You only see what you know (Goethe)
It’s a landmark when I take the train through the Mur Valley. When I see it, it’s not far from Graz: Rabenstein Castle. Its old stone walls make it look like an inhospitable knight’s castle. Inside, it surprises with beautiful halls and a collection of Japanese artworks.
After arriving at the railway station Südbahnhof, I went down to the centre of Vienna through Belvedere Gardens. Only a snow-covered Sphinx sculpture watched my steps to the Lower Belvedere, which one can see in the background.
On a cold winter day I walked through the gardens of the summer palace of Prince Eugene. The Upper Belvedere Palace (Oberes Belvedere) as shown above was only used for representation.
After a visit to the stud Piber, I had the chance to drive up to the summer pasture of those Lipizzan horses who will perform at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in their later life. You find this pasture on top of a Styrian alp.
In 2003 the capital city of Styria got the title ‘European Capital of Culture’. In the same year Graz Central Station had been renovated and artist Peter Kogler was elected to decorate the entrance hall of the railway station.
It is considered one of the best-preserved fortresses in Europe: Hohensalzburg Fortress. It thrones high above the streets of Salzburg. In the city itself, the two steeples of Salzburg Cathedral and the magnificent dome of the University Church rise above the roofs of Salzburg.
The Kreuzenstein Castle of today was erected in the years 1874 – 1906 by order of Count Johann Nepomuk Graf Wilczek. As the castle consists of a lot of medieval material bought from other castles it offers modern as well as medieval structures. It was the set of many movies, e.g. for the 2010 television series ‘The Pillars of the Earth’.