[Translation: Greetings! I'm so very sorry. Lately I have had no time to blog. I have no excuse. Although, the temperature has been very hot (95'F-105'F) and I have no energy to do anything (and we have no A/C!). Either I do my homework, do Yoga with a friend, or lie on the floor. Thank you all for your understanding. AND thanks for your patience with my German. I know only a little German, but I want to use it!]
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And now, back to English and. . . to the beautiful region of Styria. This post concerns the city of Graz -- the capital of the green state of Steiermark. Unfortunately, we only had 1 day (well, not even a day) to explore the second largest city in Austria. Since we spent Saturday and Sunday frolicking around rural Styria, we had only until 4pm on Monday to run around the city before we needed to catch our train back to Vienna. We chose to stick to the Altstadt (Old Town) which is one of the best-preserved city centers in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its cultural and physical significance to the world.
The Graz Schloßberg Uhrturm (Clock Tower) and a view of the Old Town from the Grazer Schloßberg
A view down Herrengasse -- the main pedestrian street running through the Old Town
Sights of Graz
Der Stadtparkbrunnen -- Where we spent at least an hour sitting in the shade and then wading in the fountain. Don't worry, we weren't the only ones. Several Grazers were splashing around as well.
At the end of our day, we walked to the top Grazer Schloßberg (castle mountain) and relaxed at a mountaintop restaurant while enjoying the scenery and good birthday beer with very, very salty soft pretzels. My favorite! [The bottom right picture is a view up the mountain from the river below].
So, Styria. It's worth the visit. Plan to spend more than just a day in the city, though. One day is not enough time to roam through the Old Town, climb the Schloßberg, AND visit the Eggenberg Palace, Kunsthaus Graz, and Landeszeughaus. Had we had another day, we'd hit those super cool museums up for sure. Next time. We'll make a next time.
5 comments:
soooo pretty! Such a gorgeous place! Can't wait till you post pictures and WE are in them... Oh the places we will go!!!!! and the things we shall see!
I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying the heat. I love hot summers (I guess it's what I've gotten used to in Indiana) and I'm soaking it all up. I think it's about time we got this warmth, ha!
This place is so pretty! And you've got me craving pretzels now, ha! I've been meaning to make some and post them on my blog so maybe this is the kick I needed to do that!
It's amazing how much of a city you can see in such a short amount of time, isn't it? I was only in Prague and Vienna for a few hours each, but I saw SO much!
It's like a dream land. Really, as I look at your pictures, I can't believe they're featuring a real place, that you frolicked through nonetheless. A couple alleyways reminded me of Vienna.
Sehr gutes Schreiben auf Deutsch! Ich liebe dich, Fred a Si-Si.
i just scrolled through all your travel posts and wow! it looks like such a great adventure. so many gorgeous places, good food, and... well, your teeny tiny car is hilarious. :)
Wow, so beautiful! It's done--Carl, the girls and I need to visit Austria for sure. I love Vienna and my memorable bike ride, but I see I've just scratched the surface of Austria. Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos with us!!
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