Steiermark, also called Styria, is a state in Austria. It has been heralded as the "Green Heart of Austria." With its Dachstein glaciers and large grape yards, it is one of Europe’s unspoiled nature retreats.
Furtive, but also curious, glances from the others bolsters everyone’s nerve to look beyond the balloon basket's rim to the depths below them.
A breathtaking view rewards their courage. Below is a symbiosis of architectural creations and nature itself, complimenting each other in visual perfection—the Rogner Bad Blumau.
Typical of Hundertwasser's style, artistic home fronts gleam, and one looks in vain for a right angle. Roofs are likewise difficult to spot as all of the dwellings are covered in grass. This makes it puzzling for the onlooker to orient himself. The only things jumping clearly into one's line of vision are the turquoise surfaces of the open air swimming pools.
When they were drilling for oil at the end of the last century, the search for black gold failed. Instead, people discovered the Steiermark's thermal springs—a vastly more precious discovery!
Water comes out of the ground at the boiling point, 100 degrees Celsius. The architect's moniker, "Hundertwasser," means "hundred water" and was his impetus even then to get involved in this new venture.
Slowly people's glances take in the distant views. No one yet knows the destination of this balloon ride—after all, it is the wind that decides.
Dusk raises people's culinary interests, and the group zeroes in on the nearby historic Schlosshotel Obermayerhofen. This facility's stylish ambience is in line with their well-known food offerings, and is not merely for honeymooners in the region.
The appetizer menu features bites of lobster and graved lax (Norwegian-style buried salmon) with asparagus foam and fresh cheese dumplings. The entrée—a rabbit filet enclosed in a potato crust with spinach soufflé and baby carrots, followed by a long list of dessert offerings.
That is fairly easy to achieve, since the Steiermark enjoys a partly Mediterranean climate. Lafer explains that the locally produced small quantities of excellent foodstuffs prevent countrywide distribution. The producers are still devoted to high quality without compromise, such as with the production of pumpkin seed oil. This is a professional ethos Lafer never tires of celebrating.
The next day Lafer puts his theory into practice. The travelers head south toward Johann Lafer's home. Though he attended school here, he comments that he knew the adjacent park better than the school building.
This is the location of the Life Medicine Resort which has just been completely modernized. The resort is now open and highlights its "Center for Medical Checks," its healing spa with highly concentrated mineral springs, an elegant four-star hotel, and, of course, its fine cuisine. Rather than a mission-style retreat, this resort endeavors to offer indulgent pleasures of the highest caliber.
This suits Lafer just fine. He hopes his guests will feel thoroughly spoiled even when dieting. He demonstrates how this can be achieved in the hotel's kitchen. The hotel's practice kitchen holds weekly Saturday seminars where the themes of culinary excursion vary constantly.
Three courses are on today's plan, and participants are busy slicing, stirring, pounding and garnishing—almost forgetting the time.
Finally everything is ready: asparagus salad with wild garlic-tomato vinaigrette, baked egg in a pumpkin crust, and volcano ham draped rack of veal under a mustard-horseradish crust, parsley root puree, and other such delicacies—a true litany of indulgences, like all of Steiermark.
The Stiermark’s metropolis, Graz, earned the title "Austria's Metropolis of Indulgence" in 2008.
‘Gourmet Festivals’ from June 6–13, 2009 in Graz
It is no wonder, then, that participants are yearning for this center of indulgence to again feature its annual gourmet festival. Here 15 star chefs from around the world will offer their talents through all manner of venues.
One of those is Johann Lafer who is particularly pleased about holding these events in his native area. Participants have the opportunity to take part in the "culinary travels through town," and experience firsthand the architectural and natural pleasures Graz has to offer—museums, churches, quaint courtyards and lanes, and high above the River Mur, the castle hill with it mighty clock tower, the city's landmark.
Without a doubt, Graz and her surrounding areas, awarded the title "Europe's Cultural Metropolis" in 2003, has accomplished much to make a name for itself—becoming an ever more desirable tourist destination. An Austrian vacation has since made its pleasures mandatory when they're to "sniff, to taste, and to indulge."
