We had a fabulous visit with our Okies! Madeline and Katie are studying in Graz, so they came to stay with us in Klagenfurt.

We went on a great city tour. We were the only people at the beginning and so the guide spoke in English for us. He was very informative and interesting, we plan on going on it again (especially if anyone else comes to see us). It was so great you can't soak it all up in just one tour!

The tour really opened our eyes to the city! Morgan and I are so glad we went on the tour and will have a whole new outlook on our stomping grounds

There are very beautiful and ornate fountains everywhere. Can't wait til spring when they have water in them!

Katie and I went to McGuinness together and her

mom was my biology teacher :) So glad we got to hang out!!

The outside of the Cathedral. I didn't even realize it was a church even though we've passed by it a million times.

The inside...it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

 No photo can do it justice. Morgan and I plan to go back

An open air courtyard

This is the place where important decisions are made and dignitaries are received. It's closed for the season, but I took a picture through the window. There are hundreds of coat-of-arms plastering the walls.

An amazing meal! I ate every last bite. It's a breaded chicken breast and amazing warm German potato salad. It was a lot like the one I made for my German class- you could taste the vinegar and cilantro.

Hey, if the beer is the same price as water, and the water is more difficult to order in German...

This is one of the emblems of the city of Klagenfurt and how the city got it's name.. Legend has it that this dragon, or Lindwurm, lived in the forest surrounding Klagenfurt. If animals or people went missing, the town would assume the dragon ate them. "Furt" is the name for a ford, or a shallow part of the river. The people of Klagenfurt would sacrifice a virgin once a year for the dragon so that it wouldn't eat any of their animals or people. "Klagen" is to lament-- so the virgins were put on this ford and lamenting that they were being sacrificed, thus Klagenfurt got it's name.

(There are about 10 different versions of this story, but I tried to sum it up into one combined and concise tale)

This statue was built circa 1593. It withstood 48 British and American air attacks-- but one night some British soldiers had a little too much beer, tried to sit on the tail, and broke it.

Maria Theresa.

She had no interest in the town of Klagenfurt until her eldest daughter decided to live here. She implemented the first lottery in Austria and mandatory schooling for children. This statue in the Klagenfurt plaza is the oldest of all the monuments of her in Austria, originally in the west end of the square in 1764 and moved to the east end in 1972. 

Right now Austria is celebrating Fasching (aka Karneval aka Mardi Gras)

This is like their Halloween! Everyone dresses up and goes out. The seasonal pastry is the Krapfen (a jelly filled donut!)

Obviously I couldn't wait to eat mine...

Me, Madeline, and Katie

We pass by this monument all the time and I was always confused by it-- It was built after the town recovered from the black plague as a thanks to God. It's also significant of the Christian cross overcoming the Turkish moon.

The yellow house at the end of the lane.. the tour guide pointed out to us that it was built before Columbus found America. Now that puts things in perspective...