Prada Bags & Pumpkin Seed Oil!

I took a trip to Graz today (Oct. 24th, 2008). It was a solid day of sightseeing and experiencing the joy of going solo. I got a ride into Graz with Christina (sister of my host mother) & Opa (their dad), he had a doctors appointment so they dropped me in the city center. Since it was 7:30 a.m. and none of the shops were open yet, I walked up to the Schlossberg where there was a lovely overlook of the city and many interesting buildings. Just to name a few, I saw the Glockenturm (Bell Tower), Chinese Pavilion and Bishop's Throne. Then, I made the long walk back down, except this time on the front of the mountain along many, many flights of stairs. I meandered along the Mur River to check out the Murinsel, which is an unusual landmark of Graz in that it sits in the water (designed by New York artist Vito Acconci) and takes the form of a floating shell linked with footbridges to the banks on either side of the river. It houses a cafe and amphitheatre, but I walked along the footbridges and looked in awe at the combination of natural and artificial beauty. My next destination was the Dom and the Mausoleum, which were directly beside one another. Both beautiful in their unique way and I am continually amazed at the amount of churches that I have seen during my trip, as well as how I keep wanting to see more. Before I came to Europe, I thought that a few big churches and I would be satisfied...but each are different and by simply stepping inside these vast structures one feels a need to believe, even if one isn't much into that sort of thing. By this time it was getting frighteningly close to 11 a.m. and I wanted to be sure to see the Glockenspiel show, so walked briskly toward my goal. With 5 minutes to spare, I arrived at the Glockenspielplatz and, as you can see by the small clip of video I have added, I saw the spectacle of sound and moving figures. The entire performance was about 10 minutes, although my camera memory card is embarrasingly small, so I only captured a little taste for you to enjoy from your home computer. I apologize up front for the wiggling camera, but I wanted to watch a little of the show without the viewfinder of my camera in between me and the performance. But, I hope you enjoy it none the less! The Glockenspiel rings 3 times a day, two windows open and a pair of carved wooden figures in traditional costume dance to the sound of the Glockenspiel (Well, now you have seen it).

As every weary traveler experiences after a long span of walking, I felt hungry and stopped at my new favorite fast-food restaurant, Döner for a glorious kebab. As I ate my lunch I walked along the street window shopping and saw anything from Prada Bags to endless pairs of high leather boots (which are REALLY in style here in Europe ladies) and back to Kürbis Oil (Pumpkin Seed Oil). Austrians use the Pumpkin Seed Oil often on Salads and I saw my host sister Sophie put it on her dessert pudding. Anyhow, there is a wide variety of interesting articles and foods that are for sale in Graz.

I had an extreme need to be around nature in the afternoon, so I spent a few hours walking around Stadtpart and Burgarten. Both were filled with beautiful paths, green grass and treelined walks where the vibrantly colored leaves were almost as overwhelming as the smell and sound of them underneath my feet. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, so I got lost in thought and drank in the loveliness of this perfect autumn day. BEEP, back to the blog entry after several minutes of remembering that part the day.

I stopped at an open-air market on Kaiser-Josef-Platz, then walked along toward the Bahnhof (train station) where I was due to meet my ride home. I stopped in a little cafe halfway through my walk for a refreshing cup-a-tea and decided to try some roasted chestnuts (Castanian-pictured above) that stands here are solely devoted to selling. They were good and I enjoyed the new tasting experience. Then, at 4 p.m. I waited at the train station for Petra (host mother's niece) to pick me up and take me home. The traffic on a Friday evening at the Graz station was horrible, so I was happy to get out of there and spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home...and guess what, being devoted and writing this blog for you, my dedicated supporters. Danke! Thank you!