Walking in Europe

A really lovely few days visiting with friends from Nelson who moved back to Austria last year; Julius and Gerda, sons Julius and Vincent in the beautiful city of Graz in the province of Styria.

Yesterday Julius took us North from Graz to the part of Styria where his Mom is from and where relatives still operate the farm that has been in the family for generations at Michlbauer. We waited at the farm (allowed time to take pictures of the window flower boxes!) before driving up the access road through the fields while the cows were moved into a new pasture. We could then park further up the mountain from which we had a fantastic hike into the mountains up to the Michlbauerhütte, where a cafe and hikers hut is operated (lots of mountain bikers!) and where we could have our packed lunch of jause. We continued on up to the summit at Windberg, before looping back around to Schneealpenhaus Alm for a yummy coffee, authentic strudel and cheesecake (local cheese). Just a fantastic day and the dinner with the rest of the family back in Graz.

Today, after breakfast Julius took us on a walking tour of the older parts of the city of Graz. Another beautiful city with so much history and culture, beautiful architecture and plaza squares lined with cafes and shops. What I liked about Graz as with Salzburg is how walkable it is in the downtown with green space, bike and walking paths, such interesting alley ways and ancient streets. The main street in the city is reserved for street cars, cyclists and pedestrians. We ended the day with a lovely meal out in an authentic family run Austrian restaurant (the Brandof) where we had the “4 musts of Austrian cuisine: suppe (soup), schnitzel, strudel, schnapps. The seasonal specials had wild mushrooms or pumpkin in the ingredients, and the schnapps was a special blend with Stone Pine cones in the flavouring. So good! 😋. Thank you Julius and Gerda for welcoming us into your home! ❤️