Aufesteiren
Day 48
Friday 18Sept
0700(19Septt)
I’m laying in bed awake after 3 hours sleep to try and skype mum and dad who are gonna be at Grandma’s. I’m so tired, and I think I’m being stood up!!
Yesterday I woke up at 7 prtty keen to go for a run, I threw on my runners and headed out the door. Luckily I chocked it open while I checked to see if the key was in it’s hiding hole. It wasn’t. So I headed back inside slightly demoralized.
I got to work just after 9 with my house on my back. The place was desserted, Fridays are just so casual in there, people show up and leave as they please and work is done aliased for half the day. I finished the report for Martin and myself left early at 130, as there was no-one left in the office anyway.
1215(19Sept)
Mum eventually called this morning. But not on Skype, so that was a good 3 Euros of internet wasted. I spoke to Grandma and Grandpa too which was good. Grandma was like “Ooo It’s funny how I’m talking to you and your all the way over there and I’m all the way over here.” Grandpa said “Hello…. I hope your behaving” to which I replied that “I’m always behaving myself, you know that” he said I hope your not finding any German Girls. I said “no, no, no german girls grandpa”. No german girls wasn’t a lie. he said “good, well here’s your mother.”
I met Ionna, Kiki and Stella (one of there Albanian friends) soon after and walked to PPC. Ioanna had big news; Johannas was no more and she really wanted to dance. On the way Ioanna was calling herself the Princess of my ass and asked why I called her that. I didn’t get it for ages, then I remembered on skype she’d referred to her self as a princess. To which my response was “Princess my ass!!” again another fantastic lost in translation.
We walked through the dodgy area of town with all the European night clubs and finally got to PPC except there was a 7 Euro entry fee and Ionna wasn’t keen on paying it. We decided to go to the Rock bar the Daniella and Martin had taken me to the week befor and set off across the Mur.
When we finally got inside it was packed. I grabbed myself a beer yet the 4 of us hardly had any space and the girls wanted to leave. I told them we’de finish our beers and meet them outside in 5. The 5 minuutes easily turned into 15 as some great tunes came on, a bit of system, some local rock, blur, it was great.
We left just as the girls had decided to leave and only just caught them. We went to molly malones around the corner and sat in a booth, we could easily talk there.
Eventually that place closed and we went to Jakominiplatz to grab some food. We had to take a slight detour because of some roadworks. Holy s*** it was load, they were using the massive jackhammers attached to a little bobcat..
I grabbed a sausage, and the other girls grabbed a Kebab, we parted ways, I assured Ioanna we’de have a dance the following night. It felt like it took ages to walk home, but it was probably closer to half an hour by the time I stepped into my room.

Day 49
Saturday 19Sept
0825(20Septt)
Yesterday morning after speaking with mum dad and grandpa it was straight back to sleep untill close to 1130.

We spent the whole afternoon just cruising around Aufesteiren, we had a couple of coffees some ice cream .We grabbed my bike and on the way home grabbed some ice cream. It was really cheap and really good,
After a great dinner of carrot and broccoli I headed to Jakomini Platz to meat Ioanna and kiki before walking to Natalia’s house just around the corner. Here we a couple of different Russian and Ukranian drinks. The first being a cherry liquor mixed with vodka, and the second being a honey and chilli vodka from Ukraine. The former was just ridiculously sweet and the latter I really enjoyed, I put it on some ice and sipped it, the chilli really burning your throat but no in a too serious way.
We then went to the Kunsthouse, the big ugly art house, which was just up the road from Natalia’s, . Everyone on the dance floor was really good were were just a bunch of a mess. Regardless we danced for a while and I had an allright time, both Kiki and Natalia were in heaven she they had every guy lined up to dance with them. Kiki was doing all right for a beginner and Natalia was really good.
We ended us dancing for a good couple of hours and it was really really hot. I was absolutely covered in sweat decided to leave, it had been a long day

Day 50
Sunday 20Sept
0825(20Septt)
Yesterday I woke at a slightly more reasonable hour at about 930, then went to head towards Citypark shopping centre. I was both starving and dehydrated, and when I got there at 1030 I was almost dying. It wasn’t open untill 11. Slightly disheartened I started walking towards the city and ended up eating at the place across the road from where I ate the day before.
Yesterday in Graz was Aufsteirern a massive cultural festival held here in Graz, where everyone dresses up in Leiderhosen and traditional dress and drinks beer, stichler strum (A sweet carbonated styrian red wine which you can only buy in September.) and eats food. I ate so much food yesterday. It was fantastic.
I walked around for a while before meeting Ioanna and Natalia. While we were waiting for Natalia I was talking to Ioanna about her Birthday, this weekend. She told me that she was turning 24 and that her birthday was in 86, I thought about it and corrected her saying she was turning 23. She thought about it for a while and again the penny dropped, she had not only forgotton her age, but over estimated it.
Natalia had been given a Dress to where from one of her friends, it looked really funny, a little Ukranian head on this big Austrian Dress. We walked around for a while and grabbed some more food, lunch. We had potato sausage with saurcraute and vegies. I like it but the girls did nothing but complain about it.
We then went to this little courtyard where there were more people playing and more tables, beer stands and Strum. We sat there for a bit but we were all really really tired, so myself Kiki and Ioanna went to find somewhere with Ice-cream and coffee, I let the girls take charge of where I was going. Bad idea. We walked around to no where in particular changing ideas every 30 seconds, I eventually put my foot down and we sat down at a coffee shop, even though it didn’t have Ice-cream.
It was really funny here Ioanna is a crack up. She stated that she was feeling really happy and sad today and that maybe it was because of her hormones, I then asked her “How do you make a hormone”. Again I spent the next 10 minutes explaining my joke.
From there I walked home via an ice-cream shop. And fell asleep. I got up at 6 and went into town for dinner, I got there at 7 but nearly everything was packed up. It again comes down to them having the big lunch and the light dinner. Nevertheless I sat down with some frankfurts and a sandwich thing that looked like a worm with ham and cheese on it. The cheese wasn’t cheese, it was Dijon, and the look on my face must have been priceless when I took her first bite, I sat here for a good 30 seconds trying to inhale through my nose as to not have the heat from the Dijon going up it.