The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Maybe you've been wondering what we Zillingers have been up to. Well, you're in the right place to find out.

Now is what I like to think of as the Most Wonderful Time of the Year here in Graz...namely 'Ice Cream Season.' As you walk down any of the major streets downtown, you will see any number of people eating ice cream...children, parents, students, business men...basically anyone with a mouth and €1 at their disposal. There are all types of flavors, anything from your basic stuff to more exotic ones. Our favs tend to be banana, yoghurt, and of course the chocolate at the Gelateria either in the Hans-Sachsgasse or at Luis' Gelateria near Südtirolerplatz.

May 8th we celebrated Tom's Birthday. He was off work that day, but had a physical therapy appointment which allowed me a chance to decorate our apparment with festive balloons and streamers (which were duely left up for well over the next week). We celebrated with a nice breakfast and of course presents. He was very excited about his gifts (as you can tell in the pictures) and thanks for all you who sent b-day greetings, cards and wishes. This was a full day b/c later we had to be at a weekend retreat with our Teenager Group from church. But shortly before that we got the news that my maternal Grandmother had suffered a severe stroke and was lying in the hospital in a so-called comfort room. So needless to say, this day was nothing short of an emotional rollercoster.

This Most Wonderful Time of Year also includes several Catholic Holidays, meaning long weekends, meaning opportunites to travel a bit.

The end of May took us on a short trip outside Austria to Italy. Some friends were going camping and invited us to join them. We were able to get an amazing amount of stuff for 5 people in one car. Our camping spot was fabulous...lots of trees, hedges seperating each site, clean bathrooms, private showers, and - possible the best feature - bug zappers lining the rows of sites! And all this was located 5 minutes from the beach. We got lots of sun, had amazing food (like only Italians can do), and plenty of sleep (thank to our newly purchased air mattresses curtosey of Hofer/Aldi). This was a first Italain beach vacation (and my first time in the Adriatic). All in all we had a wonderful time and are so grateful that our friends invited us to come along!


The beginning of June found us on the complete opposite side of Austria...in Innsbruck!! I hadn't been there since my study abroad year, so I was glad to be back. We were there with our teenagers who participated in a national conference called the Pfingstjugendtreffen, or Pfiju for short. Roughly translated that's the Pentacost Weekend Youth Retreat. That was a weekend full of fun, games, music, sports, sermons, workshops and all sorts of great stuff. I personally enjoyed the fake milking contest in which contestants from each Austrian Province had to compete against each other in milking a plastic-like utter full of water. It was highly entertaining. Some other highlights includd Thomas being on the winning volleyball team, and me visiting a local nursing home where we sang for and talked with some really old and really great Austrians. One man I spoke with was about 93 years old and kept reminding us that the lady sitting a few chairs over from him is not only his neighbor there in the home, but was also a neighbor of his for over 40 years in Innsbruck!

Our most recent weekend excursion was to the neighboring province of Carinthia...or in German Kärnten. They have tons of lakes and lots of camping grounds. Since we are sans car, we had to choose something reachable with the public. We took a bus from Graz to Klagenfurt (Carinthian capital) and then 2 more short bus rides brought us to our campsite, right across from the Wörthersee. Although a bit pricy, we still enjoyed the sun, lake and just the whole idea of camping. That was definitely my first time camping somehwere without a car, but it worked out just fine. We really enjoyed taking this trip with our dear friend Rebecca Honts as we got to spend so much time together.

Other news...I have recently acquired a used bike from a good friend of ours. And by recent, I mean this past week. I have already used it around town and taken 2 bike rides beyond the city limits with friends. It's been so wonderful to bike outside of Graz a bit and start exploring the plethora of available bike paths. I look forward to many more biking excersions to come!

So, to finish up this entry, we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to America. We leave in exactly one week and won't be back until 3 weeks after that. We're looking forward to seeing friends and family and being at my little brother's wedding in July.