At 9:30 am I went to visit Klaudia, one of my best friends from high school, at her parent's house. Our other school mate Doris was already there and it was great to see both of them again, more than 23 years after we graduated from high school. After the initial hugs and kisses and how-are-yous we started walking onto the local hill, the Weizberg. Our stroll took us through the local cemetery where we admired a very famous grave: the last resting place of Aurelia Schwarzenegger, Arnold's mother, who was a long-time resident of Weiz.

Klaudia even mentioned that her father happened to encounter Mrs. Schwarzenegger at the cemetery a number of years ago, but she had collapsed due to a heart attack. My friend's father called the ambulance which gave her emergency treatment and took her to the hospital. She passed away shortly after and Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a thank you letter to the ambulance employees as well as to Klaudia's father, to thank him for getting help for his mother. Proof that in this town real celebrity connections are just steps away?

Right next to the church is the so-called ?Kr?utergarten? (herb garden) that was created by a group of local residents (including Klaudia's mom) that features a wide variety of local herbs, many of which are used in the regional cuisine. Then we took the romantic stairs down the hill, a pathway that we had walked many times as children. Our local stroll took us past our former high school, where we discussed fond memories of our school years.

One of the highlights of our high school careers were two choir trips to Germany, to our partner school in Offenburg, where the two school choirs jointly performed classical songs. We most fondly recalled the actual concert where for the finale both school choirs appeared together to jointly sing the last song. Screaming our lungs out among 120 singers from two different countries was an exhilarating experience, and not surprisingly my passions for cross-cultural exchanges were kindled at an early age.

After our return to Klaudia's parents Doris left and the rest of us started preparing a hearty meal, and I, by no means gifted in the kitchen, donned the apron and started cutting and chopping whatever needed to be done. (Good thing I was not in charge of any really important tasks?) Klaudia's mom whipped up a delicious meal for 10+ people in next to no time and we soon sat down in the garden to have some Austrian specialties: we savoured a ?Br?selkn?delsuppe? (breadcrumb dumplings in a clear beef broth), stuffed green peppers and delicious mashed potatoes with caramelized onions.

Given this delicious yet substantial calory injection, we had to do a work-out and decided to do a hike up onto the Sch?ckel, at over 1400 m the highest local mountain. Around 2 pm we met up with Doris again and all three of us broke out our Nordic walking poles and we attacked the mountain from its steepest side. Doris, an experienced hiker, led the group at a rather hellish pace, and the two of us clambered behind her. Some areas were so steep we had to use our hands to brace ourselves climbing up between the rocks. But our walking sticks definitely aided in the ascent and about an hour later we were rewarded with an astounding 360 degree view over the Styrian hills and mountains.

The Sch?ckel is also referred to as the ?Grazer Hausberg? or local mountain of Graz, and we had great views down into the Styrian capital and the Mur Valley. To the south the Austrian and Slovenian plains were stretching out, looking east and right saw the foothills of Eastern and Western Styria, and to the north we took in the panorama of the more imposing mountains of the Styrian Alps. We also saw several ramps for hang-gliders, a popular activity in this region.

We walked past some peaceful cows that were grazing on the mountain pastures and reached the summit area which is the location of the upper station of the cable car, of a couple of restaurants and a summer tobogganing course. The weather today was brilliant and many serious hikers, mountain bikers and tourists were congregating at the mountain top. We were quite fascinated by the summer tobogganing and Doris suggested that I should try it.

Well, I have always been a bit of a daredevil and she did not have to say it twice. She even sprang for my Euro 2.50 round, and a couple of minutes later I was sitting in the steel ?buggy of death?, ready for my hair-raising descent down the serpentine curves of the course. Actually, the ride was a lot tamer than I expected, and I only occasionally pulled the brakes, but it was still an very entertaining experience. I figured if I did it again I would probably try to go down the course without breaking at all.

Once the lift had pulled my buggy back up to the summit plateau we started walking past the Stubenberghaus, a large mountain restaurant and inn, towards the summit cross which provides a beautiful view northwards into the mountainous area of Upper Styria. I have always loved mountains, and to see peak after peak after peak was just a great experience. We then started hiking back to the car and our trek back down was considerably easier than the torturous climb up. We stopped at Doris? beautiful country house on the way back where we admired her recently created garden pond and her new dog. Equipped with some gorgeous ripe Styrian peaches from Doris? family's farm we returned to Weiz and I dropped Klaudia off.

About an hour later we reunited when Klaudia, her husband and two children, her parents, her sister Andrea and her daughters Nina and Katja arrived at my brother's place. Tonight we would all get together for a great barbecue, and my brother Ewald, the passionate chef, had a few special treats waiting for us. Anneliese, my sister-in-law, had been helping all afternoon with the preparations.

After some initial chit-chatting we started off with a savoury vegetable soup, and then my brother started preparing the main course: 13 whole artic chars were waiting to be grilled in a large pan on an open fire. Ewald had already been marinating the fish in a special blend of herbs and spices the whole day. Tender young potatoes were to accompany the fish, and a solid Styrian salad with pumpkin seed oil rounded out the main course. A scrumptious raspberry parfait provided the sweet final note to our culinary symphony.

So despite a bit of rainy weather yesterday, I had had a fantastic couple of days which included classical music, hiking, a reunion with good friends and an amazing array of gastronomic delicacies. Now there is only one more full day left of my trip to Austria, and tomorrow we will explore one of the medieval treasures of Styria: the Riegersburg, a massive fortress on a basaltic outcrop dating back to the 10th century, often referred to as the ?strongest fortress of Christianity? because it was never conquered.