Romance of summer: Austria and Switzerland (part 6)
Day 11. Yes, I bathed in drinking water))) Graz day. Night night.
Dawn. Gentle pink highlights on the water surface. There is no sun. But it is guessed somewhere there, along the horizon. The night was drunk to the bottom. The night is over. The birds are singing. Everything is according to plan))) It's still cold. The lake beckons. Oh, how much of that life))) I dive. A bad example turned out to be contagious for a couple of people. Instead, how many grateful spectators! Breakfast. We left.
Graz. A city in southeastern Austria, the center of the federal state of Styria. Graz has long been a city of students. It houses four universities. In 1999, the center of the Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The only city that could not conquer Napoleon. Homeland of Arnold Schwarzenneger. A city with a mild Baroque taste. Such an amazing reconciliation of times. Not the new on top of the old, but how ancient history and modernity merged in one light kiss - not to be separated.
Be sure to stick your nose in all the yards. There's a lot of fun!
Sad snowman as a monument of time. In the middle of one of the courtyards stands a snowman carved out of white marble, who looks sadly into an artificial puddle. This puddle never dries, because it always receives water from a small tap. The snowman looks at the display of the clock in the puddle and mourns the ephemerality of time. But thanks to tourists, another version of the monument appeared. This snowman's girlfriend melted in the spring, and the poor man now misses being alone.
Luegg - the name of the house at the corner of the main square and Sporgasse comes from the German "ums Eck lugen" ("look around the corner"). A house with rich stucco ornaments in the Baroque style (if you look closely, you will see masks and faces).
Market area. Guides jokingly call it the Bermuda Triangle. Due to the huge number of restaurants and cafes, tourists are often lost here)))
Murinsel Island.
Designed by American artist Vito Acconci on the occasion of Graz's victory in 2003 in the nomination "European Capital of Culture". The island is a floating platform built in the form of a giant sea shell 50 m long and 20 m wide. Pedestrian bridges connect the "sink" with both banks of the Moore River, and the center of the platform is an amphitheater with a capacity of about 350 visitors.
Kunsthaus is a museum of contemporary art, built in 2003. designed by English architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. The building is built in the style of a blob and looks like a huge teardrop-shaped amoeba, conveniently located among the neat houses of Graz (especially visible from above - a dark spot in the sea of red tiled roofs). Residents of Graz call the museum "our friendly alien")))
Be sure to climb the Castle Hill. To the most famous city attraction - Schlossberg Castle.
I ran on foot. Both during the day and in the evening.
For the less mobile - there is an elevator and a funicular. Views of the city. See the Kunsthaus. Clock tower with a long arrow showing the clock and a short one showing the minutes. A place to relax in the garden. Flowers. Birds))) Here too. Sing! ! ! ! ! Views of the city.
In the breaks between races up, lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Such a mystical place. Delays))) Greek restaurant. Wine. Dry. Tart. This is in tune with the taste of the city.
Day 12. Do you love chocolate the way I love it? Riegersburg Fortress. We are all little witches. Valley of Beauties. Border.
Zotter chocolate tasting. We drove to the chocolate factory. At the entrance - a monument to chocolate as the best aphrodisiac (in the form of a man with his pants down and in full combat readiness)))) - immediately adjusts to the lyrical mood)))). They give out a notebook and a pencil so that we don't forget which varieties and brands of chocolate we liked the most.
We get a spoon for tasting and go to a short documentary about where chocolate grows.
And…. mmmmm… Fifteen tasting stations. Taps with cold water everywhere. Opportunity to see how your favorite treats are made. The guide advises not to overeat right away. Try a little. And drink water. After all, the most interesting things are ahead!
We try. First, the raw material in its pure form. Then the chocolate itself, pouring from the fountains. Here you can determine which one you like. The percentage of cocoa content is indicated everywhere. Plus divided by the country of production of raw materials. I find my ideal percentage. This is 50/50. Classic dairy. I then tried 100% for variety at once. No need to do this))) Gooooorkiy he….
And chocolate does not end. Nectar. Liquid. Hard. White. Black. Dairy. With additives and in pure form. Chocolate handmade cocktails cooking. Lottery from the bartender.
You throw bones, and he mixes you two tastes that fell out of fate. Fate gave me coffee with caramel. Fate was right - my cocktail was clearly mine in terms of taste. Someone was less fortunate, and the ingredients included chili peppers)))
I discovered that white chocolate is not the plasticine we sell. And a real delicious chocolate! ! ! !!
And we taste again. Chocolate with a variety of nuts, raspberries, strawberries, pineapples, apples, bananas, carrots, ginger, honey, rose petals and cornflowers, peppers, cracklings (!!!!! ), Ketchup, chips, jelly in candy… Advertising will burst! )))
I was in another paradise))) Chocolate. Bliss in its purest form. We wonder if tourists do not get lost in the factory from time to time… I would like to live here…. )))
Riegersburg Fortress. It rains. Hiking canceled. We take the elevator.
Never conquered by enemies for centuries, the castle is still a significant view of the undisputed fortress. In 1822, well shabby, but not defeated, the castle passed into the possession of the ancient princely family of Liechtenstein, whose roots are lost in the XII century. They still own the castle.
The castle is real. Imbued with history. It seems to stop, touch the walls with your hand and they will begin their leisurely story of the past.
"Museum of Witches". Occupies 8 halls in the basement and on the ground floor of the castle. The fact is that for a long time in Rigersburg were the so-called trials of witches. This was not in the dark Middle Ages, but some 250 years ago. During these trials, 95 people were found guilty and burned. Among them was the wife of the castle warden - Katarina Paldauff, who was called the "flower witch".
The unfortunate woman, who was fond of floriculture, was accused that her garden was unbelievably good and could not do without magic and the intervention of bad forces. Catherine was burned at the stake by the Inquisition.
And in the courtyard of the fortress there is a well surrounded by an intricate wrought-iron fence, in the pattern of which a horseshoe is woven. It is said that whoever manages to find it will be happy in life. Found the first. Declared a witch. Did not have time to burn)))
Huntsman. Valley of Beauties. Already a traditional tasting of Hungarian wine and goulash. Traditionally, both are delicious.
Road. Rain. Rain. Rain. Are you crying for us, Europe? ))) Border. Lviv.
Day 13. I can't imagine you without rain, Lviv ...Station. Homeland. Welcome!
Arrived ahead of schedule by an hour and a half or two. Lviv also seems to be mourning our return. A walk through the city takes place in rapid movements between cafes and pubs. "The world of coffee". Rain. "Kumpel". Rain. "Dziga". Rain.
It's not cold anymore. +10.
Acclimatization went well)))
The statues on Rynok Square were dressed in the uniform of the Ukrainian national football team. Now Neptune, Adonis, Amphitrite and Diana will definitely play for us. The team has a real chance to win EURO 2012))))
We look into the courtyards. Let's walk. It's freezing. Now I know where the navel of Lviv))) Station. Train. The "off" button is triggered in the body.
Vinnitsa. At the door of the entrance there is an optimistic announcement - hot water no longer lives here, preventive work is underway ...Everything, now I clearly understand - is back. The European fairy tale is over. Welcome to the Homeland! Welcome to reality! )))
Instead of an afterword.
- And how is it right: to go on vacation "to Ukraine" or "to Ukraine"? »
- It will be correct - to Switzerland)))
