a morning in the countryside

I finally got to see some of the towns that surround Stallhofen on Friday and it was amazing to see what little gems are hidden away in these towns!

view of Voitsberg through the Burg

despite the town having 10,000people in it, it felt very small town (like most austrian towns/cities). Featured in the middle you can see the church right in the center of town.

the burg wall. the stones were beautiful in the sunlight

it was so warm! that i walked around the burg in just a t-shirt. unfortunately the gates were closed so you couldn't go inside of the burg. (also it was explained to me that while in english we just say Castle there is a difference between a Schloss (more modern) and a Burg (medieval), where burg is more like a fortress.

Hundertwasser Church in Bärnbach

This church is really cool. It is surrounded by archways that have symbols from the world's religions and the church itself is very colorful and it has a spotted roof and the ground around it is intentionally uneven (more rolly). Makes me think of something you would see in a fairytale.

Hundertwasser church window

 While all the other windows in the church were normal looking, this one window was very different and beautiful both on the inside and out. From the outside it looks like there is a giant orangish splat surrounding the window.

random head coming out of the church back wall

you can stand under this random head and look up at it, do something funny with it, or whatever. i attempted to grab it but was a little shocked when a chunk fell off so i decided it was probably better to leave it alone.

the famous lipizzaner horses!

it was so cool to just get to walk around the breeding barns and fields in this very picturesque location. and we were told that the females were pregnant!

Piber Church right next to the horses

This church was made in 1060BCE and is in amazing condition. when we walked in there was a casket laying in wait in the middle of the church so i felt a little bit like i was disturbing something even though there was nobody else around.

Random little playground thing near the Piber Schloss

I played little kid and climbed up, though I hardly fit through the opening at the top.

It was such a gorgeous, sunny, and warm day, that after all of this we went back to the Raßberg, had lunch and just enjoyed the unbelievably warm weather for a while. it was perfect.

check out more pictures at:   2010-2011 Austria Album   (scroll down since its a continuous album)