In Austria, they’re California dreamin’

Not since the cinematic premiere of “The Sound of Music� has Austria figured so prominently in the collective Californian imagination, or visa versa. The Alpine country of 8 million has had local favorite sons before -- Billy Wilder and Wolfgang Puck among them -- but Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial bid has sparked a mutual reconsideration.

Just as Californians may find themselves wondering what exactly Wiener schnitzel is, many Austrians are suddenly calling all the local expats they know to find out what exactly is going on out here.

And some, not content with news reports or e-mail missives, are getting on a plane and coming to see for themselves.

“We have many people calling to say they are coming, to find out what are the upcoming events where they might see him,� says Bita Rasoulian-Mahmoudi, Austrian deputy consul general in Los Angeles. “Definitely we are getting more visitors this month, in part because it’s still summer here but also because of the recall race.�

Lisa Stoehr and Jana Zemlrcka, flight attendants who recently visited Los Angeles from Vienna, planned to visit Schatzi on Main, the Santa Monica bistro once owned by Schwarzenegger. His office is still above the restaurant and the two hope to meet him.

“I think it’s funny that an Austrian would run for governor here,� said Stoehr. “I would like to meet him and ask him some things, like how he got into politics.�

They had already planned to visit L.A. when Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy, but the race makes the trip “more thrilling,� she said.

There are about 8,000 Austrians living in California, two-thirds of them in Southern California. And, Rasoulian-Mahmoudi notes, there are 74,000 California voters who are of Austrian ancestry, a healthy enough community to support several celebrations of Austrian-American Day. Sept. 26 marks the day in 1945 that a treaty forged by the Allies and the Austrian Federation saved Austria from being divided, like Germany and other Soviet-occupied nations.

In San Diego, Austrian-American Day was celebrated a few weeks early in Balboa Park and, according to Franz Dorninger, president of the House of Austria, the turnout was much bigger than in previous years.

Dorninger has lived in the U.S. for 19 years and owns two Austrian restaurants. Although he hasn’t noticed a surge in Austrian tourists, he has spent many long-distance minutes explaining the race to friends in the old country.

“They call me and ask, ‘How can this even happen?’ � he said. “And I tell them this is how democracy works. Everyone is somehow a little bit excited -- we never thought he would get this far and now it seems like he stands a good chance.�

Helga Morgan, owner of Cafe Vienna, an Austrian restaurant in Sacramento, recently returned from a trip to Austria, where, she says, the interest in the race is “phenomenal.�

“[Austrians] would really like an Austrian to be governor,� she said.

Likewise, Veronika Reinelt, president of the Los Angeles-based Austrian American Council West, was recently in Vienna, where, she said, the newspapers were full of stories about the race.

“It is a breath of fresh air after 9/11 and the war in Iraq,� she said. “And it is all positive coverage of California. There are many members of the [Austrian] media here now and so there is more interest in tourism, both from California to Austria and Austria to California.�

The Austrian American Council West also will be celebrating Austrian-American Day early with a dinner today at the Brentwood home of the head of the Austrian Trade Commission. “Like all Austrian celebrations, there will be good food and good wine,� Reinelt said. But no Schwarzenegger. “He supports Austrian-American Day,� Reinelt says, but he will not be putting in an appearance.

No doubt, he’ll be too busy brushing up on his rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.� With dramatic backlighting, perhaps, but sans wimple.