The green heart of Austria: Styria…

No , I have not been to Styria yet, nor did I know about it till now. But I was lucky have a glimpse of their folk culture and music, food and wine , in Munich. I like to roam around a city while staying there, and got this nice audiovisual treat.

So one fine morning, I took U-Bahn  from Garching to Munich city centre. I get out of the metro and took the escalator which eventually led me to an exit towards Rosenstraße and I saw people preparing for a folk festival.

I met a girl from Austria who is studying agriculture and came to sell some cheese during her vacation. What a nice way to spend holidays ! She  explained me about the fest and  helped me with cheese tasting.  Me being a cheese lover , it was a real nice experience.
Styrian Cheese is a hard cooking cheese, from which mature, low-fat cottage cheese with spicy flavour is made by adding  Caraway, pepper, table salt, emulsifying salts and milk.   It is particularly good with a slice of toast from the wood-fired stove, but I did not mind eating it on its own. The traditional manufacturing process is still carried out by hand. After the cheese matures for three weeks, it acquires a typical, lumpy-crumbly consistency,with an unique flavour.

The real treat was the music though!

Styrian music is collection of  numerous folk songs, ballads and traditional alpine songs that have been compiled by famous folklorists and collectors. But the musical instruments are also worth seeing. “Amongst the most commonly played instruments are the diatonic button accordion (also known as the “Steirische” (“Styrian”), the “Harmonie” (“harmony”), or, in Auseerland, the “Rumpl”), the clarinet, the trombone, the violin, the viola, the double bass, the trumpet, the flugelhorn, the tenor horn, the zither, the dulcimer and the guitar.”

They have love songs and yodels, folk ballads, songs of the mountain pastures, of workers and craftsmen, lullabies and Christmas carols as well as humorous and satirical songs and drinking songs. But in later part of 80’s, the influence of several composers paved the way for “das neue Steirerlied” or new styrian music.

   

With time, new technologies has come, but styrians have retained their culture and used the technology  to spread the folk music.  The best thing I liked about the music is the rhythm and vibrance . Even if you are in a low mood, it will instantly elevate your mood and encourage you to go back to the flow of life.

They brought many leaflets and posters to show their beautiful land, which is rich in culture and has breath-taking natural beauty. There are numerous hiking & biking trails through Alps, skiing and golfing, lakes and valleys, wildlife, rich culinary experiences and  awesome wines, fruits and pumpkins 🙂 I am adding Styria and the Apfelland in my bucket list.. I think you should do too 😀

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