Hartberg

This weekend my friend Johannes invited my friend Laura and I to his birthday party Friday night and to spend the weekend at his house. He and his family live in Hartberg, about an hour or so northeast of Graz. On the way out of Graz we stopped and ate at a Bushenschank, which is a kind of farm. For the most part, everything they serve you was grown, raised, or made there on the farm. In Austria, lunch is the biggest meal of the day and looks a lot like what I usually eat for supper, where as their dinner looks a lot more like lunch with lots of bread, cheese, and cold meats. From there Johannes's father picked us up and took us to Hartberg.

An arial view of the Bushenschank that was hanging on the wall. It was raining so I couldn't take pictures outside.




So the food was good, but be careful! What looks like shredded cheese is really horseradish and it is HOT!

Johannes's family's house, covered in grape vines :o)

That night was his birthday party, where I met his family and many of his friends. His birthday cake was very different. It was cake topped with some kind of cream or something like yogurt with a top layer of jelly. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first, but the more bites I had, the more I liked it.

Saturday we hiked to the top of a hill. There we climbed a tower and took in some great views of the Austrian countryside. Then we drove a little ways to see some ruins from the Roman Empire. On the way home for lunch we stopped at the Church where his family attends and dad works.

The view from the top!

Ruins from the Roman Empire (in Austria?)

So funny story. On Saturday morning as we were walking toward the car, Laura yelled "Shotgun" and Johannes just stopped, really surprised and gave her the strangest look. We laughed and once in the car tried to explain that its just how you call dibs on sitting in the front seat of a car.

The center of Hartberg

After lunch Johannes showed us where he volunteered at the Red Cross. We even got to see one of the ambulances. Then we visited his mom at the hospital. We then went to another Bushenschank for dinner and had the most amazing fresh apple juice.

The Hospital

Our view from dinner Saturday night :o)

Later that night we went to Hartberg's Oktoberfest. Walking in it looked very similar to our county fair, with many of the same carnival type rides. Also, there was a live band playing music, but most of the songs were in English and American Rock or Pop songs. Laura and I tried Strum, which is wine that is not fully fermented. It is really good and does not really taste like wine. It tastes like juice and is very sweet. It's only available a couple weeks in the fall.