Experience in Graz, Austria by Dóra

What is like to live in Graz? Would You recommend it? What is the city like?

Hello all! Life in Graz in some key-words is logical, silent, peaceful, harmonical, comfortable, healthy and beautiful. Living in Graz automatically assumes a better/higher life-quality (mostly for those people who come from Eastern- or Southern-Europe). I would recommend trying Graz, because it's a very well-developed, discrete European city where due to the fact that people can live in good conditions, I guess the rate of happiness is bigger than in many other cities. The weather in Graz is great (in Summer), it's dry, warm, mediterranean, but still not unbearably hot thanks to the surrounding mountains and several refreshing and shady parks and forests. Winters are snowy.

The city has a gorgeous old-town region with story-teller, majestic buildings, pubs, cobble-stone. Graz is divided into 2 parts by river Mur, and I prefer more the Schlossberg part rather than the Railway Station half. Big houses, beautiful gardens, beer gardens, bike paths, spruce little stores and cleanliness, people walking beautiful big dogs and wearing traditional clothes on the streets (for more, read Final countown or checking my bucket list for the last time). Of course there are few homeless people and some factors which do not fit into the uniform image of the city, but all in all, Graz is a very elegant, modest, beautifully ornamented and architecturally various city. Totally different than Budapest. Eco-friendly place (Green city conscious attitude).

Comparing with Budapest, I would say Graz is more organized, more civilized, more peaceful, more developed, but less exotic and energic, providing less adventure, and excitement. Which is not a negative thing though. For example for me after spending 4 years (during my Bachelor) in buzzing Budapest, coming to Graz was a relief. And in my further life I could imagine myself living here in harmony.

What is the student lifestyle like in Graz?

Karl-Franzens University, Medical Universitiy Graz, Technical Uni and the University of Performing Arts are the most popular universities in Graz. Even though I spent only a 2 month Summer Erasmus practice here (when students were on holiday and the city was almost empty), I met some students in the dorm and in the city and I had the chance to gain insight real student life though. Budapest has a bigger population, more universities and more facilities for students. Graz lays on a smaller territory, has smaller campuses, and less students. In conclusion, however student life is student life everywhere in the World, and Graz has everything students may dream of. It is the second biggest city in Austria.

Although I hadn't studied at a Uni (I just had an internship in Graz) my mates told me, studying here is good, there are great research opportunities, people can practice their profession paralelly with studying, there are several student-jobs, part-time works, and jobs at universities as assistants, so professional life is not boring at all.

In private life of course there are a lot of things to experience as well: discovering the city, going on trips in the mountains, visiting other famous and beautiful Austrian cities like Linz, Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck. Every friday and saturday there are parties in the city (even during Summer) and I'm 100% sure, that everybody can find the best place for having fun.

Student life's extra advantage is, that in Graz there are very often language courses (not only german, but many other too), being a perfect environment for practicing and meeting new people.

If someone searches for adventure and excitement it can definitely find it in Graz, but maybe not as easy as for example in Budapest (for more read my experience in Budapest: Erasmus experience). All in all, in Graz You can experience a lot, and You will love it!

How much does it cost to live in Graz?

It depends on where do You live (which district), how much do You have to travel to Your uni or workplace, if You're renting an appartment, or living in a dorm, if You are living alone or sharing home with flatmates or roommates, if You're eating any kind of food, or You have food allergies or intollerance, what Your hobbies are, how much do You afford Yourself to spend on cultural, entertaining, outdoor activities or parties etc. But I will do a short calculation below.

Living in a dorm costs more or less than 300 EUR/month, while choosing to live in a flat costs 450-600 EUR/month.

A monthly pass for public transportation costs circa 50 EUR/month (but students have a great discount, if they buy a 6 month pass or a year pass, it's cheap), and food is at least 10-15 EUR/day, that makes 400 EUR per month. If You want to visit places, try new things, experience nightlife, entertain Yourself and do sport, and other hobbies You should count 100 EUR/month more. All in all 800-1000 EUR/month for a comfortable life.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Graz? Is there any advice you can give?

