| I finally found Internet access here in Graz. Not the | | | | called "Delfin". My brother of course had fish, one of |
| easiest thing I have to admit. Had to ask 3 people | | | | the local specialities. I ended up picking up a stomach |
| and finally went to the tourist info who competently | | | | virus and on Sunday and Monday I was dealing with |
| directed me to an Internet Cafe. | | | | some very unpleasant symptoms. Sunday morning |
| The last few days have been interesting. The first | | | | we checked out and continued our journey towards |
| day my sister-in-law and I took a little tour through | | | | Italy. |
| my home town of Weiz, and in the 8 years that I | | | | After about 30 minutes of driving and basically no |
| haven't been here there has been a lot of change. | | | | border check at the Slovenian-Italian border we |
| New buildings, renovations, traffic reorganization. It | | | | ended up in Trieste, a city of 270,000 people, and a |
| almost felt like being in a different place. | | | | major industrial and port city at the north end of the |
| On Saturday my brother, sister-in-law and I started | | | | Adriatic. Trieste used to be part of the |
| our little weekend tour to Slovenia and Italy. We | | | | Austro-Hungarian empire and the architecture is very |
| drove on the highway to Austria's border with | | | | reminiscent of many Austrian cities. We visited the |
| Slovenia (only about 45 minutes from my home | | | | main square with the City Hall, checked out the |
| town). Then we continued on for about another hour | | | | "Canale Grande", an outlet of the sea that stretches |
| and 15 minutes to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. | | | | into the city. |
| We parked the car by the river and took a little walk | | | | On the harbourfront there was some sort of |
| to the central market. The place was just packed | | | | exhibition by the Italian Navy, the Military and various |
| and you can buy anything from fresh bread to meat, | | | | police organizations. 3 war ships were parked in the |
| sausages, fish, vegetables, fruit, flowers. People were | | | | harbour and apparently people were able to go on |
| out in full force, even shopping for candles for the | | | | tour inside the war ships. All sorts of military and |
| annual trip to the cemetery. After all it was the | | | | police vehicles were parked in the harbour area and |
| weekend of All Saints Day and people take their | | | | sailors, soldiers and policemen and women were |
| cemetery duties very seriously in Central Europe. | | | | available to answer questions, pose for photos etc. |
| We walked through the old town with its | | | | After our short stop in Trieste we continued our |
| cobble-stoned streets and then started the steady | | | | Northern Italian tour and stopped in the town of |
| climb up to the castle hill. At the top is an old castle | | | | Cividale, a medieval town that was originally built by |
| with a renovated tower that can be accessed. You | | | | the Germanic tribe of the Langobards. It also has an |
| get to the top through a really interesting winding | | | | old town core with ancient churches, narrow |
| staircase and once outside, there is a beautiful 360 | | | | cobble-stoned roads and the most famous sight is |
| degree view of the surrounding area, including the | | | | the "Tempietto", the little temple that was built many |
| limestone outcrops of the Julian Alps. | | | | hundreds of years ago by the Langobards. |
| After a brief lunch in a local pizzeria we continued our | | | | After lunch (where I couldn't eat any of the Italian |
| drive towards the Slovenian coast. I couldn´t | | | | delicacies due to my stomach problems) we |
| keep my eyes open since I was so tired, so I missed | | | | continued our way home through the Italian Val |
| a good part of interesting landscape. The Postojna | | | | Canale, past Udine, Tolmezzo towards the Austrian |
| mountain pass is always interesting and after that we | | | | border. It had been raining for several days and it |
| got close to the Adriatic coast. We drove by the | | | | was still pouring and all the mountain streams were |
| Slovenian towns of Koper, Strunjan and Izola and | | | | very close to overflowing. Waterfalls overflowing |
| finally ended up in Piran. | | | | with water were shooting down from all the |
| Piran (formerly Pirano - in Italian) was a town that | | | | mountains and the major river, the Tagliamento, |
| has changed hands many times among many people. | | | | looked like it was going to flood the area in the very |
| Most of its core was built by the Venetians and on | | | | near future. |
| the hill above town there is a clock tower whose | | | | About 3.5 hours later we finally arrived back home in |
| style is very reminiscent of the Campanile in Venice. | | | | Weiz, after driving through the pouring rain. Sunday |
| Beside the harbour is a beautiful square with houses | | | | night and yesterday I had to take it easy since my |
| dating back several centuries. We checked into the | | | | stomach was still bothering me a great deal. Today I |
| Hostel-Hotel Garni Val, very similar to a youth hostel, | | | | finally took off, picked up my rental car at the airport |
| where we could stay for Euro 20/night. My | | | | in Graz and I have spent the last 2 or 3 hours |
| sister-in-law and I stayed in a room with 4 beds (2 of | | | | rediscovering my university town. I checked out the |
| them bunkbeds), and washrooms/showers were in | | | | castle hill (Schlossberg) in the middle of town, walked |
| the hallway. | | | | up to the Uhrturm (clock tower), the symbol of Graz, |
| We went on a beautiful stroll through town, again | | | | and looked at all the medieval remains of the old |
| nice cobble-stoned streets, the weather was | | | | fortress castle on top of the hill. I also walked |
| gorgeous, we had blue sky with about 20 degrees. | | | | through the town´s centre, across the |
| Of course we climbed the belltower which gave us a | | | | Hauptplatz (the main square with its market, which |
| beautiful 360 degree view of town and the Adriatic | | | | also houses City Hall) and finally, after some |
| coast to the north, all the way past Trieste. I almost | | | | extended searching, ended up in this Internet cafe. |
| got a heart attack when the bells of the clock tower | | | | So the last few days have been quite exciting, |
| started ringing right next to my ears. They were | | | | Austria, Slovenia, Italy. The beauty of Europe are the |
| unbelievably loud. | | | | small distances between all the various places. A |
| We had a nice dinner in the evening in a restaurant | | | | perfect place for a sightseeing aficionado. |