Our trip in Austria was coming to an end and we needed to make our way back to the Vienna airport to fly back home. We basically did an entire loop around the country during our week long stay and were on the last leg of the trip, making our way back to where we came from.
It's always sad when a trip ends, but luckily for us, we still had one more stop to make on the way.
The city of Graz would be our last destination in Austria. It was 3 hours from Bad Gastein, where we were coming from, and 2 hours from Vienna so it was a good location to bridge the gap between the two cities. We stayed there one night before heading back to the airport.
After another long drive in our rental car we made it to the city by midday.
After such a long time spent in the car we needed to stretch our legs a bit so we went for a walk in the old town to check things out.
The day was a bit grey and dreary but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying ourselves.
We didn't have any sort of plan or destination in particular, we just walked around at our own pace and went wherever the wind and our feet took us.
First we headed up the Schlossberg (or Mountain Castle in English). It was essentially a small mountain located in the heart of the city and used to have a castle built upon it.
The castle wasn't there anymore from what I saw, but two historical buildings remain at top, the bell tower (Glockenturm) and the clock tower (Urhtum).
The former can be seen as soon as you arrive at the hilltop.
I'm always looking for places with a view and this one didn't disappoint in the slightest.
There were a few spots to look out but the best location seemed to be at the clock tower.
From up there we could see the historic district of the city in all of its glory, as well as some of the more modern section beyond.
That spot was very busy and it wasn't easy to get close to the outer wall but we were patient. Good views come to those who wait! I just wish that the day was nicer so that my photos would have turned out better.
While we were up there looking out we began to hear some strange and eerie noises coming from some undisclosed location.
It was impossible to identify what it was or where it was coming from so we just sort of ignored it for the time being.
After exploring the area above for a while we eventually went down a large stone staircase located on the side of the mountain cliff.
There the strange noise got a lot louder. They had an ominous tone about them that was somewhat unselltling. It sounded like an eerie gurgling and wailing beast. I could only describe it as some sort of water bound godzilla-like monster.
"What the hell is that sound? It must be coming from the art museum, maybe some bizarre installation or something?"
Going down the stairs I noticed a large gathering of people, maybe they knew what it was?
We walked down a little further, "Hey look! there's a man swimming in that fountain."
The guy was wearing some sort of waterproof microphone and was wailing and grunting and gurgling into it while flopping around in the water like a half dead fish.
It was quite the sensory experience to say the least. A lot of people gathered to watch his performance.
Its kind of nice that even as an adult, every once in a while, you can still be surprised when seeing something. It's not everyday that you see a grown man swimming in a city fountain. Unless you're from Graz maybe? Okay moving on...
The Hauptplatz was another interesting spot in the city and another location where many people were gathered.
It was the main square of the old town and the location of the city rathaus, or town hall in English.
It was a large open space where the city hosts its markets. It was lined with shops and restaurants and was bustling with people coming and going, hanging out and watching other art performances.
It was a good people watching location.
Another thing that I enjoyed in the city was the Murinsel (Island in the Mur).
It was a modern art bridge with a center island structure located in the middle of the Mur river that runs through the heart of the city.
There was a small bar in there selling drinks but we didn't stop to check it out, we just walked across the bridge and admired the architecture.
At some point during the day my wife and her parents went back to the hotel and I stayed out to explore more of the old town.
I just did my usual thing of walking around aimlessly, taking photos of anything that I thought was cool.
The old town was quite nice with a lot of neat little areas and neighborhoods. Each had its own sort of character and charm.
I always pop into a church or two that I see along the way in my travels.
A church is a church right? They can be pretty boring after a while when you see so many of them.
But then again, they always have some really impressive architecture and each country does tend to build them a little differently, so each tends to have its own subtle differences about them.
For instance, the Cathedral in Graz had a really nice fresco on the interior ceiling.
The white ceiling with the painted murals is quite a bit different than what you would generally see in France.
Coming to the end of my walk alone, I found a tunnel that lead through the mountain that I believe was once a munitions caché, probably during WWI and/or II.
The staircase inside brought me back up to the top of the mountain where we started our journey.
That was the end of our visit to the city of Graz and to the country of Austria. The next day we drove back to Vienna and took a plane home to France where we were living at the time (this was back in year 2020). Graz wasn't my favorite location to visit in the country but we certainly enjoyed it and it happened to be in a good location to stop at for the last leg of our trip.