PPS Destinations Report 

Styria, Austria and Bensheim Germany

Date:         July 3 - 10, 2004

Speakers and Topics:   

Dr. Gerwin Arneztl; Today's Machinable Ceramics and Their Uses, Graz Austria.

Dr. Walther Wegsheider; An Overview of Current Trends in Implantology, Graz, Austria

Mr. Erich Bangert and Mr. Roddy Macleod; Sirona Tour and overview of the Cerec System; Bensheim, Germany.

 Reported by Ernst 'Ernie' Schmidt

Before the trip officially began in Austria, 7 of us met in Frankfurt, Germany in order to travel the short distance to Bensheim to visit the Sirona factory.  This was a two-day barrage of information as well as fantastic hospitality.  In between the hospitality at some of the local restaurants (featuring many of the local wines of course), we were treated to a morning tour of the entire operations.  Unfortunately, we were not able to photograph within the plant, however, I can tell you that the operations were of an impressive scale.  In the afternoon,  our two hosts, Erich Bangert and Roddy Macleod, treated the group to an overview of the cerec system.  After a brief introduction, each of us were allowed to play and mill out our very own cerec restorations.

From Bensheim/Frankfurt, our small group met with others at the airport and finally traveled on to our final destination, Burg Deutschlandsberg, a 12th century castle, in the south of the province of Styria, Austria.  Its really hard to imagine that a landscape already beautiful by any standards, could actually be complemented by the hand of man.  In fact, the landscape and surrounding architecture and gardens of the area were visually stunning throughout our entire stay.  Each day, we gathered back at the castle in order to enjoy the stunning views of the village below, surrounded by hillside vineyards.  During our week's stay, we managed to travel to Vienna and Riegersburg Castle as well have a full day at the University of Vienna.  In addition to lectures by Professors Arnetzl and Wegsheider, we were also given the privilege of touring the very modern dental school at the main state hospital.  In between, we kept every second day open for activities such as local travel, visiting the many picturesque villages, museums, historical landmarks, hiking in the local alps and fishing.  That's right, fishing!!!!!!  In fact, not only was the fishing as picturesque as the rest of the countryside, it was actually quite good.  The river was crystal clear with a light or weedy bottom.  Our group of seven fishermen, averaged at least 15-20 fish per day using caddis dry flies or weighted nymphs using a strike indicator.  Even more surprising are the fish and their size.  Three species of fish were caught; grayling, brown trout and rainbow trout.  My son, Stefan, managed to catch and almost-land a 4-5 pound rainbow trout in this thin water.  Other than that, fish averaged about 1 pound, some smaller and some larger.

One thing I should also mention, is that we visited the home and home-town of Austria's most famous son.  California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's home town is Thal and boasts one of the funkiest Catholic churches in the world.  Designed by a local abstract artist, this is a total departure from the normal tradition of church architecture.  All in all, I think the church is, in fact, a true piece of art and a marvel to see.

For the traveler wishing to visit Styria, Austria, expect to find it a highly civilized place, with trains and schedules running on time and everyone friendly and glad to see you.  On top of that, a place surrounded by vineyards can't be all that bad.  One of the frustrations experienced by most was simply paying your bill.  It appears, that most smaller institutions and restaurants do not take Visa.  The traveler must always travel with a pocket full of cash or go to larger tourist areas where Visa is taken.  This is one place however, where Mastercard is preferred to Visa in a ratio of 10:1. Next time, I will get a Mastercard just for this trip!

Here are some photos of our trip.  Just click on the thumbnails in order to enlarge the photos.  Hit the back button in order to return to this page.

For travel in the land where storks still nest on the people's chimneys and where hiking in the alps comes with a haunting sense of Julie Andrews singing 'The Sound of Music', here are some useful links.

Austrian Outdoor Sports; Contact Stefan Haider for fishing in Styria and surrounding provinces

Burghotel Deutschlandsberg; For those who always wanted to stay in a castle.

If you have any questions regarding this destination, please feel free to email me at pps@shaw.ca.