Just arrived back in Eisenstadt from my mini-vacation in Fürstenfeld. I must say I'm feeling a lot better and a change in scenery was much needed. Alexa, Konstantin, and I all packed into her car on Friday afternoon for the 1.5 hour drive on the A2 to her hometown. We arrived at her mother's apartment to unpack our things and we went out to dinner. I ate some mildly spicy potato-stuffed sausages, apparently a Styrian specialty, and they were delicious. Afterwards we went out to all of Alexa's old haunts to drink some wine, play darts (I won twice!), and heat up the dance floor. Along with us was her brother Michael, who happens to be the BZÖ party-head for Styria. The BZÖ is a rather far right party, and I thought I had best avoid talking politics with him, but we had some rather good discussions anyway. Turns out even the far-right in Austria are against the death penalty and think Bush is an idiot. Who knew? On the next day we went to visit Alexa's father at his home. He's a photographer and a well-travelled and genial guy. He lived in a beautiful old farmhouse in the countryside. The place was so rustically european and beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me at the moment. The kitchen was huge, and it had a 200-year old wood-fired oven in it. I felt so at home there because it was so cosy and reminded me of Athens in a strange sort of way. All in all it was a nice weekend escape. Here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure:
This was snapped during a walk along the river. Sorry, Dad, but I don't remember the name of the river! Look it up on your Austria map!
And the next day we walked to the top of this hill and looked down on the city.
One of those uniquely european things that always sticks out to me: the roundabout (or traffic-circle, if you will). It's a highly effective device that's often much more practical than a normal traffic light. For example, you can turn around in the intersection; or, you don't have to wait at a red light if there's no traffic. Not only that, but they are usually very decorative too. Most of them in Eisenstadt have gardens or even miniature vineyards in them, but this one in Fürstenfeld has a fountain! I wonder if anyone ever crashes into it...
Speaking of traffic: Hey kids, why don't you go play in it!!!
3 comments:
Glad you had a good time and a bright sunny weekend. What ever happened to Bad Ishl and Salzburg? Just kidding, I was there and I'm looking foreward to coming back. I was suprised to see the Fountain in the roundabout flowing in March. That's one of the things I look forward to...gardens...fountains...castles.....(sigh)
Soon Mom.
Thanks for the great photos Art! I'm glad you took the camera while walking the Feistritz River. I'm curious about the triangle sign with the 4X below. Does it mean the size of the bumps in the road?
B
No, it means there are 4 speed bumps along this stretch of road. The Feistritz eh? Good to know!
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