Stoffbauer Graz

... the windows to the restaurant below, wasn’t so stinky after all, and the bed was quite comfortable. I even slept until almost Noon today!

After dropping my bag, I set out to find the town center. It wasn’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...

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 ...

We drove from Vienna south to Graz, which was a lovely little city. We parked Fred along the river and walked into town. The main old square was having a chocolate festival! so there were a lot of people milling around with spoons in their hands. They bought the spoons and then could taste different kinds of chocolate from vendors…very tempting but we had things to see. We decided to take the glass lift through the hill to the top of Castle Hill ...

... had another nice dinner and then decided to walk around and check out the town. We walked back along the pedestrian street to the main square and then down the road back to our hotel, doing a little window shopping and photographing along the way.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel then decided to go into the shops we peaked into last night. We didn't buy much but had an enjoyable morning exploring Bruck an der Mur in the daylight.

... br>
The flight from Graz to Alghero takes about 1 hour and a half and it's really calm, no turbulence, no frights, no delays. Perfect. We arrive to Alghero Fertilia Airport at 10 p.m and we have to sleep there because hostels in the city are very expensive. We're used to sleep in airports, so we don't have any problem... well, yeah, maybe the mosquitos.The airport is small and quiet and we're hardly a soul there.

... 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 ...

... eating breakfast and visiting with her Aunt Hannerl (short for Johanna) and Uncle Sigfried who live in a beautiful house that they built a few years back to replace the 200 year old farmhouse that had been in the family for many, many years (which incidentally someone else bought, trucked off and now lives in). Also soon to visit were Opa (Grandpa) Gruber, who now lives up at the top of the hill in a house that he and Bianca's grandma built in 1980 to ...

... accomplish them) was to visit the "friendly alien" (Kunsthaus - the museum of art of Graz) and walk up the hill to the fortress. Well, the first mission failed miserably: the museum closes on Mondays and all I could do was to take some pictures from the outside. Second mission was successful but once I got to the top of the hill I was feeling so miserable that the only thing I could think of was how to get to the hostel as fast as possible.

... US, namely Francois Cote and Maedels (Austrian-German for "Girls"), Timm Goodmanson and Maedels, Jane Hathaway, and of course, my fam back in Wisconsin-Dad, Mom and Ryan, who just nailed two parts in upcoming HHS Theatre Productions (including the LEAD in the winter production!!! Way to go Ryan!!!). Hope all is "In Ordnung" across the pond! And with that, I have a few more words to look up. Anyone have any idea what "Lautbild" means???

Finally at my host mother's flat. Lost the passport on the train....gay. I'm hoping someone will be kind and return it to the lost and found at the train station. Otherwise, I think I'll have to apply for a new on in Vienna. I dont really have the money to do that. I talked to my program director. He said something about if it was an emergency I could be admitted back to the U.S. without one. I'm wondering if I can do that anyway and worry about my passport later ...