| On a beautiful warm summer day and after a | | | | broth that features thinly cut pancake strips), my |
| nice filling breakfast we got going early yesterday | | | | favourite Austrian soup. Then all five of us shared |
| to embark on our Sunday excursion to the | | | | a big platter of Austrian Fried Chicken as well as a |
| south-western part of Styria. I wasn't particularly | | | | Rosemary Chicken with Rice. Austrian fried |
| well-rested after a full day yesterday that included | | | | chicken is very crispy and less greasy than North |
| a hike, a local driving tour and a birthday party, | | | | American varieties and is a staple of traditional |
| but I was keen to explore the area west of | | | | Austrian Sunday lunches. Traditionally, the largest |
| Leibnitz, Styria's foremost winegrowing region | | | | meal is eaten at lunch time in Austria, although |
| together with my brother Ewald, his wife | | | | modern work routines have changes the |
| Anneliese and our friends Luis and Isabella. | | | | traditional rhythms of food preparation and |
| Distances in Europe are always on a different | | | | consumption as well. |
| scale than in North America. Southwestern Styria | | | | The obligatory side dish is a mixed salad containing |
| is only about one hour from my home town of | | | | lettuce, tomatoes, beans and other varieties of |
| Weiz and nevertheless it is considered a different | | | | vegetables, marinated with vinegar and pumpkin |
| geographic region from my home area of East | | | | seed oil. Pumpkin seed oil is a popular Styrian |
| Styria. Southwestern Styria enjoys a favourable | | | | speciality, a specialty oil made from the roasted |
| climate with Mediterranean influences and the | | | | seeds of pumpkins. Styrian pumpkins are unique: |
| temperatures are on average higher than those in | | | | the seeds have lost their wooden shell due to a |
| the surrounding regions. The area is particularly | | | | mutation about 100 years ago and only a tiny |
| well-known for its rolling hills, many of which are | | | | silver-coloured membrane protects the seed. This |
| used as vineyards for growing mostly white, but | | | | soft consistency of the seeds facilitates efficient |
| also some red wines of the Zweigelt or | | | | pressing of the oil. The final product is a thick, |
| Blauburgunder variety. The most well-known wine | | | | dark green oil that has a nutty flavour and is used |
| of this area is called "Schilcher", a rose-coloured | | | | primarily as a salad oil, but also to refine soups |
| wine, whose special designation can only be applied | | | | and other dishes. You can even get a "pumpkin |
| to wines that were grown in this particular area | | | | seed parfait" as a dessert, which is exactly what |
| and made from a type of grape called the "Blaue | | | | my brother ordered after we were finished. |
| Wildbacher". | | | | Incidentally, pumpkin seed oil is the only Styrian |
| We stopped our vehicle on a parking lot just | | | | delicacy that I buy in Austria to bring back to |
| steps away from the "Weinbauschule Silberberg" | | | | Toronto, or I might request someone traveling |
| (the Silberberg School of Viticulture). This particular | | | | from Austria to bring me a bottle. As a |
| schools features a 1.5 km long wine educational | | | | passionate salad eater, Austrian pumpkin seed oil |
| trail that provides informational background about | | | | is my favourite salad dressing, bar none. And just |
| the history of wine, about details related to | | | | recently I found a German delicatessen store that |
| wine-growing as well as a collection of old wine | | | | apparently carries Styrian pumpkin seed oil right |
| farming implements and tools. A 5 m high statue | | | | here in Toronto. So thanks to Toronto's |
| of St. Urban, the patron saint of the vintners, | | | | multicultural culinary landscape I might actually be |
| stands at the beginning of the wine educational | | | | able to get my favourite Austrian delicacy right |
| trail, and further up the hill there is an oversized | | | | here without having to beg an Austrian visitor to |
| metal sculpture of an insect called the wine pest | | | | bring me a bottle. |
| that was brought in from France in the 1800s and | | | | After a great meal I got really tired, especially |
| almost completely deciminated Styrian wine | | | | considering the fact that I only had a few hours |
| cultivation. | | | | of sleep last night. I slept all the way home in the |
| We slowly hiked up on pathways along the | | | | car and once we got back to my brother's house, |
| vineyards and had a beautiful view south, and | | | | I crashed for a few hours. I woke up at about 7 |
| westwards towards the mountain chain separating | | | | pm, and just before having a light dinner, I hopped |
| the Austrian provinces of Styria and Carinthia. | | | | on Anneliese's bicycle and went cycling for an |
| Schloss Seggau (Seggau Castle), dating back to | | | | hour throughout my home town. |
| the 12th century, was clearly visible nearby, a | | | | Sunday night Austrian towns are traditionally very |
| structure that was once used to defend Austria's | | | | quiet since everyone is getting ready to go to |
