I can't believe I just rubbed Horse Muscle Cream on my thighs...

Hawediere from the Steiermark!(Hello from the Styria):

I have arrived at my 3rd Austrian Host Family (Familia Hirt) and am delighted by what I have seen so far. The family lives in St. Oswald, which is about 45 minutes from my last family in Knittelfeld. It is a small village on the hilltop, there are mountains surrounding us, but we are basically on a hill. My host family has a 15 yr. old daughter, Charlotte, who is a bit shy at the moment but I am sure she will open up with some time. After all, I am the alien American sleeping in her room. Then, they have a 17 yr. old son, Philip, who seems to be nice, but keeps busy with his friends and motorcycle. My host mother Edeltraud has 2 horses, so I have been riding with her once already and am delighted with her quiet, kind nature. Franz, my host father, is an amazing musician and plays every instrument under the sun, and even if he only speaks a little English and I only a little Deutsch, we seem to communicate and understand each other perfectly. On the evening of my arrival here, after meeting the family and unpacking, we roasted chestnuts outside on an ‘open fire!’ So, that was good fun. On Monday, my Edeltraud and I went to see a church designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, it was covered in mosaic tile and bright colors. The church was great and as of now, this has been the 2nd Hundertwasser I have seen, the other was in Magdeburg, Germany. Then, we drove to Piber to tour the Lipizzaner Horse Stud Farm...sadly, it was closed, but my host mother and I walked to the pasture, so that we could get a bit of a look at the famous Lipizzan Horses. They were gorgeous...I thought of you mom, every second I was there (My mother Bev loves horses and has always wanted to see The Lipizzaner Show in Vienna, which I might add...I might try to get tickets for since my last host family is near Vienna).

On Oct. 28th, Edeltraud and I went to the Freilichtmuseum (pictured 2 above), an open-air museum that recreates 19th-century Austrian farm life in a quiet wooded valley. The museum consists of 90 farmhouses, barns, mills, and storehouses from all over Austria, transported plank by plank and lovingly restored in small villages by their region of origin. It was a delightful way of learning and the walk was long, but worth every step. On Wednesday morning, I made Spagatkrapfen (Traditional Austrian Christmas Cookies, picture 1 above) with my host mother and have been out several times feeding and putting the horses out to pasture. I also rode one of their horses on Tuesday night, so that was a good time since it has probably been 6 years since the last time I have been on a horse.

Thursday my host mother took me to Thal, where we toured a modern church; it was neat and stone mosaic on the inside and out, even the seats for the service were stone. We also went to the Thalsee (large pond) where I understand Arnold Schwarzenegger grew up, which was pretty cool...the town had many plaques and signs about that Kindergarten Cop! Edeltraud and I then toured an agricultural boarding school, which was very interesting and the kids were friendly. Friday morning my host mother and I took a ski lift to the top of the highest mountain in the area, where we admired the view a little, then took a little individual 'rollercoaster' ride, of which you can control your speed (I like that fact very much), down to where there was the beginning of our 'hiking trail.' The ride was awesome, being on the mountain, the cold air on my face caused me to cry, but it was a good cry! Anyway, we then began our descent to the car. It was about 4 km, which doesn't seem like much, but the way was very steep and even though we had walking sticks, it was extremely hard on the knees and thighs. I still think back in amazement at how quickly my host mother walked; however, I have the stamina...so, it was I who was the first to the car! But, it was a good hike and I enjoyed it, even if I am hurting from it a few days later. Today, (Sat. Nov. 1st) I attended a church ceremony at the Friedhof (graveyard). It was a pretty amazing sight, everyone (and I mean everyone) goes to the graveyard to take time to 'remember the departed' and at 2:00p.m. the priest began reading, praying and there was even a small brass band. The most interesting part was when the priest began at the top of the graveyard and proceeded to go in between all of the graves and people (being trailed by three young children...one swaying the smoke 'thingy,' one with the holy water...and I am not sure what the other was doing) flicking Holy Water over the stones. I was very interested and attentive at the beginning, but it was a BIG graveyard, so I got tired since I was standing the whole time and my thighs were killing me! Now, I am back at the house...in my temporary bedroom writing to you with bright green gel on my legs that my host mother gave me to reduce the pain. She didn't happen to mention at the beginning that it was for horses, but it is making me feel a little better...so, I care not what animal it was 'meant for!' I will enjoy it...and thought that that would be a funny title for this blog, so now you know the story behind it. I hope it lived up to your expectations. As you can see, my situation right now in Austria is perfect. I am enjoying my time and look forward to sharing the pictures with you, when I can figure out how to rotate them (I don't know why, but my host sister's computer automatically rotates them when I click on the editing button...so, it won't let me rotate them since, in the editing window they are already. I am trying to figure that out and when I do, I will add another slideshow) Also, as far as captions to some of my recent ones, I haven't gotten to all of them yet. But I will, fear not! Well, I am off for now and if anyone has any questions or ideas for my blog please share them with me either by e-mail, emiewv@hotmail.com or via a comment. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!