Green city, conscious attitude

Hello all!

Today I'm gonna share with you my first impressions about Graz after I arrived at Hauptbahnhof. After some long but also stunning hours of train voyage, I arrived at Graz on a sunny Sunday afternoon. After the very first moments I came up with two statements:

1. Every shop is closed on Sundays, except some fast-foods and supermarkets around the train station.
2. There are more bicycles and bicycle parking places than cars or car parking zones.

Well, the first idea is familiar to me, because in Hungary there was a period when the Governement ordered all the shops and malls to be closed on Sundays. Sometimes I hated this idea (when I realized that I'm out of my favourite cornflakes), but at a point I was in my tolerant mood and tried to find some logic in trying to promovate quality weekend time spent in family and avoiding work and spending money on that day.

The second idea is the best ever. Okay, if I exaggerated let's make a small correction: 'I have never been to any other place in the world with as much bikes, bicycle paths and bikers as Graz'. If you come to Graz, necessarily bring your bike too, or rent one. And an extra supplemental information for this chapter: Graz is a big recycler city, with tons of solar panels and enormously strong selective waste separation mentality. Thumbs up for a green city!

On the other hand, let's say a few words about public transportation. Very logical, comfortable and punctual. One thing to keep in mind: Jakominiplatz is the main transfer point. That's all, if you remember this, you won't get lost. Jakominiplatz is in the heart of the city, surrounded by shopping centres, chocolate manufacture shops, Gyros, Asian food, McDonald's, bakeries, bio shops and other goodnesses. No car trafic is allowed on this square, only public transportation, of course bikes and pedestrians. There's no place that can't be reached from Jakomini.

Trams rock, they are eco-friendly, and even the buses are low-emission. Every bus is green, and even if the bus stops are a bit chaotic, because many buses don't stop on Jakominiplatz, no worries: there are maps and detailed bus routes posted at every bus stop. Furthermore, every bus is suitable for people with wheelchairs as well! A Monatskarte (1 month pass), which allows you to use every mean of public transportation in Graz, costs 47 euros, but there are other opportunities (1 week card, 24 hour card, 6 months card) as well, so you can choose from more options. For more information, check their website.

Before ending my story, an extremely important idea. My tip for people who come from cultures in which being late is accepted: be careful in Graz, if you arrive at the bus stop at 08:38 a. m. instead of 08:37 a. m., keep calm, you already missed the bus and will have to wait for the next one. This is what people call European punctuality, or well-organized system.

Punctuality, punctuality, punctuality!

P. S. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I'm not a professional photographer.

Thank you for reading. Bis später! Dóra.

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