Graz :)

Look mom and dad, I do more than drink beer in Austria!

My friend Courtney and I decided to get a little adventurous in Graz today - and of course we picked the only overcast day that we've had in weeks.

I have a list of touristy things to do in Graz that I am slowly checking off, and one of them was the "Doppelwendeltreppe" or Double Spiral Staircase.

Significance? ...
"one of the major Gothic staircases in Europe - A double-spiral staircase – two flights of staircases, running in opposite directions, join for some steps on each floor, separate again, join again. The architectural masterpiece of 1499 has often been interpreted as a symbol of eternity. Graz people call it the "stairs of reconciliation" because if you go separate ways, you will reunite."

The staircase is just through that archway

outside of the spiral staircase

the ONLY sign that tells you about this historic site - sad

the stairs

and since i am no photographer, this photo and the next are taken from the internet to give you a better view

We also checked out the Mausoleum and St. Catherine's Church which is right around the same area and the Spiral Staircase.

Significance:
- the final resting place of an emperor - in 1637 Ferdinand was laid to rest in a half-finished, "draughty" tom and the vault is dominated by an impressive sarcophagus of red marble. It is the final resting place of Ferdinand's mother, Maria of Bavaria. Just a plain tablet on the wall indicates the grave of Emperor Ferdinand. (http://www.graztourismus.at/cms/beitrag/10030738/2866136/)
- In 1614 Emperor Ferdinand II commissioned his Italian court painter and architect to erect a mausoleum and an adjacent St. Catherine's Church
- The oval dome above the tomb chapel was the first of its kind built outside Italy

outside of mausoleum

if only i could read this writing ..

this is the dome - again photo from the internet, This doesn't open until the beginning of April so i will go soon :)

inside Mausoleum - internet

the main entrance to the Mausoleum

preserved artwork on St. Catherine's

Graz is not in full Easter swing with little markets open every where! .. Check out my facebook page for more pictures from the days adventures :)

lovely austrian pub

Edegger-Tax Bakery - "confectionery from the imperial era"

Easter Festival in Hauptplatz!

Update!

Hey guys!

Easter break has officially begun here in Graz, which means 3 WEEKS of no school! .. Ya I know, didn't school just start? And yes yes it did. School here is VERY relaxed that's forsure. It doesn't consume people's lives the way it does back home.

But 3 weeks off equals travel travel and more travel!

Ill be leaving for Prague on the 4th. Then coming back to hang out in Graz for a week. And then leaving for London, Barcelona and Rome on the 15th.

So be ready for lots of photos in the next month!

Also I wanted to remind you all that you can leave Comments on my posts to ask questions and what not.

Here look:

Just click where it says "0 comments" and write away :)

Tradition

I recently found a picture in an Austrian magazine of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (that I visited) and it was all decked out for some kind of Alice in Wonderland themed ball. Being interested in events and PR, I started googling to find out where and what it was:

The "Fête Impériale" is a ball held in the Spanische Hofreitschule every summer with proceeds being used to help protect and preserve "Europe's oldest cultural horse breed" - those beautiful while Lipizzaner horses. (Website: http://www.fete-imperiale.at/en.html)

!

This quote sums up the ball in the best way:

"Our vision is to revive those golden days gone by for one unforgettable night and open up the Spanish Riding School to the Viennese and guests from home and abroad. Louis-Napoleon III. already acknowledged the impact and significance of glittering festivities - his Fête Impériale is historically documented. Our modern Fête Impériale will also be celebrated imperially as a colourful magnificent summer ball."      

- Managing Director Elisabeth Gürtler

 So I thought how cool would it be to be apart of this tradition and to apply to be a debutant! .. But it's essential to be able to waltz. 

While searching on youtube for videos about how the event really looks, I also found a video from Vienna's "Opernball" (Opera Ball). I seriously love the tradition that they keep in this city. 

Budapest!

My latest expedition in Europe was a trip to Budapest, Hungary!
To be honest I hadn't even planned to go to Budapest during my stay in Austria because it was a city that I didn't know too much about, but am I even happy I went!

First of all, here is Budapest on a map:

It is the capital city of Hungary, and was about a 5 and a half hour train ride from Graz, Austria. Some quick facts:

"As a result of the war Budapest suffered severe economic setbacks which continued in the years between the wars. Towards the end of the Second World War, in the autumn of 1944, Budapest became a front-line town and suffered severe damage, especially in the castle quarter where units of the German army were barricaded in.

