First selfie of the day to start out

     After I pack some snacks and as usual, my camera, I head out on foot for a 30 min. route that takes me through a portion of the small village of Judendorf then thru a well-kept residential area, before coming to a hiking path that winds up the side of the hill to the majestic site I have been anticipating and admiring from afar for a week.  

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As I make my way up the trail, the beauty of the town unfolds before me as I gain elevation and I stop on occasion to soak in the site, and obviously, to take a photo.  About 20 mins. later the trail intersects with a paved road just before the entrance to the church.  

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     Wow...what a site to see!  I hardly take a breath before I raise my camera to take a photo of what I see as if the vision before me won't last long and I need to capture it for preservation, to be repeatedly viewed again and again.  As I walk through the arched entrance onto the grounds of the church and accompanying buildings, my visual attention is immediately drawn to the steeple that towers above all...what a site.

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     I spend the next hour revering the church and surrounding grounds, and especially inside the church that once inside, one is compelled to whisper if only out of respect.  I marvel in this place and find myself longing to share it with someone...anyone, but realize social media will have to do for whomever may be interested.

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     Before I go, I stop at the small cafe on the premises and treat myself to a glass of white wine and an slice of Apple Strudle, and as I enjoy this afternoon delight, the all to familiar feeling visits me again: I wish I could share these experiences and the beauty with someone.  I enjoy my solitude and traveling alone, but it is times like these, I second guess myself.

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     So I make my way by to my local home, obviously and as usual as I cannot help myself, stopping along the way when images jump out at me and compose them in my brain.  I have the feeling of being that much more enriched and blessed for having the opportunity of seeing such a sight...I wish everyone could have the same.

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The road leading out of the housing areaI think no country escapes graffiti

Sappi paper millMy walk to the train station, I cannot help but capture another image of the Sappi paper mill with its chimneys spewing steam from the processing Another bit of an artistic touch

     When I arrive at the train station, I have 40 minutes for until next train arrives. So I head across the street to a small quaint cafe for a quick breakfast and much needed coffee....life is good.  Even though I speak a little German, I apparently speak what I know somewhat correctly and without much of an accent, because people I speak to respond by blurting out German at full speed and without a pause as if I'm a native speaker.  I then have to tell them, "Ich verstehe nur ein bisschen Deutsch (I understand only a little German.); I will get better in a place where no English is spoken...total immersion.

Just relaxing while I have my morning coffee and a quick breakfast snack What a great way to start the morning Coffee and a treat while I wait for the trainGreat coffee with a complementary chocolate covered pretzel at the Cafe Express

     So off I go via the train (der Zug), than a tram (der strassenbaum) from the main train station in Graz into the city center.  

. . . The train station in Gratwein

On seeing the beauty of the city and all there is to do, I quickly realize I should arrived much sooner and decided get my butt up real early in the near future and return for the entire day to see and do all I can: Art Museums, shops, Historic sites, majestic churches...

    It was getting late so on the tram I go heading back to the train station, or so I thought. When I realized after a short while the return route did not look familiar, I asked a young lady and she told me I was on the wrong tram heading in the opposite direction...crud!  Just at that moment, the doors opened at a stop, and she invited me to follow her.  I hastily jumped off the tram and followed as she graciously went out of her way to walk me about a block away to a city bus stop she said would take me directly to the train station.  A few minutes after I arrived at the bus stop, panicked hit me like a ton of bricks...WHAM...I left a $1800 camera lens on the tram.  

     I immediately became sicked as this was an all too familiar event with me...leaving things behind that are not tied down to some part of my body.  I sluggishly and sadly make my way back to the house where I'm staying, stopping along the way to capture some sights that again, compose themselves within my head with a lens I managed not to lose.

On the walk back from the train station to where I'm staying I had to capture this image again, this time with my professional camera versus my cell phone Watch for adults walking with children A little waterfall of the small creek that feeds into the Mur near where I'm staying In the housing area where I'm staying

     As I walk up to the house, I whimper up to my hostess Annalise about my forgetful mistake.  I speak enough German to explain to Annalise my unfortunate mistake, and I understand enough German when she explains in German that there is a lost and found center for the city trams in Graz and we can call tomorrow to check.  There is always hope, but for piece of mind, I had to assume my lens is gone forever and begin the road to emotional recovery.

