Just Mel

Ebensee

During the last weekend, I was invited to Ebensee. Wanting to dig out more about the place where I was going, Wikipedia came in handy and here is what it says,

"A dark point in its history was the placement of a Nazi concentration camp (codename "Zement"), part of the Mauthausen KZ network, in Ebensee. Thousands worked to their deaths to construct giant tunnels in the surrounding mountains. These tunnels were designed for moving Penemünde's rocket research into bomb-proof surroundings. The camp was liberated in May 1945 by American troops…”
Link: Ebensee Article.

… Great… Nazi… Nonetheless, I packed my bags and went.

To my surprise, Ebensee was a really nice place, quite, peaceful and comfortable. Located nearby the border of Upper Austria and Styria, the town was surrounded by three beautiful lakes, Traunsee, Langbathsee and Offensee. None of this reminded me of its past. Walked along the small town, hiked up the hills to the chapel and strolling around Traunsee was great. The tiredness from work and drinking were wiped off and I felt revitalised! Just like Red Bull give me wings~~~ It was such a nice place to stay and retirement for sure. In fact, most of the residents are retired and I can’t recall coming across any young people, other than my friends and me. The funny thing was that I felt myself more like a tourist attraction rather than the town. Often I could notice people smiled and looked at me, some even said something when passing. Not too sure what they meant, I hoped something good. Probably, they have never seen a Chinese in real life before… While just when I was concluding that thought… there was a Chinese restaurant not far from us. They are some Chinese residents here after all. That reaffirm my theory, “Chinese is like cockroach, you find them everywhere!” in a good sense. Although it sounds disgusting, I found it true and…

Panoramic view of Ebensee

Walking district in Ebensee

Me sitting in front of Traunsee

Abandoned chapel up the hill of Ebensee

In the town centre, there was a 5-metre-tall wooden pole with leaves, bottle of wine and grain tied on the top. Mai Baum, a common sign in the rural towns. Centuries ago when residents in the region began to believe the existence of witches, local residents set up a wooden pole, hoping to protect their stocks. They believe that when witches fly pass the town, she will stop by the wooden pole and start counting the numbers of leaves. By the time she finished, she will have already forgotten the reason she come for and leave the stocks will therefore remain unharmed. Nowadays, the tradition is kept more for symbolic and festive purpose. A big local celebration is held for each time the pole been chopped down.

Mai Baum

One thing that really struck me here in Ebensee, was how well the people are able to live along with nature. The rivers that flowed through the town were literally crystal clear and clean that I hardly seen anymore. Looking at the old photos at Warung Saga, the river flows through Johor Bahru city was once like that back decades ago. However now, Sungai Segget is as dirty and stinks as you can imagine. I can still remember the muddy coloured river filled with rubbish, the smell of decayed food disgusted me every time I walked by, rats and flies visible from eye sight… When I was a kid, I thought everywhere was pretty much the same. At times, I would throw some stuff into the river as well. Think of it now, I feel so shame of myself… Recently, pathways and mini gardens were build above the river to give the city a new look and get rid of the odour. Comparing the ‘cover up’ back home and here in Ebensee, there are definitely more for us to learn…

The river taht pass through Ebensee