Graz

Day trips outside of Vienna are magical. The picturesque landscapes you view, by window or train, or almost comical in how stereotypically quaintly European they are. The intricately carved church rising from the centre of the plain village, the rolling slopes covered in hay bales or vineyards, all add up to beautiful views. Naturally, I have barely seen them under drooping eyelids as we had to arrive at WU very early to make it to Graz.

Graz! A better name would almost be “Second”. It is the second largest city in the second largest state boasting the second largest opera house in Austria, etc. The most obvious landmark for the city is Schloßberg, the castle mountain. The castle was never occupied, which means when an embarrassed Napolean forced an Austrian surrender he included a certain demolition in the conditions. The clock tower was never taken down, so overlooks the city and gives residents the time accurately to this day. (However, the size of the hands is reversed, as the hour was considered more important, and the longer arm is more visible.) I found out that Kepler lived in Graz, so had a great nerd-out when we passed by his old house. Yay physics!

We had a walking tour through the old city with a local guide. Things were pretty, history was had, and tired feet were made. We cheated and took the furnicular in the mountain to reach the castle ruins. (The mountain could serve as a hideaway in case of nuclear attacks, as such the little of the interior we viewed was impressive to say the least.) View of Graz! The building that induces a “one of these is not like the others” feeling is called The Friendly Alien, and is the city’s Art Museum. One of my favourite things when traveling so far has been finding the juxtaposition between the ancient and modern.

After our acquaintance with the city was formed, we loaded on the bus once more to a rural vineyard. A traditional meal was served, including some of the best cheeses I have consumed on this trip. As usual, we were running far ahead of schedule, so had time to walk out into the sunny field to munch on grapes we picked and nap. We tried five wines over the course of the evening tasting. However, the sturm I’d had with my meal was still the clear winner! Too bad the season ends soon.