Graz: I reached Graz in the evening after a beautiful train ride from Vienna through the mountains. Jetlag had taken it’s toll and I really needed a 12 hour sleep when I go there. I stayed at the A&O Hotel close to the Hauptbahnhof, a very convenient location, and right in front of a tram station.
On the first morning, I went for a breakfast with a friend( who lives close to Graz) . She took me to Sucgar cafe in the old city, very close to the Rathaus. The weather had suddenly turned grey and rainy(and this lasted throughout my trip) , so it felt nice to be tucked inside a warm cafe. Breakfast was very Austrian, muesli with curd and fruits.
Muesli at the Sucgar cafe.
At the Sucgar cafe, near the Rathaus.
The next 4 days were spent at my workplace, but I made it a point to utilize every evening in the town. The old town was extremely interesting, the buildings were quite different than say Munich or Vienna( which I saw later). The views from the top of the Schlossberg were quite phenomenal, the modern architecture too was noteworthy, the ship-river restaurant in the river was quite a piece of work(in a positive sense). The gray,rainy weather made it kind of nice, it brought out all the colors. The squares were always filled with activity, and there was plenty of falafel, gelato and (free, advertising) “bio milk” was to be had. The daily farmer’s markets close to where I was working were great too. And surprisingly, Graz wasn’t too expensive, 1.2 EU for a gelato, 2.5 EU for a falafel, bakeries and cafes were quite reasonable too. The farmers market was a hit!! There were so many varieties of berries, plus figs, plums, grapes.
The farmers market.
A church(kirche) at the Graz old town.
The old town of Graz seen from the Schlossberg.
At the Schlossberg, Graz.
View from the Schlossberg.
The Rathaus-Platz at night.
Graz streets at night.
At the farmers market in Graz.
Graz has many such parks
I got an opportunity to go the Rathaus(the City Parliament) of Graz, now that was quite something. It had to be grand(it’s the City Hall afterall), plus the views of the Rathaus Square were brilliant from the top. I also went with my hosts to a castle restaurant, Schloss Seggau about 40 minutes away from Graz. The castle’s on the top of a hill with gppd views of the countryside and villages and lakes around. You can even see Slovenia from here. The wine cellar was totally overwhelming, I really had no idea that a wine cellar could look that good, I doubt if many places would be able to beat this one in terms of atmosphere, the lighting, seating, the wine barrels were all very well arranged.
The countryside around Schloss Seggau
Schloss Seggau
The wine cellar at Schloss seggau
So the stay in Graz was a good one, Graz was a very neat, fine city, exactly what you would expect from a European city. And it’s no tourist city, I am really glad I got an opportunity to go to Graz, which probably I would’ve otherwise skipped.
ashwinbahulkar 