     Annalise then, seeing how distraught and stressed I was, sits me down, gives me a shot of local Snapps; boy was it good, then serves me a meal of the equivalent off American Grilled Cheese, but with an Austrian flair.  I then decide to call it a night, but the desire of wanting to process the images of the day grabs ahold of me; I know I won't be able to sleep until I satisfy it.  

    After I'm done and gaze upon what I captured of the day, I realize I have been blessed to be in a place such as this, and for such a wonderful reason - The Special Olympic World Winter Games.  I will not allow my loss by human error take away from this experience, and more importantly, distract me from the upcoming task at hand: to share with all that I can the grandeur of the Special Olympic World Winter Games Austria 2017 and the courage and inspiration of the attending athletes through my articles of stories and the images that accompany them.

Near the city square The city tramThe city tram is free to ride anywhere in the city This building is one side of the city square The view in one direction from the city square A statue in the middle of the city square Near the city square A look along the main Boulevard towards the city square The reason I am here Darn, I should have removed my jacket as this looks weird Selfie time... Taken with my wide angle lens that I ultimately lost One more selfie Trams are constantly running from 8 AM to 8 PM Down the boulevard from the city square A look up the Boulevard towards the city square I'll have to stop here next time A scenic place to have lunch to people watch

A colorful Judendorf residential area A little bit of New York in Judendorf Walking and biking path along the Mur river...make sure your dogs are leashed or you may be fined Picturesque walk along the MurThe Mur ( Slovenian , Croatian and Hungarian Mura ) is a river running through Austria , Slovenia , Croatia and Hungary flows and in parts of its course forms the border between the four states A bit of an artistic touchwith some images, I just cannot resist the creative urge within me. This image "jumped out" at me declaring, "Create me!" A picturesque walk along the Mur Sappi Mill in GratkornWith over 400 years of paper production experience, Gratkorn Mill in Austria has been designed to create superior-quality paper using the latest technology.
Gratkorn is an integrated mill situated on either side of the river Mur near Graz (Austria). The mill produces high quality multi-coated papers which are used for premium quality publications all over the world. Sappi totally revolutionised the mill with the building of one of the largest and most advanced coated fine paper production lines in the world. This paper machine has been upgraded in 2014 and is again state of the art. The possible grammage range for coated paper has been increased. In 2015 a general rebuild of critical parts of the liquor boiler and recovery plant has been finished. Key to this upgrade is the positive environmental impact with a decrease in noise pollution and in NOX/SO2 emissions.
Sappi Gratkorn mill produces 980,000 tons of high quality double and triple coated papers annually which are used for premium quality publications all over the world. The mill produces 250,000 tons totally chlorine free (TCF) chemical pulp and it has an annual sheet finishing capacity of 875,000 tons. About 95% of the mill’s production is exported. Gratkorn mill has around 1240 highly skilled and motivated employees. with? ...or without? Creek feeding to the Mur river Maria Strassengel Pilgrimage Church sits atop a hill overlooking the community.he Pilgrimage Church Maria Strassengel (German: Wallfahrtskirche Maria Straßengel) is a fourteenth century Gothic church located on a hill overlooking the market town of Judendorf-Straßengel in the district of Graz-Umgebung, a few kilometres northwest of Graz, Austria on the right bank of the Mur river. The town was first mentioned in the year AD 860 as Strazinolum. The fourteenth century Gothic pilgrimage church was constructed between 1346 and 1355, and contains an important high altar.[1] Once surrounded by fortified walls and guarded by a three-story tower (1355–66) with elaborate stonemasonry, the church still retains 77 sections of its fourteenth century Gothic stained-glass windows.[1] The original plans for the high altar in white marble (1885) were originally drawn by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1687 but never carried out.[2] The pilgrimage church contains a piece of tree root shaped like Jesus on the cross. This root is not displayed to the public, but shown to people on request. Children's schoolThe sign says: Attention Children For more traffic safety Residential street in Judendorff