June 20, 2010
What you missed last week on David & Leah's trip...
The clap of thunder as we stepped off the train in Graz sent people ducking for cover. The rain which followed was more or less continuous. But it didn't stop us from loving the city. Tourist information was helpful and sent us on some self-guided walks which we enjoyed. We wandered through narrow streets, into courtyards and up to a hillside castle, Schlossberg, and around the vast Eggerschloss Castle and grounds. Leah started a serious attempt to try all the local flavors of ice cream. Her plan became mired by a bowl of ice cream on a pedestal, named the Arnold Schwarzenegger, which obscured her from my view. (I have the picture to prove it!) I just watched while enjoying a blur of wurst and schnitzel.
A straight forward bus trip dropped us very near a comfortable campsite. Included in our camping fee was the use of a giant pool, which looked more like a small lake, especially with the six or seven ducks who clearly considered it to be home. (Seriously, the pool was 120 x 90 meters, which I calculated to be about 6 or 7 Olympic-sized swimming pools!) We managed a nice swim during one of the breaks between rain showers. We slept well, with the notable exception of being woken by an asthmatic hedgehog (as near as we could determine). As much as we liked Graz, drenched, we decided to push on.
The train was slow and comfortable through green pastures, woods, and distant, blue mountains with snow capped crags. Dotted through the countryside were idyllic villages, carefully managed as though ready to film an alpine movie. It was only a few hours before we gently slid into Salzburg.
Salzburg is one of the most beautifully situated towns, and we are not the only ones to know it. It is so heavily touristed (rivaling even Venice) that walking along the streets random conversation are mostly in English. Our campsite manager, who greeted us in English, said it best; he asked from where we'd arrived, and responded, "Ah Graz is very different from here. Here it's all about the tourists."
...and so now you know. Stay tuned!