| border against invading Turks and Hungarians, but | | | | work the next day, so the roads were nice and |
| today has found new use as a hotel and | | | | peaceful. When I came back my brother and |
| conference centre. | | | | sister-in-law were ready to go to bed so I turned |
| Once we reached the top of the hill we climbed | | | | in early to rest up for today. Well, unfortunately |
| up the "Kreuzkogelwarte", a lookout tower at an | | | | the weather today did not cooperate as planned |
| elevation of 496 m that provided a continuous | | | | and the entire morning was grey and drizzly. At |
| 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. | | | | noon time I visited my friends Andrea and |
| North of us was the provincial capital of Graz with | | | | Herbert, whose daughter Nina had stayed with |
| a backdrop of the mountains of Northern Styria, | | | | my husband and me last year to as part of her |
| south of us Slovenia, and west of us the Austrian | | | | Canadian stint to work as a nanny. |
| province of Carinthia. | | | | Andrea is the older sister of one of my best |
| My brother pointed out a particular hill that also | | | | friends from school, and I had not seen her for at |
| featured a vineyard and was apparently the | | | | least 23 years. It was great to see her again, we |
| property of famous Austrian tennis player | | | | had already chatted numerous times for free |
| Thomas Muster, who hails from the nearby | | | | using and I knew she had the same love for |
| district capital of Leibnitz. Thomas Muster, a | | | | languages, travel and cosmopolitan thinking as me. |
| former number 1 player, was one of the most | | | | She graciously invited me to join her family for |
| gifted clay court players in the history of tennis | | | | lunch and I was listening intently to Andrea's and |
| and achieved 44 ATP tour titles throughout his | | | | Herbert's travel stories from Rumania. Just in the |
| career during the 1990s. Today Thomas Muster | | | | last few weeks they had spent some time in |
| heads up his own fashion label called TOMS, runs a | | | | Bucharest and in Transsylvania and learned much |
| vineyard, has gotten involved in the production of | | | | about Rumania's interesting history as well as |
| high-quality Alpine spring water called TOMS | | | | about the tyrannical Ceauscescu regime. We all |
| Water, and not surprisingly, developed a tennis | | | | agreed that we view traveling much differently as |
| racquet called TOMS Machine in collaboration with | | | | we get older, that today we really see travel as |
| the Kneissl company, released in 2005. A great | | | | an opportunity to learn and to understand the |
| tennis career can open many doors... | | | | world and its historic and environmental contexts. |
| We continued our hike of the surrounding hills and | | | | We decided that we would jointly visit another |
| walked by a so-called "Buschenschank", a rustic | | | | local tourism attraction tomorrow: the "Katerloch", |
| local restaurant owned by a vintner who is able to | | | | a famous local limestone cave that is a popular |
| sell his own wine as well as a variety of | | | | regional tourist destination. |
| self-produced culinary products. This is a typical | | | | After a little walk in town I met my friends Luis |
| Austrian gastronomic establishment that was | | | | and Isabella and their friend Wolfgang to play a |
| originally limited to selling only this-year's wine and | | | | couple of hours of tennis in an indoor tennis |
| had strict limitations as to what type of foods | | | | facility. The tennis club also features a bistro |
| they could serve. Today, many vintner's obtain a | | | | where we enjoyed a couple of pizzas afterwards |
| full restaurant license in order to sell regular hot | | | | and a beer. I thought to myself "these Austrians |
| foods as well. | | | | know how to live". None of the Canadian tennis |
| After an enjoyable hike along the ridge of a | | | | clubs that I have been at feature a bistro or any |
| vineyards we started our descent into the valley | | | | kind of gastronomic establishment. So I realized |
| and spent about 45 minutes walking down a | | | | these Austrians have their priorities straight: you |
| forest road and then headed into a cool forest | | | | can work out and burn calories, but you have to |
| that took us back to our vehicle. A fifteen minute | | | | cap it off with a nice tasty meal and a local beer |
| drive later we arrived at our lunch destination: | | | | because "Gemütlichkeit" (loosely translated |
| "Buschenschank Koschak" is a popular local | | | | as warm cordiality in a cozy environment) is an |
| destination for good wines and excellent local | | | | important factor here. |
| Styrian food. We had reserved a table and sat | | | | After about an hour I thanked my friends for a |
| outside under trellises covered with grapes and | | | | great tennis match and a cozy evening and |
| vine tendrils. | | | | headed back to my brother's house to reconnect |
| It was seriously time for a traditional Styrian meal: | | | | with him and to rest up for another eventful day |
| I started with a "Fritattensuppe" (a clear beef | | | | tomorrow. |