Final countdown, or checking my bucket list for the last time

Hello all!

It’s almost midnight, and just a few days remained of my Erasmus summer practice in Graz. These last days I’m going to live at maximum, experiencing as much as I still can, regardless tiredness, lack of sleep, time, money or any other kind of obstacles. No excuses. I can say that I find Graz an absolutely livable city. If I could continue living my life here starting with tomorrow, I’d surely stay without hesitation. The whole journey is/was unexpectedly good. The surroundings and the whole image of the city amazed me, and it still lefts me without words anytime I get on the tram and take a tour of the city. Work quality and the atmosphere at my place of internship is also the best I could ever experience. The fact that I got close to my colleagues at the ambulatorium and my mates from the dorm is another thing I appreciate and feel thankful about. After getting back to Budapest I will definitely miss the long runs in Leechwald forest, my tiny dorm room, Jakominiplatz with its gorgeous street food opportunities, the kornspitz (my everyday breakfast) from Hubert Auer Bakery, getting up early and seeing every day the same faces on the bus at 6:30, the bird tweets from outside, listening the chime from the chapel close to the dorm, talking with Bosnians in the kitchen, sunbathing on the rooftop, and I will definitely miss the free conversations with people and with myself as well. These weeks were perfect for setting up new goals, and creating new future plans, meeting new interesting points of view, which influenced me and oriented me in different directions. I feel like I’m more than I was before this journey.

But before I start to feel totally depressed due to the fact that I’m leaving soon, I’d share with you what happened to me this weekend. There was an open-air silent disco in Stadtpark, where one of my colleagues joined me. Silentdisco is the webpage with the latest news referring to Austrian silent parties. These events are held in many big Austrian cities: Vienna, Innsbruck, etc. In Graz the venue was at Stadtpark, the perfect environment for an open-air party. Parties are always different, depending on guests, style of music, the characteristics of the place. Full of students and with good mood and smiling people, the atmosphere was extraordinary at Stadtpark. No strange people, no kids, but everyone seemed an average local or Erasmus student, maybe a couple of simple tourists and some 30-35+ years old people as well. Many people came with their dogs, skateboards, or by roller skates at this open-air event. It felt more like a festival, not an average party. There were two kind of music: retro and rock hits (Abba, Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, ACDC, etc. ) and new music (Major Lazer, Adele, Sia, etc. ). On our headsets there was a button for switching between stations, and one for volume as well. The entrance fee was a bit expensive, 9 euros, however, it was worth it.

The silent party was fun. Watching people dancing, without any backgroung music was very entertaining. Also the way hundreds of people sang without accompanied by music was funny and awkward. Walking then home at night was refreshing and felt good.

(The view from Kunsthaus).

Next day: Saturday, free day, time to watch, experience, taste something new as always. I got up and prepared myself for going to the old town. I wanted to visit Kunsthaus Graz, the Modern Art Museum. The building’s alternative name is ‘the friendly alien’, because it’s design is similar to a giant friendly blue alien. It has eyes, and little 'tentacles'. Unfortunately there were no available exhibitions then, but I had the chance to use the lift and go up on the 4th floor, and enjoy the panorama of Graz, including Schlossberg and the Clock Tower.

Kunsthaus is a futuristic building, with metaphysical and lot of abstract motives. The whole building is in fact a piece of art, regardless the exhibitions inside of it. For me it was a breathtaking journey, I hadn't been in a building with such an interesting design. There are short films and presentations for tourists about the structure, history and function of the building.

When I finished my little trip, I continued my way towards Hauptplatz (Main Square), where I was so pleasantly surprised that there were hammocks, sofas and armchairs all over the square. I've never ever seen any main square of a European city or capital, covered by hammocks, in which people can chill. There was actually an event, and I absolutely support this idea. People could sit or lie down to relax, and there were several bookshelves from where they could take any book and read it. After they finished they just had to put it back, and then someone else came in their place. Reading is awesome in a hammock at the Main Square!

I entered a New Yorker store to try some traditional Austrian clothes, ‘dirndl’ dresses. This was on my bucket-list, but I didn’t think about buying any of them, because they are not compatible with my personality. Still, it was a funny experience. I see everyday people in Graz dressing up traditional clothes, because they want to remain close to their origins and traditions, and it’s also very amusing to go on the streets like that. I’ve spoken with some boys in the dorm, and they told me, that these dirndls make girls looking irresistibly sexy. So, if you feel comfortable, don’t be ashamed to wear it on every kind of occasion.

Food part was next. Martin Auer and Hubert Auer, Kern and Sorger are very famous and high-quality bakeries in Styria. I’ve been in each of them, and was satisfied with their products. Martin and Hubert Auer are the best bakeries in the city with tasty, healthy, bio, traditional products, but also a lot of innovative and creative ideas. Compared to other bakeries in Hungary and Romania, the Auer bakeries are different, because in some stores they offer warm-food, drinks and desserts as well. Pumpkin soup, salads, lasagna, vegan omlettes, chili con carne, polenta with stew, goulash soup and many more. My favorite dish here was the omelette-‘cheesecake’, which is a low-carb food, ideal for those who love food, but want to eat healthy or lose some weight. This food looks like a tasty cheesecake, but inside there’s no mascarpone or cream-cheese, but egg.

So the dough is made of egg, perfect protein source. Then they put in this egg different ingredients: paprika, salami, cottage-cheese, mushrooms, cukkini, pineapple, pesto, tomato and voilá! It can all be put in the oven and that's all. Healthy, tasty, soft and succulent. The other bakery called Kern is lovely because it has a wide range of cakes and sweets. I tried a piece of Mozart cake, but I would’ve tried each sortiment, because all looked so tasty: the famous Sacher-cake, Linzer, coffee-mousse, apple and berry-pies. At Kern you can get various coffee sortiments and exotic ice-creams too, but be aware, they give huge portions, so if you can’t eat it all, don’t have remorses. Last, but not least, if you’re in love with bagel and sandwiches, Sorger is the perfect place for you.

This is a Mozart cake: with chocolate mousse and pistachio creme.

Oh, I almost forgot two other extremely good places for food. One of them is at Jakominiplatz, it's a Belgian pommes frites place, with delicious and crunchy chips (sweet-potatoes too). And the other one is called Nordsee, and it's a fish speciality place close to Hauptplatz. Fish soups, sandwiches, warm dishes, fried fish, salads with fish, raw fish, and a lot of delicious and interesting meals are served there.

On Sunday I wanted to get up early to visit a traditional ‘Flohmarkt’ (flea-market), a place where people can sell their clothes, shoes, antiquities, tools, electric devices, books or anything they desire to. This market was opened near Gösting, at Wienerstrasse, in Northern part of Graz. I noticed that it brought a lot of people together. Visitors were interested mostly about decoration objects and clothes. It was quite crowded. I think if you don’t want to buy a professional roller skate and you’re satisfied with second-hand quality, this place is perfect for you. I think buying a microwave, a lamp, toys, accessories and jewellery, tools for the garden or the house is a great business here. With clothes and shoes I would be precautious. Anyway, buying or selling something at a flea-market represents consciousness, because it means less waste thus it’s benefic for the environment.

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

Thanks for reading. Dóra.

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