Lidia en Austria.erasmus+

 Yesterday I went to the grandfather’s birthday party. We celebrated on the top of the hill, where the family has their vineyards. There I met all the family. Then we ate together in the living room. First, we had Frittatensuppe, and then some typical dishes like Wiener Schnitzel and Tafelspitz. I chose the first one, the Wiener Schnitzel, and I liked it a lot. When we finished, we had dessert: I got some Buchteln and strawberries. After that, we toasted and sang happy birthday to grandpa. Then I played with Essi and her cousins. And at the end of the party we all danced together.

 Yesterday we went to an event where all the towns of the district participated. In this event, each town decorated a tractor with flowers, wood, fruit, and more. Every village chose one theme to decorate their tractor, usually something that represents the town. For example, Ligist is famous here for its pumpkin oil, so they decided to decorate their tractor with pumpkins. There were a lot of tractors, and each of them offered something , it could be food or drinks. Most of the drinks had alcohol, but they also offered juices. The winner of the competition was Ligist, so they celebrated by singing and jumping.

 Yesterday Michaela showed me the Church of Saint Barbara, which is a church with many stained-glass windows and colorful floors. Outside the building there were lots of statues with symbols on them, and the ground was irregular, with many ups and downs. After that, we went to Piber, where the famous horses of Vienna are born and where they also spend their last years. These horses are born in Piber and stay there until they are grown up enough to go to Vienna. When they get old, they come back to Piber to retire. One curious thing about these horses is that when they are born, they are black or brown, but as they grow up, they turn white; just like our hair.

 Yesterday Michaela and I went to Klagenfurt, where we visited Minimundus, the city center, the streets, and the tower. In Minimundus, we saw some of the most famous buildings in the world, like the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There were many different architectural styles, and you could look at them and compare them. After that, we went to the city center, where we ate at a street market with food from all around the world, Korean food, Mexican food, Hungarian food, and more. We got some South American food, and for dessert I tried a typical Hungarian sweet called Kürtős Kalács. In the city, we also stopped at a museum and saw some paintings made by women. To finish the day, we went to the tower and enjoyed the view of the whole valley.

  Yesterday we went to Grandma’s house, where Grandpa was cooking chestnuts, here the chestnuts are smaller compare with the ones we ausually watch, on a barbecue in the garden . We were eight people in total: the grandparents, the uncle, and his two daughters, Nora, a little girl of five, and Nele, her seven year s old sister and us . We sat around the table and   ate all the chestnuts together, and we also had toast with two typical creams from here ,  one made with pumpkins and another one made with peppers. We also drank some juices mixed with sparkling water; mine was made with apple juice and sparkling water. And it was very nice .  

Yesterday I visited the ruins of the castle in the town . From there you can see the whole of Ligist , and the view was really beautiful. I walked all around the castle and discovered a small bench, where I sat down to rest for a while. While I was sitting there, I saw a blue dragonfly flying very close to me. After that, I entered the forest. Inside the forest there was a path and many black-and-orange salamanders. I was walking toward the town, crossing the forest and collecting different minerals, when I noticed them, I was surrounded by them.  

 One of the first differences I noticed between Austria and Spain was the food. Here in Austria, meals are made with local products like vegetables and meat, and there isn’t much fish. In Spain, however, the food is more varied, with a mix of vegetables, meat, and fish. Another difference is that here most dishes are warm to help people stay warm because of the climate. That is one reason why they have so many soups, like Frittatensuppe among others. In Spain, on the other hand, we also have cool dishes like gazpacho or Russian salad, as well as warm dishes like paella or croquettes.

 Yesterday I went to Graz for the whole day. To get there I had to take a train at half past nine, and I arrived in the city at ten. In the city I went to the clock tower and looked over the whole city. Then I went to the tourist office. On the way there, I visited a museum where I learned about the history of the city and how it was during the 90s. The girl who attended me in the tourist office recommended that I visit another museum and see the exhibition called COSA. I visited it and I didn’t like it very much, but I made my own bag. In the same museum I also visited another exhibition about nature, and I liked this one a lot. Then I went to the Friendly Alien museum and saw two of their exhibitions. I liked the first one a lot, but I didn’t understand most of the second one because it was in German. After all the museums, I went to Eggenberg and walked through the gardens and saw the peacocks.

 Yesterday we crossed the hill next to our house to go to a bike event, where people were riding bikes and jumping with them, doing tricks while crossing the slope. This event happens twice a year: once in spring, when it is the competition, and yesterday, when it is more friendly. Michaela told me that sometimes accidents happen, but yesterday we were lucky because nobody had a serious injury. Essi was working at the bar, serving people, and she also served us. I got some chili, which was a vegetable soup with corn, red beans, lentils… I also had one toast with cheese, which was my favorite. Michaela recommended me to try a typical dessert from here, the Buchtel, so I tried it. It was very nice with jam.

 Yesterday we went to Riegersburg, where there is a chocolate factory called Zotter Schokolade. It is located in the east part of Styria. In Riegersburg we visited the chocolate museum, and the first thing we saw was a film in German with English subtitles. The film explained how chocolate is produced. Then we got a special spoon to try all the chocolate we wanted. After that, we went to a room with cocoa beans, which I loved, and then we crossed a hallway with many different types of chocolate. My favorite was the raspberry one. The whole museum was about trying new kinds of chocolate that you probably didn’t know existed and discovering how chocolate is made. When we finished, we went to the museum shop where I bought the raspberry one. To finish the day, we went to Essi’s favorite restaurant, where we had dinner while listening to rock music.

 Yesterday we went hiking in the Alps. We went to Rappoldkogel, a mountain that is 1,928 meters high and about 50 minutes by car from Ligist (the town where I am staying with my host family). During the car trip we saw a lake and a deer that crossed the road. When we were hiking, we met a lot of people who were also going to the top of the mountain. Along the way we saw many mushrooms and birds. At the top of the mountain we ate some vegetables and a sandwich, and we took a break to admire the view. I also went for a short walk to take pictures of the scenery. On the way down, we had lunch in a restaurant, where we ate traditional dishes from here like Knödel with mushrooms or soup with Knödel.

 To go to school, I need to take the bus at 6. In the morning you don’t need to show or pay for your ticket, but in the afternoon you do. This bus goes through all the towns near Köflach, like Ligist (where my host family lives) or Rosental. It is full of students: most of them go to Köflach, but others get off in different towns or villages. Not all students go by bus; others, like my Erasmus mate, go by car, and some go on foot. To get back home from school, we take the train at the train stop. Sometimes Essi meets a friend on the way to the train; her name is Elody, and she is originally from France. On the train, there are seats for two or four friends. Here you only need to show your ticket if the security guards ask for it, and sometimes you also need to show your ID card.