Siblings See Slovenia

Friday, April 25, 2014

KLAGENFURT, AUSTRIA

Once upon a time in Klagenfurt around the swamps the Lindwurm stalked the local people. To protect the people the Duke of Carinthia built a great tower in the swamps guarded by courageous knights. These knights laid a trap for the creature, baiting it with a bull tied to a barbed chain. The Lindwurm swallowed the bull and was caught on the chain like a fish on a hook. It struggled in vain to free itself, but the brave knights slew the creature. The people were free! The swamps were drained and a castle was built in their stead. 


Now the Lindwurm sits in the middle of the city sculpted centuries ago in 1590 from a single piece of slate. 

Getting to Klagenfurt was quick and easy in our VW Golf. A highlight of our drive was an almost 8 km tunnel beneath a mountain spanning the Slovenian-Austrian border. We all thought it looked like the perfect setting for a car chase in a James Bond movie. Mike got to experience the autobahn and we may have broken him of his habit of calling everything "weird" instead of "different". He does like the license plates quite a lot. 

     (William would appreciate this tunnel)

We spent the day walking around the city centre which has a very different look to it than the Italian- influenced baroque style of Ljubliana. 

       (A nice pasta lunch for Mike)


       (The view from Mike's balcony. He keeps shouting "Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo...no he doesn't)

   (A stroll through Goethe's garden--it was snowing pink blossoms)



  (Found the remains of the old town wall)

We headed for the mall nearby to find a store called Nuener. Our Opa worked in the Nuener shoe factory upon moving to Austria. We did find the store--but it was filled with bags and luggage; no shoes. 


Mike notes the following things that could be reconsidered:

1. No fans in the bathrooms
2. Texting is frequent while biking, driving both cars and buses and--yes we saw this--operating heavy duty equipment. 
3. Not enough water in the toilets

I think he has a real appreciation for the layout of the downtown cores. He has a plan to make Whyte Ave a foot traffic only zone from June-September. There could be tables spilling out from cafés and restaurants and shops can display wares outside too. We think he's onto something.

(We girls like the blankets on the back of the chairs to cuddle in when it's a bit chilly--we'll add that to Mike's Whyte Ave project)


(Mike was quite pleased to find a waffle place for an after dinner treat)





4 comments:

  1. This trip looks absolutely amazing. Love the stories! AND, how you do all look so 'fresh' in the photos? I need to know your secrets.

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  2. Great stories! Enjoying them from Australia . . . looking forward to seeing you soon!
    ~S

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  3. WIlliam loved the tunnel picture and thought it was funny about the waffle. Meaghan loves you daddy. I totally agree with Michael's vision for Whyte ave.

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  4. Your Tavel blog is great! Sounds you're all having a great time. Looking forward to more posts!

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