Dorms can be easy to find, for me it took only 1 week, and I got accomodation at VAÖ (You can read a post about it written by me: King of the dorms) I would recommend dorms rather than flats and apartments, because they are very comfortable, modern, they have a nice design, and lot of opportunities: rooftop, barbecue area, sport court, gym and of course, community. For those who would like to live alone, You can have Your own single room (with shared on non-shared bathroom), or 2 bedded rooms as well. In my dorm there is cleaning-staff, so if someone doesn't love to clean the kitchen or bathroom, they do the job. Furthermore, free wifi is everywhere. There is laundry room, 'living rooms' with books, Tv, sofa and study-rooms.

Furthermore, living in a dorm has the advantage of being in centre of attention, getting to know other students, new cultures, You can receive help, if You have a problem. The price for a month in a dorm is much more less than a flat. Many dorms have fitness rooms, saunas, sport fields, gardens, rooftops, barbecue places so this is another advantage. But living in a dorm haves negative aspects as well: You always have to adapt to others, maybe wait some minutes till the oven it's free and the previous resident finished baking his food and so on. But there's higher community fever. ATTENTION! The application period for dorms is at the end of Spring!

Google the following dorms for more: Johannes-Kepler House, VAÖ, ÖJAB House, Home4students Neutorgasse, Akademikerhilfe Studentinnenheim, Friedrich Schiller dorm, Kolpinghaus dorm, WIST dorm.

If You'd like to rent a flat or apartment, than I advise You to go to Rechbauerstraße, where You'll find an office for students, called WohnungService which works on sharing flat and apartment advertisments, and will help You finding the best accommodation (SWS. OR.AT) for Yourself. Flats cost between 350-600 EUR/month. Renting an appartment has the advantage of being 100% free, on Your own, peaceful life, and You can do whatever You want. The disadvantage is that You're isolated from other people, and there's a tendency of interiorization. And of course it costs double-triple as much a dorm costs.

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If You’re spending just a few days in Graz take a look at Park Hostel, Romantik Hostel and A&O Hostel’s webpages and offers. Cheap nights, good staff.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Since I’m in Graz I tried to taste every food I was curious about, but still I can’t give such a detailed summary as in my Budapest experience, where I’ve been living for four years. In general in Graz there are lot of Turkish kebab-gyros-durum places, many salad and sandwich bars, places where pizza and pasta can be served. Furthermore warm meals and cooked dishes are available too. The city centre (Jakominiplatz and Hauptplatz) constitute a cavalcade of good-quality, multicultural, and various ingredients and foods. Cheap and complett menu with soup, main dish and salad or dessert. There are of course restaurants, but even at home I don’t eat there, because they are way too expensive for a student budget.

So as I already mentioned there is a huge fast-food culture in Graz: Mc Donald's and Subway the most famous ones, but of course a lot of authentic Turkish and other Arabic gyros, kebab, dürüm, pizza places. I recommend You two Gyros places (even though I’m not fan of it): one at Jakominiplatz at the left side of Takko store (here is the cheapest gyros in Graz – only 2, 50 EUR), and the other one is at Reiterkaserne bus station (the tastiest one in the city) and the place is called Mur Restaurant. Mur gyros staff prepares the pita right in front of the customer, and puts it in a big furnace, and bakes it freshly. The other ingredients like vegetables and meats are fresh as well. Very good quality.

Then there’s Grammophon, near the University of Performing Arts. The place where You meat a meal like Ukrainian and Slovakian Strapachka. The meal’s name is Pfandl. This rustic Pfandl can be served with bacon, sour-cream, cheese, garlic, meat and others. It's kind of a dumpling. Deliciously prepared with stew.

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La Pina pizzeria is the best Italian pizzeria in Graz. True Italian taste, many different sorts.

