I wake to the bustling cafe noises downstairs. It’s lovely.

We hear Lillian waking up. One minute later, she comes into our room fully dressed. She’s also made her bed. I ask, “Isn’t Oly in it?” Yes it was pretty difficult.

We get ready, have a quick breakfast and head out this morning. I really want to have a coffee out of the apartment, then spend our relaxation time at home in the afternoon instead of the morning. We go to Buna Coffee, where Stefan picked up my latte yesterday. I’m a little disappointed in their tiny selection of treats, but the vegan banana bread turns out to be amazing. We sit out front and count bicycles passing by.

The toy store across the street has a train set and a marble table out front, so we spend ample time over there as well. When Lillian has to use their restroom, Oly and I begin perusing inside. It’s a great little store, with a wide selection of books and games upstairs. I let the kids each pick something that will be great for traveling (both in the car and when we’re out at dinner). Oly picks reusable pirate stickers because pirates are the coolest things in the world this week. Lillian gets this cool tangram set that makes different vehicles.

We walk around, trying to hit all the streets we haven’t yet seen in the city center. We stop in a grocery store for a small snack and some kids bath salts (for the giant bath tub here!). Then we head over to the Kunsthaus Graz. It’s supposedly a nice contemporary art museum. It’s a very strange site, looking like a giant blob next to the river. When we arrive, they inform us they are switching the exhibits. We are still permitted to visit the top floor for a little view of the city. It’s a nice place to sit for 5 minutes. The kids are excited there’s information about the building in English. But I think they’ll pretty much listen to anything on headphones.

The cafe at the back of the museum looks like a nice simple place, so we stay for lunch. A breakfast sandwich piled high with ham and egg and a bulgur and falafel sandwich that lacks flavor. The kids eat anything we shovel into their mouths while they play happily with their new toys.

We walk back across the river to the playground from yesterday. Sitting in direct sunlight, it’s hot today, so we don’t stay long. Oly is getting cranky, so we just decide to head home for some rest time.

Back home, the kids excitedly jump in the bath with their new bath salts, which turn out to be bath confetti. It’s very cool for them. They play until the water’s cold and we make them get out. This apartment has a couple boxes of toys that keep them occupied for another hour. The apartment is quiet, and Stefan and I work. Noise floats in from the adjacent square as people are beginning to celebrate the festival that begins this evening. We’re excited to check it out tonight.

Around 5:30 we head out to explore. It seems like the festival hasn’t really begun, but there are still many people in the square enjoying a beer, and most of them are wearing traditional dress. The dresses are beautiful! I’m surprised because I think the American perspective on lederhosen is somewhat slutty. But these dresses, worn by young and old, are classy and gorgeous. We get a beer at the stand we stopped at yesterday and all get hot dogs. The bratwurst is delicious.

We decide to walk around the city since this isn’t really the party we expected. We walk up past the sandwich place from yesterday, then on through a gate into a park. There are a couple place in the park that look really cool for drinks. We carry on until we find a playground. It’s large with lots of space to run around. The kids are super happy and play for at least 20 minutes until it’s dark.

We walk back down the hill, stopping for vegan ice cream (didn’t we used to call this sorbet?) for the kids at Sax Eis. We are back in the square at the bottom of the hill. Stefan buys us two more beers as it starts to rain. It’s not more than a drizzle, so we ignore it. People are gathered around the stage in the square, and within ten minutes the fashion show begins! It’s all the latest in traditional Styrian dress. (Styria is the state of Austria we are in.)

We decide we will actually go to a restaurant for food. Again, we thought there would be more offered in the square for the festival, but it’s just that one spot. So we go to a couple places, and everything is booked. Finally we walk into Golden Pastete, where only a few people sit. We are not too optimistic, but we need to sit and eat.

We get a pork dish with salad and potatoes and a steak with creamy mushroom (I think chanterelle) sauce. Everything is really tasty! I’m actually surprised! I see three women drinking a pink drink in wine glasses and inquire what it is. It’s a popular drink that just came in season called Sturm. “It’s like wine before it becomes wine.” Sounds like grape juice, but I’ll have one! It’s delicious. I still don’t understand how much alcohol is in it, but I could sit and drink these forever.
We walk home and through the square again. Now instead of a fashion show, there’s a concert. Even after the kids are in bed, I love listening to the classical music through my open window. It fits this beautiful place.