Travel Austria: The Mountain Peaks of Eastern Styria

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http://tinyurl.com/ha7c8jq Hidden sale page at Ems - Eastern Mountain Sports After my early morning arrival in my home town of Weiz in eastern Austria and a few hours of sleep, my brother, sister-in-law and I took our first stroll through town on June 4, 2010. We sat down on one of the squares that is framed by a number of outdoor terraces where the locals congregate after shopping. Following a hearty lunch prepared by my brother, a consummate chef, he suggested that we drive up to the Sommeralm, a high-altitude mountain pasture region that is part of the biggest Alpine meadow system in Europe. The area is used as grazing lands for cows and steers which produce the region\'s popular Almenland beef. In addition, it is a popular hiking, skiing and recreational destination for visitors from near and far. Once we had reached the high-altitude plateau we hiked up further on the Hochlantsch mountain, which, at an altitude of 1722 metres above sea level, offers a phenomenal view of the surrounding Alpine mountain chains in the northern part of Styria. In the evening we went for an outing in the old part of Weiz where the city had organized an event called the \"Altstadtrennen\", a professional bicycle race through the old part of town. After 40 exciting laps through town the winner of the professional racers had been determined and an official trophy award celebrated the winners of the different events. The day was capped off with an outdoor festival and live music downtown.