From February 13th 1945 onwards Soviet troops controlled the whole of Budapest and thereafter it was ruled along strict Soviet lines. In the autumn of 1956 political turmoil and economic hardship fuelled popular uprisings which were savagely put down by Hungarian and Soviet forces of law and order" (http://www.budapest.com/city_guide/general_information/history.en.html) 

As well, you'll see from my pictures that there are a lot of different styles of Architecture in the buildings in Budapest. Some of the people who live in my dorm here told me that when these historical buildings were being constructed, there were architects from all over the world (America, London, etc) competing for their designs to be present, and the judges couldn't decide who the winners were - thus the various BEAUTIFUL styles throughout Budapest. 

As well, the inner city is separated by the river Danau, with one side of the river being called Buda, and the other Pest - this I did not know. 

The craziest thing - well this is debatable because of some of the stories we got out of this weekend - but the currency in Budapest is just bizarre. It is called "Forints"and it makes you feel absolutely rich because all of the money is in the hundreds or thousands. For example, 1 Canadian dollar is about 250 Forint. It took us forever to figure out what we were buying and all that but things (food, taxis) are actually much cheaper in Hungary, once you are actually able to figure out the conversion. 

Bill for 10 people at lunch one day, about 21 000 forint haha

Ok story time! 

Day 1:
- 6 hour train ride into Budapest
- checked into the most "lavish" hostel called Grandio Party hostel - just kidding - it looked like we were on a low budget trip to some where in Mexico - but I loved it never the less because that's what i feel European hostels should be like. Also, they are very smart here - our Keys to our room were a sensor pad that was attached to our wristbands so that there was really very little way of loosing it :). O and by the way we stayed in a room with 10 people and it was honestly so fun - we thought it would be challenging living and traveling with so many of us but i don't think any of us would have had it any other way - and theyre were even more of our friends from Graz staying in Budapest the same weekend so that was great to meet up with them as well.
- jumped into some sightseeing on the Buda side of the city (The Citadel - like a mountain in the middle of the city with some kind of war fortress and monument on top, a castle which is called "the Castle" which overlooks the city, the main tourist/ market street where there was lots of local "Schnapps" and the baking of this local pastry that looked like Spanish churos - look at this website for an image http://www.vitezkurtos.hu/udvozoljuk) 
- by the end of the first day we realized that Budapest is the city of stairs because of how much climbing we had to do to see all of these sites
- we then got ready and went on our "Booze Cruise"! Speaks for itself i would say

View from the booze cruise :)

Day 2:
- most touristy things around the city - we had the best weather this weekend
- got a great view of the Parliament buildings from across the river (it looks like a church and is the most beautiful thing in Budapest)
- then climbed up to the "Fisherman's Bastion" - this was my FAVOURITE site in Budapest. I would go back to the city on a regular basis just to see this. I dont know what it was about it (the styling, the view, or just the fact that a place like it existed up above the city where you would never expect to find it) PLEASE check my facebook page to see a video of this place
- we then walked down "Andrassy" a very historic street with some of the Embassy's as well as the "house of Terror" museum - based on some of Hungary's struggles in various wars (which we didnt actually visit)
- Some of the others wanted to visit the Hungarian "Thermal Bath house" - Hungary is known for these apparently - just looked like a pool to me but the water is "special"
- checked out the park in the city with various monuments and the "Vajdhunyad Castle"- looked very Medieval
- tried some Hungarian Goulash this day too! mmm mm :)
- o and by the way this is on St. Patty's! so we did a great Pub crawl at night - however no Guiness was available :(

Day 3: 
- Last day in beautiful Budapest
- went to the farmers market in the park - here we ate VERY local Hungarian (sausage, pickles, literally a loaf of bread, and some more saucy meat) - you could really tell that this was a place where the locals would come to do some clothing shopping and get out and about - great place for souvenirs
- we then visited the Istavan Basilica that was described to us as an essential site - we actually didnt go into the Basilica but rather checked out the view from the top :)
- after this we were so worn out from the weekend that we headed for the train home

So that's Budapest, Hungary! So happy to have come here. We had the perfect combination of site seeing and culture (partying) and got so many jokes out of the weekend.

The city is definitely a hidden Gem of Eastern Europe