House-swap letter

source: the questionable.com

Have you ever heard about house-swapping? As you may already guess the idea is to swap your house or flat with someone from another country. By doing this you won't have to pay a fortune for your holiday and you'll have the opportunity to experience the real lifestyle of a city (or at least of one of its inhabitants). In our English course we had to write a letter to someone we would swap house with and give him or her advice. This is what I wrote, or better what I should have written (it's already the corrected version... :-)):

Dear Karen, 

Thanks for your lovely letter in which you provided me with all the necessary information about your bungalow and the surrounding area. While reading it I got even more excited about our house swap and now I’m impatiently looking forward to it. There are just a couple of things I was not quite sure about and wanted to ask you. First, I was really pleased to read that we’re allowed to use your car, as this will make it much easier to get around on the island, but you also mentioned a special bus to go to Auckland. Did you recommend the bus since it takes much longer to get down there? As far as shopping is concerned, is there a farmer’s market or a supermarket offering fresh vegetables and fruits not too far away from your place? The reason for my question is that we‘d like to save money by not eating out too often and therefore fresh ingredients would be really great. Aside from that I don’t have any questions at the moment, so here’s the information you need in order to spend two beautiful weeks in Graz. 

As you already know from the description, we live in a comfortable, spacious three-bedroom house on the outskirts of Graz. Getting here from the main station is not difficult due to the excellent bus connection. There are two you need to remember: 63 and 68. Take the 63 from the station to the end (“St. Peter Schulzentrum”). Get off and take the 68 heading for “Lustbühel”. Don’t worry if you’re the only passengers as this is quite normal. After about ten minutes you need to get off at the stop called “Pachernweg” and from there it’s just a two minute walk down the main road until you reach our house. I have arranged to leave keys with our neighbor Hilde at number 65. She’s a very friendly elderly lady who will not hesitate to help you out if you need a hand. 

Once you get in and look around you’ll see a number of sticky notes on electronic devices in the kitchen and living room which will help you figure out how they work. The rest should be fairly self-explanatory but be warned, the washing machine is a bit temperamental. Just in case you need it, a good kick will often suffice to get it working again.

I’ll leave a casserole so you won’t have to cook after such a long journey. For the rest of your stay you definitely need to explore our wonderful garden. Besides places to relax or play with the kids we grow our own vegetables and fruits. In the lower end we have a little kitchen garden where you’ll find tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini and peas. We also have some fruits like cherries and apples, berries and different herbs. Feel free to eat and harvest whatever is ripe – what’s ours is also yours! Everything else you need can be either bought at the little supermarket in the village center or at the farmer’s market. I really recommend visiting this market because there you’ll get fresh vegetables as well as homemade bread and cakes In case you get bored with cooking and want to eat out at a traditional Austrian restaurant, you should definitely go to “Bergwirt” which is just a ten minute walk from our house. You and your family will certainly love the fried chicken which is the best in town! 

There are so many places worth visiting in Graz. First of all, you absolutely have to walk up the “Schlossberg”, the landmark of the city. It is a little mountain in the city center from which you can enjoy a marvelous view of the city while drinking coffee or eating ice cream. If you and your family are culturally interested, there are several museums in Graz. In my opinion you’re best off visiting the “Joanneum Quarter” or “Frida & Fred” a museum for kids. Due to its unique architecture the “Kunsthaus” is quite an impressive building but if you ask me, I wouldn’t bother visiting it. The modern art exhibitions are really special but maybe not the kind of exhibition your kids are looking for. Finally, if you just feel like taking it easy not too far from the house, I would give the petting zoo at “Lustbühel” a try. I can promise not only your kids will enjoy stroking the animals but you will also have a great time and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. 

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. If you’re still unsure about something, don’t hesitate to contact me! 

Best regards,

Sarah