Courtyard By Marriott Graz

... the windows to the restaurant below, wasn&#8217;t so stinky after all, and the bed was quite comfortable. I even slept until almost Noon today!<br><br>After dropping my bag, I set out to find the town center. It wasn&#8217;t too far from my hotel, but amazing how the clientele changed in the city center. I had a much more comfortable feeling and I made a mental note to get back into the hotel and lock myself in my room before dark! I climbed ...

... that Graz is in. It was beautiful! Rolling hills lined with vineyards, shady forests in every other valley, a pretty blue sky dotted with just enough puffy clouds...<br><br>Our first stop in the countryside was at a small restaurant (or Buschenschank, I think) with picnic tables outside overlooking a valley. Here we drank "Sturm" which is a very popular drink in Austria. Sturm is wine that is in the beginning stages of the wine making process, so ...

... heard a loud BONG! It was the church bell in the church right behind us! Unfortunately, the bell went off EVERY fifteen minutes and it was so loud-I don&#8217;t know how the people in that town deal with it. Needless to say, we did not get a very good night&#8217;s sleep; even with earplugs it was so loud and while I didn&#8217;t wake up to every ringing, I definitely woke up to plenty. We had an early start as well but once we were on the road we were okay.

We drove west from Vienna towards tomorrow's destination and consulted the GPS and Lonely Planet guide to find a good place to stop in between. We ended up here, in Bruck an der Mur, an adorable and charming small town in Austria. We all loved it as soon as we got to the centre, where the hotel we were seeking out is located. However, it was full, and the reception there told us we could get a much better rate than the other LP-recommended hotel if ...

... this is a must if you want to see the real life of the locals. There are people selling fruit, sausages, cheese, bread, flowers... it's really lively and it's worth a visit although you don't buy anything.<br> Then we walk through Burgasse to the Cathedral (pompous, as all cathedrals are) and Graz Castle, which is austere but it has nice gardens and you can go up to the castle's tower. The characteristic thing of the ...

... defied being taken by Napoleon as was so secure but the city fell when the city was threatened to be bombed. We wandered about the old town's cobblestoned streets and enjoyed the modern sights as well including a bizarre cafe/exhibition centre plonked in the middle of the fast flowing river which you can reach by a walk over bridge. In the afternoon we went on the hunt for a camping store to get gas and replace our electric cam adapter which was left behind at the last campsite ...

... have a very particular notion of what they want their wines to taste like. In fact, even small sub-regions consisting of just a few towns typically have their own style and sometimes their own varietal. The most well known of these is Gruener Veltliner which was "discovered" by the international wine cognoscenti around a decade ago and can now be found on serious wine lists in the US. The region we found ourselves in is known, although ...

... views over the Mur and toward the centre of Graz, which made for a nice escape from the art world, an oasis of normality. We were also able to see the skin of the building up close from here, which just added to our appreciation. In the old façade section at the end of the Kunsthaus one can find Camera Austria, a little photography exhibition space. During our visit they had some photos taken around South Africa, depicting various aspects of daily life for fringe ...

... our group, but there was a lot of pretty scenery. I am very sore from a few hours of hiking. On Monday I talked to some of the people who went, they said they hiked for 6 or 7 hours. I cant imagine the sore muscles they have. Good news: I received my passport, book, and old train tickets yesterday. I am very happy. I am in disbelief that it was all returned ...

... up breaking the 50s at the Chinese place with chow mein that was done with spaghetti noodles. I thought it was something only my dad has cooked, but obviously not. Flavour was okay, nothing to be bragged about. The Chinese food disappointment continues in Europe. 8.6.2006 After a good night of sleep, following by getting woken up by Austrian *******s who decided that leaving at 5am in the morning being loud is no big deal, I went to eat breakfast with this other ...