City walks

No summer like back then: small talk gets more heated

"Krone" reporter Robert Fröwein talks to Viennese people about their thoughts, experiences and worries.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

"Krone" reporter Robert Fröwein strolls through the city and talks to people in Vienna about their experiences, their thoughts, their worries, their fears. Everyday stories straight from the heart of Vienna.

It used to be said that if you don't know what to do with the other person, you talk about the weather. What for decades served as the ideal basis for innocuous small talk has long since developed into a global topic of contention that can no longer be talked about without getting into it. While people once liked to joke about the coming rain and the resulting disadvantages in everyday life, today it can quickly happen that the person you are talking to, from Lena Schilling to Donald Trump to the Illuminati, is looking for people to blame for the unstoppable climate change, throwing the usual relaxed nature of casual conversation into the next corner at the same time as their manners and level of conversation. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself in a regulars' table situation in no time and that's where the much-cited hackles tend to fly low.

A few days ago, early summer made itself felt in Vienna for the first time. Ten degrees plus, from one day to the next. The cold, wet nights and record-breaking rainfall, which caused many a river in the country to overflow, seemed to be over for the time being. A reason for sun-seekers to rejoice, as the outdoor swimming pools are slowly getting into their stride, you don't have to wade in the mud at the upcoming music festivals and a well-earned glass of wine after a hard day's work can be better enjoyed in a casual T-shirt than in a bulky down jacket. Of course, there is a fine line between unbearable summer heat and perceived cold, but temperatures tend to be more relaxed.

But where there's summer, there are heatwaves, and after last May was once again the warmest since meteorological records began - from a global perspective - everyday experts are once again springing up like mushrooms. Just recently, I witnessed a U4 debate that began with a delicate exploration of the usual barbecue conditions and almost degenerated into murder and manslaughter. The reason: climate change. The part of the discourse duo that denied it joked that by firing up the barbecue, his counterpart would increase CO₂ pollution to infinity - with a sharp undertone, of course. This man, who had a penchant for science, replied, less than amused, with: "As the driver of a combustion engine, I'd rather be careful with my judgment." You can imagine that the verbal communication from there became increasingly less sophisticated.

Admittedly: The current world situation doesn't allow for much banter when it comes to climate problems either, but people are increasingly longing for casual conversation that is as light-hearted as possible. While some people insist on their - naturally only valid - opinion, there are more and more people who want to escape from such conversations or talk about a topic as freely as possible without it immediately turning into an amateurish slanging match on a global political level. Rising temperatures also fuel inner restlessness and impatience, but with heatwaves just around the corner, it's good to keep a cool head and not immediately escalate the situation. As serious as the problems with the climate are, sometimes you just want to have a nice chat. Without instruction, without analysis, without discourse. Like in the summers of yesteryear.