Gracious Graz

After a splendid breakfast at the Inn, I took the bus into Graz for a tour of the city. It looked like a different place than it did the night before. Here is the armory, a museum of all the armour the army used during, um, "the wars"? I went inside, but didn't take the tour. Who wants to be inside on a day like this?

Glorious church...



This is the "entrance" to Herngasse, Graz's main street.



Majestic art seen along the way...

...and countless geranium-adorned windows ...

I took my own walking tour through the city. I started off at Landhaus Courtyard, just off Herngasse. It was spectacular. Again, fiddling with the panorama...

Saw some shoppe displays between streets. These little alleys were created so that people and soldiers could run quickly though areas without waiting for streets to turn down. Cute, right?



This area (I think) is called Herzghof. Then when I try to search this on Google to check and make sure I'm not mislabeling, I don't get any help. Anyway, nice fresco on a building, right? I think we can leave it at that ;) This might also be called Luegghaus (part one...two to follow)...





They must perform weddings at Town Hall...

In the same square, more stunning architecture...




Then, turning around in Town Hall Square...

I totally fell in love with the food shoppes along the way, down the narrow alleyways and side streets.

I saw a little repetition...




...and a little juxtaposition...



...and a little international cuisine.

The splendor that is Herngasse, the main street in Graz, was breathtaking...

Here, a photograph of a door for Laura. Since infrastructure and architecture are so important...?

LOVE the bikes...

I ordered a tea at this mobile coffee shoppe and was presented with this display. Only in Europe would a tea cost over four dollars and come looking so fabulous.

How embarrassed was this old boy when I asked if I could snap a pic of him? Quite. Nonetheless, he worked the pose. Loves it.

More along Herngasse...the fabulous Swarovski building, actually called Lueggahaus (part two)...

...fab street corners...

...adorable street performers...

Turning off the main drag, I headed down soooo many side streets to see the sights. This is called Hof des Deutschen Ritterordens. Not sure at ALL what that means, but there you have it :)





Saw a few more sights like this hidden treasure...

LOVE those geraniums :)

The traditional and the contemporary...

Overjoyed...

Adorable child exiting adorable children's shoppe...

Popped into a famous bakery...

...and took every opportunity to walk through open doors.

Then I found some church steps upon which to sit down a moment.

The cathedral was magnificent from all angles. This time, from the back...

I returned to the cathedral once I was done at Burggarten...

...and at the double spiral staircase in the Burg.

The art here is so neat. They find creative ways to showcase their work while still maintaining the integrity of the buildings around it (or under it, in this case)...

The fabulous Burggarten and Stadtpark...

What else?

Soon, I was back to the cathedral to see it from another angle.
The panorama angle...

...and the bench angle.

The not-at-all creepy mausoleum was a gem as well...

Across from the monastery of the cathedral...

After a fantastic polenta and sheep cheese on salat with black pumpkin seed oil, I was off and running again. I looped back through Glockenspiel and back through Mehlplatz and Farberplatz in daylight. It looked entirely different in the sunlight...

This is the bar we went to last night after the Sky Bar...

Fabulous paraphernalia from another time...

...and yet another view of the cathedral.

I'll have to put the rest of the day on a separate post, since the pictures weren't taken off my camera properly. Until I get get them all loaded though, I hope you enjoy these!