Seeing Double – The Doppelgänger
Chilled to my bones as I trudged through deep snow in the Austrian Tyrol, I was overjoyed to see an old friend walking towards me …
It’s said we all have at least one ‘doppelgänger’ – and I believe it! In fact, in my experience, there’s more than one. I can’t count the number of times over the years that people have walked over to me, grinning broadly, saying ‘I know you!’ or ‘I know we’ve met before …’ On the rare occasion that’s been true, but mostly we can’t find anything that offers even a possibility of our paths crossing previously.
My favourite story about a doppelgänger took place in the Austrian Tyrol back in the 80s. Working in a ski resort had been on my wish list for years, and through word-of-mouth I’d heard a great place to get work as a ‘ski bum’ was in St Anton.
The search for winter work
I was really keen to secure a job for the winter, and after chatting with other backpackers who already had work sorted, I knew what to do. Next morning, without wanting to be too early in case I woke up owners or managers of the various ski lodges, I went door knocking. “Guten morgen, ich suche winterarbeit,” I said, having practised this phrase with a German-speaking friend.
Some would suss me out immediately as an English speaker, so in English would reply: “No, I’m sorry. We don’t have any more work available. Maybe try over there…” Others would shrug and say “Nein” and close the door with or without a smile. After a couple of hours I decided to try again the next day. I’d been told time was on my side, as there hadn’t been a single snowflake fall and work wouldn’t start until there was enough to open the ski lifts.
It’s snowing!
That night, I was enjoying a jaegermeister or two in the bahnhof bar with a dozen or so other backpackers. They were a particularly friendly crew, and while we talked and laughed, someone yelled out: “It’s snowing!”
We all raced to the window, and sure enough, giant fluffy snowflakes were falling! And they didn’t stop falling all night! When I woke up and looked out the window, everything had been transformed into what seemed to me, to be a magical white fairytale world straight out of a children’s storybook. The Tyrolean buildings were built for snow and it was just stunning.
Footprints in the snow
Off I went on my job hunt, starting from where I’d finished the day before. As I went from one ski lodge to the next, getting the same response – no work – I noticed I was following at least three sets of footprints in the snow. I kept going until the footprints continued straight back down to the village. Either they had secured a job or the hot chocolate was calling them from the warmth of the bahnhof bar.
After quite a few more doors and no luck, my inadequate coat was starting to get pretty damp from all the snow and I decided to try again next day. Up even earlier, off I went. I soon found I was following just one set of footprints. No matter how many doors I knocked on, I still didn’t find work.
First footprints of the day
Next day, I was even more determined and headed out earlier still. There were no footprints! As I made my way up a new path, in the distance I saw someone about my age coming towards me. As she got closer, I started to grin then wave! She did the same to me! I couldn’t believe it. Here I was in the stunning snow-covered mountains of the Austrian Alps, and there was Jenny, my old house-mate walking towards me in the crunchy snow! Joy!
We were both doppelgängers!
Within a few metres of each other, we stopped, and both seemed a little confused. I looked again. Oops! She wasn’t Jenny … she was Ingrid, as it turns out. And I wasn’t her old friend either! By some strange twist of fate, we each thought the other was someone else! We were both doppelgängers! And about the only coincidence was that she was Australian too. We couldn’t help but feel a little bonded, and later met at the bahnhof bar for a long chat in the warm lounge.
As fate would have it, news had spread of my eagerness to find work, and one of the guys came and told me the ski lodge down the road was looking for someone! I raced there next morning and got the job!
And as for my friend’s doppelgänger, we stayed in touch. A few years later, Ingrid drove across Australia’s Nullabor Plain with a couple of mates to visit me. As we both move around the world, we visit each other whenever we can. And to this day, a mere (ahem, cough, cough) 30-plus years later, we doppelgängers are still dear friends!
