6/10/2011 20:00 Krumpendorf

Another sleep in morning, but we've been staying up late enough. Vacations should include lots of sleep time. We started the day's adventures with a picnic in view of Burg Hochosterwitz (Burg means castle). This castle is on the top of a hill and has ten gates that you must pass through before reaching the actual castle. This castle is so strategically placed that it was never taken. However, once it came close. It was laid under siege for a long time and eventually food started running low. They came down to their last cow, and after removing the meat, they stuffed it back up, sewed it closed, and threw it over the wall. Because the enemy army thought they were wasting this food, after this long of a siege, they got discouraged and went home. After our picnic, we hiked through all the gates up to the top. They have a cool museum up at the top with lots of armor, weaponry, paintings, and such. There's one stuffed man in a suit of armor who is 7 or 8 feet tall. Ten years ago, when we came here before, our dad told us about how the song "silent night" was written at this castle. Well, little three year old younger than me two was in the museum, and was slightly ahead of the rest of us. After seeing this man he came running back shouting, "Dad, DAD! I found the silent knight!" We all got a good laugh out of that. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to take pictures in the museum. This castle adventure brought back lots of memories. Next, we went to magdalenesberg, which is the ruins of an old Roman city. It was really cool--who knew rocks could be so interesting? Hey, maybe someday our 21st century life will be ancient history and become tourist attractions wherever it is preserved. After the city we went and saw a throne made from old rocks (marble mostly, i believe) that people used to bring offerings to for the duke of Corinthia so that they might gain favor in his sight. apparently he would bestow great favors on those who brought the best gifts. The car ride back home was fairly uneventful, except that we brought up, and played, and old game we used to play, invented by our father last time we were here. It's called Statue. We see who can stay frozen like a statue the longest. (Now, with six children under the age of 12, this was a brilliant game for our dad to make up.) The funny part is, it still works. :D dinner was fried potatoes and wurst. (I'm still not a fan of austrian hot dogs at all, but the parents don't necessarily need to know that.) The potatoes were delicious, and I'm loving the fresh salads. This is simply a delicious place.

PS I'm not sure why i tend to end on food or at least linger on it. Probably because it's such a fundamental part of life.