Family tour of Graz and Salzburg

   I just said goodbye to Mom and Dad at the train station here in Graz after two and a half days in Graz and two days in Salzburg. Tuesday morning we snagged some Kuchen at the market and took the tram out to Schloß Eggenburg and toured the museums and houses. The gardens around the big yellow building are full of blue peacocks. In one corner of the grounds there was an archeology museum with pieces from the Hallstatt period through the Romans. Dad had a great time translating grave stones! The palace also had beautiful "State" rooms, an art collection, and a coin museum because the builder was head of the Hapsburg mint.
   On our way back into town, we stopped by the "Friendly Alien" for a quick walk through the modern art exhibits and a lovely view over Graz. (click "read more")

Sunny Salzburg

   Only one week into Easter break and I am ready for it to slow down a little bit! I got home at 8:30 pm last night after three fantastic days in Salzburg with Petra, Pavel (Russ.), Gabriel (Deu.), and Marietje (Belg.). After spending the first afternoon wandering around the city, we decided to buy a 24 hour "Salzburg card" for the next two days, which gave us access to more than we could possibly see in that amount of time...
   In lieu of a long-winded, blow by blow account of our adventures, here is a summary and I'll let the pictures fill in the rest (If the slideshow does not start, click here to go to the photo album)

(Thanks to Petra for sharing her photos with me! The album will be expanded when I swap with Marietje, Pavel, and Gabriel)
Day 1:

• 4.5 hrs on the train from Graz to Salzburg, met Gabriel there, found hostel.
• Lunch at a really nice place on the east side of the river
• Wandered around town, over the Mönschburg, along the river
• Bought bread, cheese, olives, and wine for a picknic-style dinner at the hostel
• Evening walk through town...