Day 15 - Steyr

The castle walls. Across from this, there was a building with a plaque that said Napoleon had slept there. Rene took this picture for me with my camera because I couldn't get the light right. It's my favorite shot from that day.
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We started off today as a lot of other Catholic's in this region did - we went to the cemetery to prepare the family graves for All Saint's Day on November 1st. It may sound a little morbid to you, dear friends, but it was actually quite pleasant. The grave yards in Germany/Austria area are very different from American or even other European areas. Instead of keeping people and their headstones for, well, ever, they actually remove the headstone and the bones to make room for someone else. This usually happens after 10 or 30 years (or if you stop paying rent and stop taking care of the burial area. You can see the 'burial area' in the pictures. For All Saint's Day (and for other major religious holidays, like Easter), families buy plants and soil, sometimes rock and other decorations and plant things. Then, on All Saint's Day, you go to the cemetery and light candles on the graves (this isn't at night - it's in the middle of the day), the priest says some things and you pray. There might be a small procession involved but I'm not sure (I can't remember, okay?). Anyway, Rene and Aunt Heli spent a couple of hours trimming the two trees they planted years ago, pulling weeds, cleaning up the rocks, planting things, trimming shrubs and placing candles and a beautiful arrangement. While they were tending to their garden of remembrance, I walked around the cemetery viewing the crosses, plots and decorations. The oldest burial I could find was only from 1902 (you can also have a family plot and put everyone in there so it lasts a bit longer). A few funny differences in our headstones and theirs is 1. they mostly don't have headstones, they have crosses and 2. usually, the person is just listed with their name and a date birth and death - there's no quote or saying about that person that makes it personal, though, they do sometimes have pictures). Some graves didn't even have a name! Just a cross and a plot someone takes care of (I suppose more than one person is buried there and why do you need to post names if you already know who died?). When I asked Aunt Heli about the whole 'dig them up and throw them out' philosophy she said that peoples bodies are dust so what's the point of keeping graves around? Uh, well, good point. Then Rene said that our cemeteries must be huge and they would eventually overtake over cities! I explained our way and he did like the idea of being connected to your ancestors and loved ones by having a grave site. He also appreciated the personal nature of the English and American graves. Different customs, I suppose and they both make sense.

A gothic building - it's famous in Austria.
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On the way out we stopped by an old monastery that is now... you guessed it... a prison! You can go inside the church but the adjoining monasterial halls are walled off with barbed wire and fences. My first thought was, hey! They shouldn't get to live in a monastery. To which Rene replied that he's sure they made it quite drab for them and the tiny monk rooms make for great prison rooms. In order to get prison time in Austria, you pretty much have to be a murderer, as Austrians believe that prison should be a last resort punishment (since it really doesn't 'reform' the person).

You can't just say "I want coffee"

It's funny but it really is pretty, don't you think?
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We also stopped in town, which was called Steyr, and walked the streets. I marveled at the historic homes built near the castle (there's always a castle) that were constructed in the 1500's. Some had dates painted on that said 1542, 1621 and so on. Now, of course, the bottom floors are all shops but the upper levels are homes. Can you imagine living in a home from 1542? You might think it's dirty but Austrians keep things up so well (they are very proper that way)(side note: they are pretty much very proper in every way - seriously, they gave me, like, 3 different sets of slippers to wear for different occasions while I'm here. So, cute!). Anyway, after walking around Steyr for while, taking in the architecture, we stopped for coffee (kaffee). Austrians have a bazillion different kinds of 'regular' coffee. You can't just say "I want coffee", you have to tell them other things about flavor and strength as well. I typically (i.e. always) let Aunt Heli take over this part because I have no clue how to order it and also, I don't speak German (I know, you're shocked). It was only later that I found out that my family had visited Steyr as well when they came in '63.

Less expensive graves (also, they weren't really kept up but maybe they families hadn't made it in yet).
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On the drive home, the fog had somewhat lifted, so that I could see the dozens of gigantic farm homes that lined the roads. These are built square with a hole in the middle, kind of like a hacienda. Farmers must do really well here because my house could fit in theirs about 5 or 6 times (no exaggeration).

We were all pretty tired when we got back home but Aunt Heli still insisted on cooking us dinner.  Afterwards, I fell into bed. Traveling is actually exhausting - even if you aren't doing much that day. I think it's because you're in an unfamiliar place - or maybe it's just because I always find it hard to sleep unless it's in my own bed. I promise, I'm not complaining! I'm really happy to be here and seeing all this culture. It's just, I'm a spoiled American with a really comfortable bed (sigh). OH, and cute dogs.