Around the World in Eighty Minutes*

*Disclaimer: If you are aged 14 to 18 and seeking a condensed version of the famed book Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, you’ve come to the wrong place. English teachers, rejoice: I’ll always recommend reading the whole book. 😉

In any case, it may have taken Verne’s character 80 days to traverse the world, but that was in 1873…this is the 21st century and I’m here to say it can be done in 80 minutes. At least, it can if you go where Issy and I did this weekend.

About two hours south of Judenburg is the town of Klagenfurt (which we visited once before, as described in Fantastic Lindwurms and where to find them). Last time we were there, it was a very slushy, very cold day in February. This time, we decided to take advantage of stunning 77 degree weather to explore a couple of outdoor attractions, one of which is called Minimundus and gives you access to 156 to-scale models of landmarks from all over the planet. So let’s start that clock…

01:00.00: 

Upon entering the park, we were greeted by lovely Lady Liberty, and while she may not have been welcoming us to America, the message was the same: come on into Minimundus, enjoy the diversity found here!

04:08.00:

Shortly thereafter, we entered the world of South Asia, standing before the majestic Taj Mahal.

08:54.00

Entonces, necesitaba usar mi español, because we were in Mexico, exploring the old Mayan ruins of Chichen Itzá.

31:00.00

By minute 31, it seemed as though I was traveling through space and time, because I got to see the Prague Town Hall two months early (in June, I’ll be taking a trip to Prague with my parents, so this was a nice preview).

43:15.00:

Next stop: Russia.

47:14.00-57:04.00:

 

We stayed in Europe for a while after that. One of the most notable things was that the Eiffel Tower model was actually built by some high school students at the local engineering school. Move over, Gustave, there are some new engineers in town!

74:53.00:

Just before leaving, we made it full circle by coming back to the US and embracing the stars we are at the Hollywood sign!

80:00:00:

And so ended our globetrotting across six continents. Though of course it would’ve been more impressive to go to everything in person, it was still really cool to see the details of each one replicated so intricately. Plus, because they were all on a 1.25 scale, you could compare the sizes of different landmarks really easily. It’s definitely a cool place to visit–and you don’t even have to leave Austria!

Overtime:

After our exploration of Minimundus, we took a short walk to one of Klagenfurt’s other bragging rights: the Wörthersee. Described by one of my colleagues as Austria’s most impressive body of water, the Wörthersee really was worth-a-see. We ate lunch outdoors with a great view of it, music filling the air and an Austrian sandwich dipped in spicy mustard filling our stomachs. Under the dazzling sunshine, the lake gleamed two different colors, inviting us to dip our feet in. We lounged nearby for a while after lunch and then waded ankle-deep before returning to the train station.

And so I leave you with a contemplative photo of me glancing out across the spectacular vista, and these words by Verne: “It seems that it is by no means useless to travel, if a man wants to see something new.” Or woman. Like I said, 21st century.

A Quest to See the Lindwurm

1 day. 2 Speaking Assistants. 3rd capital. 4th state. Welcome to the tale of my latest adventure: a trip to Klagenfurt with Issy!

Given that it had been a month since Issy and I had left Judenburg, the city of Klagenfurt provided the perfect opportunity to visit somewhere new, since it’s Austria’s sixth biggest city and only an hour and a half away on the train. As we approached the main train station, we entered into our fourth Austrian state and third Austrian state capital.

Upon arrival, our first task was, unsurprisingly, lunch. But after eating we took the opportunity to brave the large amounts of slush to wander around the city. The architecture was typically Austrian, the accents slightly more musical (and decipherable!) than in Styria, and the atmosphere logically somewhere between big city and small town Judenburg.

Our first stop–or so we had hoped–was the state museum, a beautiful building that we soon learned was closed for renovation. Instead, we turned our sights toward the main square, where we could gaze upon the symbol of the city: a giant stone fountain of a Lindwurm facing off with Hercules.

The Lindwurm is described in mythology as being a serpentine dragon-like creature, sometimes with wings and sometimes without. Though Klagenfurt’s Lindwurm does have wings, I suspect he hasn’t really flown anywhere since his construction in 1583. But it was still a cool thing to behold dusted with snow and surrounded by the town hall and tourist center. 

When we got nervous that the Lindwurm might breathe fire at us for staring at it too long, we turned away and explored some of Klagenfurt’s best shopping. The highlight of that for me was a cute little bookshop where I barely resisted purchasing something (ask Issy about her shopping highlight and you will hear a keen retelling of the discovery of two sweaters for only five Euros each). Then, before getting on the train back home, we did as the Austrians and stopped at a cafe for a bit of coffee.

Though it was a short trip, it was nice to get out of Judenburg and see another part of Austria. Next state on our list: Salzburg!

(Information about the date of the Lindwurm and its year of construction retrieved from Wikipedia)