Orientation in Mariazell

Today is my fifth day in Austria, but my first day waking up in my bed in Vienna! After arriving at Vienna International Airport on Wednesday, our IES group was transported to a small village in the region of Styria, called Mariazell, about two and a half ours south-west of Vienna. In the three days we spent at the hostel and surrounding areas in Mariazell, I can recall way more than three good things, but I'll recount the highlights. 

Of course after being awake for about 32 hours with only short naps on the planes and buses, the highlight Wednesday was finally going to bed, and sleeping like a rock until my alarm went off! Thursday afternoon we went by bus to a nearby lake surrounded by hills (or mountains, depending on which coast you are from). We walked around the lake, which is surrounded by some homes on the far side. The houses in that region are so well kept and fairy-tale-like. Almost all houses have overflowing flower boxes in every window. The day was warm and sunny with clear blue skies, so after our 45 minute walk, we went for a swim! I opted, along with one other student, to enter the lake via water-slide! It felt so good to swim in cool, fresh lake-water again. The lake reminded me of Lost Lake in its size and temperature. In fact, this region of Austria is similar in many ways to the Pacific Northwest. After my little swim, I sat on the dock and enjoyed the sun and scenery while drying. 

That evening we learned a simple Viennese waltz from a few of the program staff. It was quite quick, and I am not very good at following, but it was a lot of fun, nonetheless. The natives all know how to dance though, because everyone takes dance lessons while growing up, as balls are a large part of the culture. After waltzing, we learned another Austrian sport called kegalban, which is the Austrian form of bowling. The balls and pins are smaller, there are no bumpers, and the pins are attached to strings. I found it significantly harder than American bowling!

Our hostel was actually across a small valley from the 1,600-person village of Mariazell, which we visited the next day. We began with a short tour and demonstration of a candle-making factory. They use all real bees’ wax and a traditional, time intensive process. For example, a lot of their candles are bleached from golden to white simply by hanging in the open air for several months. After that tour, we went to the gingerbread factory, which also employed a traditional method, doing almost everything by hand. Their spice recipe is a secret, which only the owner of the company knows. Fun fact: the gingerbread is fifty percent honey! And it is SO good! We also visited the Mariazell Basilica, where many Catholics still travel for pilgrimages. It is an extremely ornate baroque church built around the original Gothic structure. It was magnificent, and we were able to hear part of a mass.

More Austrian culture followed that evening with a traditional folk dance group, accompanied by accordion and trombone, which performed for us and taught us some simpler dances. It was a great surprise, and so entertaining! It was also fun to see the program directors and staff dressed in lederhosen and dirndl, which is the women's traditional dress.

The next day, after a wrap up session and lunch, we made our way back to the city! We drove past the opera building, the parliament building, the museums of art history and natural history, the stock exchange, and many other large, grand, old buildings in the first district that I cannot wait to get closer looks at and explore. The sights seem endless!

More posts about our apartment and district to follow, for now, let the exploring begin!