A Trip To Carinthia

Picked our friend Franz up this morning and headed out in the rain for Carinthia.

Franz lives in Reifnitz, but first we wanted to visit Graz. B had a little surprise for me there, something she wanted me to see. Franz was hitching a ride back home with us, after taking the train in from Raifnitz for R's retirement party the night before.

Despite the rain I got a glimpse of some of the countryside every now and then, and it was really pretty---rolling green hills (pretty steep, some of them) and mountains in the background. B drove the first leg and Franz drove us into Graz and I did the best thing I could do, which was to sit in the back seat and not tempt fate or the Austrian drivers.

There's a big department store in Graz. If you shop there (and BUY SOMETHING) you get some or all of your parking validated at the huge parking garage adjacent to the store. Otherwise, good luck finding a parking place. So the plan was, visit the store, eat lunch up on the third floor terrace, do the surprise thing, walk around a bit more, then take off for Reifnitz, having saved a lot of money on parking.

A rainy day in Graz.

The surprise was a trip to the Grazer Schlossberg, the site of an old castle high atop a nearby hill. The picture above was taken from one of several vistas atop the hill.

There were some crazy, steep stairs leading up to the top but we decided to take the elevator, which rose up right in the middle of the mountain. It only costs 80 cents for the ride so we figured: ride up, walk down.

It was cloudy and gray and there were a few drops of rain but for the most part we saw what we wanted to see before the rain really let loose, which it did. We took shelter underneath a courtyard where old cannons sat, looking down over the city. 

Another view of Graz on the way down from the Grazer Schlossberg.

The orginal castle was torn down because the people back then figured it had outlived its usefulness, and they wanted to salvage the builidng materials (sounds like OKC urban renewal, in a way.) But Graz has turned the hilltop location into a very pleasant public space, with a few restaurants, lots of green space and park benches, amazing viewing points where you can look down on the city...a great place to spend a few hours reading a book, taking a hike, or having lunch. Or all three.

City square in rainy Graz

Back in the car, we crawled through rush hour traffic (yeah, Graz has it) and hit the highway. It was raining still, sometimes pretty hard. Came to a big gas station and noticed several motorcycles filling up, the riders covered head to toe in expensive rain gear. I've ridden in weather like that but not often enough that I ever invested in expensive gear. And it was miserable, not to mention pretty dangerous. The guys were from Hungary. I silently wished them luck.

We got to Reifnitz about 5:30. Franz and his girlfriend Margot live in a really nice house; an architect built it for his home, then later an artist lived there, so there are interesting touches on the property including a little treehouse.

 A place to contemplate the universe, or your navel.

After we got settled in B and I took a little walk (in the rain.) There's a small brook that runs through town, with a path where you can walk or ride a bike. We walked down to the Wörthersee, a big lake with a somewhat Mediterranean climate. It's a big attraction in July and August, with people coming from all around to visit. Walking along, I noticed a new Ferrari parked in one of the bed and breakfasts. The license showed he was from Munich.

But, it having rained all day, the tourists were elsewhere...having dinner, sitting in their rooms, or whatever. B and I walked down to the shore and I got this picture.

Waiting for the sun

Back at Franz and Margot's house, an excellent dinner---pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds and dumplings. I don't know what the dumplings were made of but they were excellent. I'll try to find out today, maybe get the recipe...