59. Graz I
The contents of the following post are a brief summary of my stay in Graz from mid July until mid September. The rest of my stay until End of October will follow later.
The flight from NY brings me to Munich via London from where I board a train to Graz. Here I am picked up by Gabi, my ex-wife and mother of our 2 sons. She lives in Markt Hartmannsdorf, a quaint little village in Eastern Styria.
It's a perfect place to resettle back in Austria. Most of the days I am alone, as Gabi is taking a trip with her choir to Northern Italy to sing - among other places - in a Cathedral in Padua.
Having no flat of my one at the moment and not planning to have one for a while, some of my furniture is parked in this place. Gabi has a use for it and otherwise it would be sitting in the cellar of my old place in Graz. So it is close to coming home in a way.
I spend some very relaxing days here, enjoying the beautiful garden and the tranquil surroundings.
Back in Graz I can use the flat of a dear friend again - in a Street called Mozartgasse [what a place for a music loving Austrian] - which is a great support for me. I like the place [no pictures] and I like Maya, the cat [see picture farther below] which I am going to take care while being in Graz. Evelyn [picture in the middle], another dear friend, surprises me with a welcome picnic in the garden of Eggenberg Castle. We are having a good time with sandwiches, cakes and Prosecco.
Having some problems with my left knee, I am using the opportunity of the very good health care situation in Styria to see some specialists. One of them is practicing in a town called Deutschlandsberg. I wonder if my friend Barbara in San Diego will remember the place.
It is nice to be back in Graz. At the same time it is strange sometimes, like wondering "and now, what is coming next"? The trip around the world has been a big idea and a great fulfillment. Now, there is some emptiness. I decide to look at Graz as if it was the first time and I am just a traveler. I visit the Stadtpark, the Municipal Gardens, with the Styrian Panther, the Heraldic animal of Styria on the left and dear Maya, my cat, to contrast it on the right.
Usually one sees the major attractions in the city one lives when friends come to visit. Acting as a visitor, I have my first closer exposure with the Burg, the old castle which is now the home of the Styrian government.
Also, it is the first time that I have been inside the old gothic Cathedral which dates back to the 15th century. It's a shame in a way but I rather enjoy it.
A thing one cannot miss being in Graz is the famous Uhr turm [clock tower]. It sits on the Schlossberg, a hill in the middle of the city which once boasted a big fortress. It has been destroyed after the Napoleonic Wars since it could not be captured during battle. The tower dominates the city and the hill is a green oasis and a very nice place to walk around.
If a walk down from the Schlossberg, I do it thru Sporgasse [picture on left], one of the narrow shopping streets in the Old Town. There are some trendy shops, small restaurants and lots of nice old buildings. It ends at the Main Square with the town hall [no picture] and leads to Herrengasse [picture on right] which is the main shopping drag.
To be continued in a later post.