Day 17 (Travel to Graz, Austria)

I was really looking forward to this train trip because I wanted to go through the Alps on a scenic train ride. This is the Semmering train route which is supposed to have lot of tunnels and trestles to cross. It was a nice ride but I would not recommend it as a scenic tour. We did not cross one train trestle.

While assessing the train trip in front of us, as I always do, some people approached us that were from the UK. They started asking questions about how to read the train information. They did not realize that I was waiting to share my new found knowledge. We ended up talking with them until our train arrived. I clued them in on how to upgrade seats, where to do that at, and how to read where your train car will land at the train platform. I am getting pretty good at this no matter what Lori says.

We arrived in Graz (pronounced Gratz) and decided to just crash out once we got to the hotel. But we got hungry and decided to get something to eat. The guy at the front desk recommended a restaurant (Stainzerbauer, traditional Austrian Dinners) about a 5min walk away, if we could get reservations. They offered wine tasting so we tried 2 different wines and ended up buying a bottle from them for $16 euro. Restaurants over here are a little different. Once you have a table they think that you are going to have it the whole day. So reservations are preferred. We never reserve but we also don’t stay long. You might walk into a restaurant and see that it is empty but when you ask for seating for 2 they say they are all reserved. We started learning that those reservations might not start for 1-2 hours so if you know that you are only there to eat and leave then they will seat you. They also don’t bring the bill unless you ask for it. They also work on salary so they don’t care how long you take up table space. And they do not collect tips unless they know that you are American. Then they will politely say “you may leave a tip if you like”. Which we always do. It just does not feel right to not leave a tip for good service.

Our scenic train ride and lazy day did not work out that way. Lori spotted a “cute” section of town so the walking began. We were staying in a hotel that was in the old part of town and was a walled city. You have to enter through a main gate and there is actually a wall surrounding that part of town. We found a wine bar that offered samples so we bought 3 samples. One of the samples was an old bottle. Believe me, we know what an old bottle smells like. They tried to tell us that it is just the notes of the wine which I have to call bullshit on. No wine should smell like wet cardboard! We left that glass, paid and left. We found another wine place down the street and were looking for a particular wine that we had at the earlier restaurant. The guy at the counter asked if we wanted to try a couple different red wines. We accepted. Then he came back and told us that they were about to start a wine tasting with a group up stairs and that he would ask if we could join. We enthusiastically accepted. The whole group of about 10 people sat at one table and we sat a what seemed like the kiddy table. They offered up 6 white wines and paired them with some nicely prepared dishes. The lady (Gabby) that was presenting spoke German and English and introduced everything in both languages. At the end we sat and talked with her as everyone else left. She sat with us and drank some red wine and talked for over an hour. So much for the relaxing, do nothing day. It was worth it though!. We had a great conversation and learned about some places that we should visit as we head to Croatia tomorrow.

We stumbled back to the hotel. Thank goodness for Apple Maps and Google Translate. Tomorrow we have a 7 hour train ride which is a whole new level of stress!