Graz, Austria 格拉茨

June 18, 2022

Graz is Austria's second-largest city but is not as famous as Vienna and Salzburg in the tourist industry. As such, it has a lot fewer tourists. Last night, the city square was packed with young people drinking and chatting, and the music was loud and lively. Early this morning, we woke up to see a completely different scene. The last night's noisy open-air bars transformed into a farmer's market. If last night was the energetic world of the young generation, it was a paradise for the elderly this morning. Besides the fresh vegetables and fruit, the farmer's market also had butchers, seafood shops, bakeries, coffee and breakfast shops. After buying produce, the locals would have coffee and breakfast there and chat with their neighbors. We joined the locals and bought strawberries, cherries, and smoked meats at the market and then had our coffee and bread there. We always enjoyed a quiet morning in a foreign country and observed the locals doing their routines. There was also a flea market nearby at the square where the concert was held last night.

After breakfast, we started our sightseeing tour. We purchased the 24-hour Graz tourist card and planned to sweep through several tourist attractions. We started at the city center and then headed to Eggenberg Palace on the city's outskirts. The Eggenberg Palace was a private residence of the Eggenberg family and then the Herberstein family from 1460 to 1939, not an imperial or archbishop palace. In today's terms, it was a billionaire's mansion. We had a guided tour in English. The palace was constructed relying on the calendar as a basis. The four towers of the palace symbolize the four directions east, south, west, and north. The palace had 365 windows representing the number of days of the year. The 24 halls conveyed the 24 hours of the day. There were also paintings on the ceiling symbolizing each day, seven days a week. Although Eggenberg Palace was a 17th-century building from the outside, at the core of the palace, there was a square Gothic chapel built in 1470, and large portions of the building dated back to the late middle ages to the early modern era. The palace was expanded continuedly without completely destroying the old constructions. The palace was surrounded by a large beautiful garden where peacocks walked slowly and leisurely. It was the most worth seeing of all the attractions today.

We came back to the city center area and took the Schlossberg Funicular to Schlossberg Hill. Schlossberg was one of Graz's most famous attractions. It once served as a fortress to defend the city but was largely demolished by Napoleonic forces, except for the clock tower, which had stood on the Hill for hundreds of years and was a symbol of Graz. Schlossberg Hill was large and beautiful, with many minor tourist attractions, and it was the perfect place for the city view. We walked down the hill via a set of stairs that zig-zag on the slope of the Hill.

On the way to Schlossberg Hill, we also visited Kunsthaus Graz with the collection of Modern Arts, most of which we didn't appreciate. Nevertheless, the visit let us experience the other side of Graz's culture against the characteristics of the old town. We also stopped by Franciscan Church and Hauptplatz. Another cultural structure we wanted to see was the Murinsel, designed and constructed to celebrate the honor that Graz was designated the European Capital of Culture. The Murinsel is suspended over the river by two bridge walkways. It is a beautiful dome floating on the river. There was a café inside the dome. We enjoyed some cold local beer there and views of the river.

Back at our hotel, we had our dinner in the hotel's beautiful courtyard.

欧洲游第二十九天：格拉茨虽说是奥地利第二大城市，但其旅游知名度远低于维也那和萨尔茨堡。感觉游客并不多。今天大清早发现旅馆对面从昨天晚上满满的露天酒吧变成了农贸集市，完全是一个不同的景象。如果说昨晚是年轻人的世界，今早是老年人的天堂。农贸市场里有新鲜的蔬菜和水果，还有肉店，海鲜店，面包房，当地人买完菜后喝喝咖啡吃个早餐与街坊邻居们聊个天。生活也是同样的美好。

我们也兴冲冲地买了草莓🍓，樱桃🍒和烟熏肉，同时也在那里吃了早餐，咖啡☕️和面包。我们购买了24小时的Graz旅游卡，把几个重要的景点扫了一遍。从近郊的埃根博格宫殿开始，这也是今天所有景点中最值得看的。宫殿的四个塔楼象征着东南西北四个方向。宫殿有365扇窗象征着一年的天数。24间大厅则象征着一天的24个小时。天花板上还有画象征着一周7天的每一天。宫殿的四周是一大片公园，孔雀🦚慢悠悠地走来走去。今天看的另外几个景点包括现代美术馆，穆尔人工岛等都有些失望。还好最后为了看钟塔上了城堡山，上面不仅能眺望格拉茨城区，还有着格拉茨最漂亮的小花园。