Description & Facts: On my last full day (May 7, 2008) in my home region of Styria my brother and I decided to go on a country driving tour. We took the A2 Highway and continued west past the provincial capital of Graz to the region of Western Styria. Our first stop was Schloss Stainz, a former monastery of Augustine monks with a history dating back to the 13th century. We continued on to the district capital of Deutschlandsberg, where we visited the Castle of Lonsperch, located on a rocky promontory over the River Lassnitz and providing a perfect vantage point to overlook the rolling vineyards of Western Styria. This entire area was first settled through the Late Neolithic, and the castle was first mentioned in local records in the 12th century. Our driving tour continued through the gently rolling hills of the Styrian Wine Route whose southern portion hugs the Slovenian border. Kitzeck, a quaint local village, is one of the highest altitude winegrowing villages in all of Europe. I had a chance to climb the 6-story lookout tower called Kreuzbergwarte and got a perfect 360 degree of the picturesque countryside. We also stopped at the historic Castle of Seggau, a 12th century castle that has been turned into a spiffy seminar hotel. From here we drove to the historic border town of Bad Radkersburg, located on the River Mur which forms the boundary here between Austria and Slovenia. Bad Radkersburg is situated in an area of ancient volcanism, and abundant thermal springs have turned the area