Graz – Maribor (56)

On the sixth day after the arrival of our homeland in the Schengen zone, we set out on a journey to Graz. We also have an extended weekend. ⁇

Today we are in four, our pet, yorki unno, is on guard, in good hands with Aunt Zrinka.

The weather is pleasant, without precipitation, we leave Rijeka at 8:00. The journey from Kvarner takes 3.5 hours of pleasant driving. There are no traffic jams on the road.

Neither the ski, nor the ski box on the cars we meet has as much as we would expect. It's weird!

However, meteorologists say that there is no snow, real, this winter even on the famous ski resorts.

We drive cautiously across the Slovenian border, almost stopping. The ramps are up, the cottages are empty. Out of habit, a slight bow to the left, we're smiling at an invisible border guard. Thank you for missing out.

We bought a vignette for Slovenian motorways in advance, online (€15 for 7 days). Austrian (9,90 € for 10 days) we did not, due to the need to buy a lot of time in advance. But it's not a problem, because a stop at a gas station near the Austrian border is planned.

The debate on toll collection in Croatia is self-imposed, especially now that the ramps on the borders to the EU have been permanently erected. At the time of our journey, Minister Butković announces that a similar billing system will be implemented in Croatia on 01.01.2024. The living were so seen!

Day 1

Graz

We're coming as planned. We booked 2 nights with breakfast at the hotel Ibis budget. We park in the garage under the hotel. Iron bars in front of the reception let us know that it is too early to check-in, so we start immediately. Great starting position because we are in 15 minutes easy walk in the city center.

Schlossberg

The bridge over the Mura will first take us to Schlossberg, to Uhrturm-a, the main symbol of the city. We can also take an elevator and a funicular, but we choose the path on foot. The challenge of 260 zig-zag stairs is ahead of us. It's not tedious. Every so often there are benches, information boards, and the choice of paths to the top makes climbing more interesting.

We're about 20 minutes ahead of the clock. It dates back to the 14th century, and with its 3 bells and a wooden gallery it is the city's most famous attraction. Its specialty is also the “golden” hands, because the big one shows the hours and the smaller minutes.

Schlossberg offers a lot more. Cafes, restaurant, museum, fountains, parks. In the former prison today is the stage and auditorium.

We're looking at the whole city. Red roofs dominate with the height of uniform buildings, and Kunstmuseum stands out with its modern performance.

With an air temperature of +13oC, coffee and potato pie that travelled with us from home to this beautiful place, we enjoy the outdoors with a view of the city.

We're heading back to Schlossbergplatz.

The promenade along the Mura leads us to Kunsthaus and Murinsel. These today unavoidable sights of the city are a lasting memory of 2003 when Graz was the European Capital of Culture.

We can only hope that in ten years, both we and the guests of Kvarner will be in Rijeka EPK2020 story Look in the same way.

Hauptplatz

There are no crowds because today is also a non-working day here. The queue is just around the cottages offering food and drink. Someone's gonna put the sausage in a bun, and someone's gonna put the rice with the sauce in the microwave.

Unusually warm January adds a special touch to the centre of Graz, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. We enjoy eating from our feet with a view of the city hall, buildings of peculiar facades, and we also listen to where all the people around us are from.

Kunstmuseum

Museum building It's impressive. The ticket is 11 €, but we plan to visit another (po)some museum and buy a 17 € ticket package for “everything”. At that moment, we naively believed that “everything” was valid for literally all museums in Graz in the next 24 hours.

There are two exhibitions in the museum. Faking the Real – The Art of Enticement i Hito Steyerl - Animal Spirits.

The view from the glazed terrace to the surroundings is impressive. The annual ticket to the museums in Graz already makes sense of this place and the urge to come more often, just sit down and enjoy the view.

For a full experience, much more time should be devoted to the exposed. We ask ourselves why we don't visit exhibitions at home more often?

Murinsel

Attractive an artificial island on Mura with a café and a terrace. There is also a stage with an open-air auditorium, which we believe is particularly attractive in the summer. In winter, in addition to the attractive appearance from a distance, especially at night due to the illumination and pleasant crossing of the river, it does not awaken any special desire to linger for longer in its cold womb.

Cheers

The evening after a full day we spend with beer (offer even Karlovac!) and tea, in a cafe Cheers.

When paying in cash, poking around in change is misinterpreted by a nice waitress as avoiding manca, so we are kindly warned in good English “‘You know, we tip here in Austria!’”. A decent “type” is a day, and the unpleasant one made us laugh well.

Day 2

Breakfast is served already at 6:30, so we get up early so that during the day we can visit everything we have planned for the second day of stay.

Eggenberg Castle

It is located on the outskirts of the city, yet not so far from the hotel that we can not reach it on foot. Saturday morning is cold, but not too cold for a pleasant walk through the city without heavy traffic.

Castle was the residence of the powerful Eggenberg family, and today it houses state rooms and a museum. There are 365 outdoor windows (number of days in a year), 52 windows in 24 rooms (number of weeks in a year and hours in a day), and each floor has 31 rooms (number of days in a month). The castle is surrounded by a beautifully maintained park inhabited by a community of peacocks.

Unfortunately, the museum on site is closed until spring. When buying a united ticket, we did not mention this information, so we are slightly disappointed. ⁇

There is no place for anger because the time until which tickets are valid for “all” other museums in Graz flows relentlessly. That is why we are embarking on a vigorous journey to our next destination, on foot, because public transport would wait just as long as we need to walk to the Schlossberg Museum.

Schlossberg

This time we will take an elevator, transparent, through the rocks, from the foot of the hill to the top in 30 seconds for 2€/person!

