A day in Graz

After that amazing coffee, we had no problem waking up and being ready to walk the streets of Graz yet again...

The rain was still falling when we left Cafe Sacher but not as close as it did when we arrived. Unfortunately no snow as I had hoped for so I took my camera already knowing what our next destination will be. The one thing in Graz that you absolutely must not miss are bakeries. You'll find them everywhere you go, the old, the new, the ones with tradition. Most of them offer a great choice of pastry and cookies.





My favorite bakery is Sorger. It's really easy to find, just of Hauptplatz, up Sporgasse. They have a really amazing choice of sandwiches, pastry, bread, cookies and cakes. It won't be an easy choice because it all looks delicious. And it is! Our recommendations are Chocko-vanille hornetten, Mozart croissant or one of those integral rolls (try the one with cornflakes on top, crazy combination!). For you who don't know what Mozat filling is, it's the same as Mozat kugel, a small layered ball of chocolate, nougat, pistachio and marzipan. It's a traditional chocolate from Salzburg, where Mozart lived. If it's cold outside like it was when we visited, in the extension of the area is a place that looks like a cafe, where you can sit are eat what you bought in the bakery, order a cup of coffee and enjoy.

With no plans or agenda, except to take photos and have fun, we continued up the street discovering new places.Once you get a little further away from the center and the main shopping street, that's when you start discovering those special places that are worth the visit, and, in the end, that make the city special.





While travelling people have different eating habits. When i'm travelling somewhere just for a day, I either sit in a restaurant and eat lightly or take about half an hour to eat a little something later in the day. Delikatessen Frankowitsch is great place to know of for many different reasons. Especially if you don't eat in restaurants, like me, when you are travelling back and forth the same day. When you come in, you'll see on one side shelves with jams, honey, pates, bread, many different pickled vegetables and mushrooms, olives, sauces, etc. In front of it is a long refrigerator with all the cured meet and cutlet you can and cannot imagine, cheese, fresh salads and pates. On the other side you'll find different wines, champagne and beer. You can even pass into another area that is a buffet/bar where you can sit and order any of their products, including confectionery. Another reason to drop by is to buy some local produce to take home.

In the neighbourhood you can find some interesting design stores.One of them is Mur, with great interior design "goodies". This little place is a delight, you will want to come in as soon as you see their windows! By Mur is another store that sells similar things, but also decoration, notebooks etc. The other store I want to steer your attention to is nino d. If you like different, hip accessorize like bags and jewelry...hmmm...or if you are a fan of Etsy, you will want to find it.

Most of the squares in the center are Christmas markets and most of them aren't anything special, in fact, you can find anything and nothing really. But since most markets around Europe are the same way (except the big popular ones), it doesn't matter. At least not to me. What I enjoyed most were the colours of the Christmas Markets and photographing people walking around and looking at the stalls. There are some interesting handcrafts, from wood. Matea and I loved the little wooden spiral spoons, which were a decoration...but hey, that might as well be crazy from someone else's point of view. The only thing that you can't miss on Christmas Markets is the sweet, cinnamon like smell that spreads throughout the city.

It was already afternoon so we continued to explore the streets of Graz. Even so close to Christmas, there isn't much crowd, you can never feel the haste. The sequence of the old buildings is at times interrupted by new, modern architecture, the entrances and the passages alternate as you walk by. Try passing through one of them and look inside the courts to see how people live in the old part of Graz. It has a special air to it...

But I have to say, since I have been to Graz ...oh about 30 times I think, and explored it, some of the new suburbs, except being great examples of modern architecture characteristic for Graz, are calm places with splendid views of nearby hills.

Graz is small; you can walk around it and see everything on foot. The river Mur can be your orientation, it seams like you are always a few minutes away. Take a walk by the river Mur because amazing views of the city will open in front of you, the blend of the old and the new architecture.

There are a few places we always stop by, just to pick up some goodies. One of it is The Body Shop. It sells hand-made cosmetics, any girl will get lost in it for quite some time.




Then, Moser bookshop because it has a huge selection of magazines from all around Europe. The rest is mostly in German so don't get too excited.