we bothered by smoke. Apparently, the laws have changed to the extent that designating three of 20 tables in one room as “non-smoking tables” is no longer deemed sufficient. Halleluja, lawmakers have figured out convection and diffusion! Granted, smoke is still around a whole lot more than in the US. Some more traditional bars and restaurants seem to make sure that the more attractive/cozy/stylish front area is the smoking room and non-smokers get a good dose of smoke while finding their way into some less representative back room. If the place is small enough that it cannot physically be split into two sections, it may keep its “20^th century ambiance”. You see smokers on the street and on the balconies of buildings. Certainly complaining about getting a second-hand whiff here or there will not do you any good. But Austria has come a looong way from its turn-of-the-century definition of “non-smoking” (“Nobody is forcing you to light a cigarette, what’s your problem?”) to creating some actual refuges for people like me and most Americans.