Unfortunately, this museum is not in the the Ticket Package Which we bought. ⁇

Disappointed, even angry, we rush downhill on foot to some other museums. Even in the following, the Graz Museum of Local History (Sackstraße 18) can not enter without additional payment, but the entrance to it
is The Historical Museum (Museum für Geschichte) which is included in our group ticket.

Museum für Geschichte

The museum has two permanent exhibitions. The first, gray-white setup is dedicated to the period of Nazi rule in Styria. Sightseeing raises a whole host of difficult questions.

The second exhibition is a colourfully painted cultural and historical collection with more than 35,000 items used in the period from the earliest Middle Ages to the present day. There are musical instruments, furniture, scientific and technical devices, clothing and footwear, decorations and medals, locks, candlesticks and grave crosses. The exhibition also includes a multimedia collection of old records.

At the time of our visit, an exhibition dedicated to the History of Film and Cinema in Styria.

A daily ticket for several museums imposes a hellish rhythm of the tour, so we can't stay here any longer, and it would be worth it. We're hitting on.

Joanneumsviertel

CoSA - Center of Science Activities

We don't have much time to explore this issue more seriously. center intended for fun education on technology and science. It is designed for children and young people, but also the elderly who have not lost a child in themselves will enjoy here. The purpose of the visit is active participation and interaction, teamwork and learning through fun. We assembled the electric vehicle from the parts and drove it in a virtual environment.

Unfortunately, the entrance to the section dedicated to augmented reality is additionally paid, and time is no longer available, so we hit further satisfied with the seen.

Landeszeughaus

We are especially looking forward to this Museum. The building used to serve as an armory, and now on its 5 floors 32,000 pieces of historical weapons and machines are on display. But we can't enter because sightseeing is only allowed with guided groups. Too bad, we're late today, and tomorrow's appointment isn't in combination. We leave and look sadly at the soldier near the reception, but this may be an invitation and a good reason to come back to Graz. ⁇

It's time for some refreshment. There is a “storey house” nearby Kastner & Öhler with a cozy diner on the top floor, so we'll have a bite to eat. The place seems “IN”, but we caught a table and chairs with a view! After brunch, half an hour for shopping. ⁇

Burg and double staircase

We do not have time to explore, but we will climb a double spiral staircase consisting of two oppositely directed spiral stairs. They are connected upstairs, separated, and then reconnected on the next floor. The symbolism we find all around us, isn't it? ⁇

We still have the strength and time for a short walk and painting in front the Opera House built at the end of the 19th century, next to which is a contrasting contemporary sculpture “The Sword of Light“.

I am delighted and the Argos Building, at Burggasse 15, nicely integrated Modern architecture in a block of classic residential buildings.

African restaurant “Omoka”

Today we crossed a nice mileage, again blisters fired. ⁇ Fortunately, Restaurant Omoka We are close to the hotel.

The owner / waiter of Omok is an African-born man. He answers all sorts of questions with kindness and patience. As a faithful puppy, he is followed closely by an apprentice, also an African. You'd say he understands us, but merging more than three words of English is a challenge for him. When asked what “yam” is, “it is nice” answers, so he brings it from the kitchen with a race.

We order from everything little by little. Eat veggie pie, meat pie, fufu, moi moi, ephor, egusi. They instructed us to eat the main course with our hands, so we did. Dark Guinness, Fanta and red wine of Nigerian origin are drunk.

The African rhythm from the background changes in us closer tacts. A young boy, an Austrian, came to us, overheard where we were from. He boasted that he himself had Croatian origin. It's his birthday, so he treated us with schnapps.

On departure, the €10 tip leads Omoka to extase. Infidelity, hugging, greetings, experience extraordinary!

Day 3

We're in Graz at speed. Speedy Gonzales We visited all the famous sights in two days. We will return home immediately after breakfast with a plan to visit Maribor.

Maribor

We arrive after an hour and park the car in the immediate vicinity of the central town square. On Sundays parking is free of charge. Maribor has about 113,000 inhabitants, and due to the configuration of the terrain and the landscape of the trails, it is ideal for cycling.

The city is photogenic. On the town square and in its immediate vicinity there are a dozen locations where photography is mandatory. Christmas decorations are still in the square. Around us charming colorful facades, the surrounding streets invite for sightseeing. It's all a lot of little shops. The city center is a shopping oasis of vintage style that is constantly trying to suppress the modern “malls”.

City park “Three ponds”

This is an oasis of long, well-kept promenades around the lake. We walked around and came to the nearby Teapot. Pleasant place to hang out and have a quiet conversation. We order teas, female part will wonder woman and detox, male enjoy the healing properties of hemp.

The opposite is Museum of National Liberation. It is closed on Sundays, but on the fences we witness a traveling the Poster Exhibition dedicated to tolerance.

The old trta

We descended to the Drava River along which the promenade is arranged. In front of the ‘Hiše stari trta’ (old vine house), there is the oldest vine in the world, also inscribed in the the Guinness Book records.

We were conquered by Maribor, the European Capital of Culture 2012, which will become even more attractive by decorating the promenade along the Drava. We have to say goodbye, but with the desire to come back.

The road home calls for descent from the E57 motorway near the signpost “Trojane”. Generation 50+ loves sweet He knows why he has to do it.

Gostilna pri Marti, Pivka

Ours last stop point on this road. We arrive at the last minute, almost close to closing. We have no choice, so we order the daily menu together: mushroom soup (excellent), meat with side dish (correct) and crushed (dry) pancake with ice cream (so-so).