The tastiest desserts can be found at Hofbäckerei Eddeger-Tax pastry shop. This is an anthic and authentic confiture, dating from 1529. The oldest pastry shop I've ever entered in my life. Classical and delicious! Cakes, fruit-tarts, traditional Austrian sweets and coffee.

In the end I fortunately found Harrachgasse and Zinzendorfgasse’s cheap places, which are part of Uni-Viertel, the University area, frequented by students. Here I've seen finally healthy and traditional cheap menus, normal, home-made, healthy food. Soups and meat with garnish, pottage, sandwiches, wraps and juices.

Don't forget to taste the traditional Wiener Schnitzel. There's a Schnitzel bar on Jakominiplatz. Here it's not specific, but other restaurants serve currant jam with the meat. They complete each other extraordinary.

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If You're vegan, then You'll love Erde. Soya, seitan, tofu, hummus and many other, just take a look at the Speisekarte (Menu): CAFEERDE.COM. However, Erde is not the cheapest restaurant in the city, but I won't question its quality.

Bakery and something more. Bakeries are real treasures in Graz. Best bakeries in the World: 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 (HUBERT-AUER.AT, MARTINAUER.AT ) with tasty, healthy, bio, traditional products, but also a lot of innovative and creative ideas. Comparing with other bakeries in Hungary and Romania, the Auer bakeries are different, because in some stores they offer warm-food, drinks and desserts as well. Pumpkinsoup, salads, lasagna, vegan omlettes, chili con carne, polenta with stew, goulash soup and many more. My favorit dish here was the omlette-‘cheesecake’, which is a low-carb food, ideal for those who love their stomach, but want to eat healthy or loose some weight. This food looks like a tasty cheese-cake, but inside there’s no mascarpone or cream-cheese, but egg.

So the dough is made of egg, perfect protein source. Than they put in this egg different ingredients: paprika, salami, cottage-cheese, mushrooms, cukkini, pineapple, pesto, tomatoand voilá!, it can all be put in the owen 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, 'cause all looked so tasty: the famous Sacher-cake, Linzer, coffee-mousse, apple and berry-pies. At Kern You can serve 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.

Fish and Belgian food's next. O, 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.

Also SPAR and Billa supermarkets have a wide range of tasty and cheap snacks. However they are not like home-made, warm food, but salads, nudelns, ready-made tortellini, chicken breast with mozzarella eggs and salad in a box, tunfish wraps and other tasty things. For me they don’t replace warm food and soups, but sometimes, when I quickly need to buy something, also this kind of food passes.

From the market square from Kaiser Josef Platz You can buy fresh, natural and bio vegetables, eggs, fruits meats and dairy-products from farmers.

What places would you recommend visiting in Graz?

• Schloss Eggenberg (Eggenberg Castle)
• Schloßberg

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• Uhrturn (Clock Tower)
• Island on Mur
• Kunsthaus (House of Art)

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• Mariatrost Bazilika
• Hauptplatz (Main Square)
• Congress Hall
• Operahouse
• Uni Graz and Uni Viertel (that region of Graz, which is most frequented by students with pubs, restaurants, clubs)
• Stadtpark
• Städtischer Augarten
• Hilmteich Bothanical Garden
• Marghareten Bad Schwimmbad (pool)
• Thalersee
• Copacabana Graz
• Grüner See (Green Lake)
• Schwarzer See (Black Lake)
• Leechwald forest
• Flohmarkt (traditional flea-markets where You can buy or sell anything)
• Gösting

Is the nightlife good in Graz? Where is good to go?

Well, to be honest I haven’t discovered yet the nightlife in Graz. But still have time for it, right? Although, there's Summertime and Uni life starts only from October.

I’ve just been once at Fledermaus Club in Puntigam which was definitely not my style. 6 EUR entrance fee (which I consider a quite high amount of money and in exchange for it You don't receive the quality You expect), and then no air conditioning, no airing, bad music, and lot of smoke (it’s allowed to smoke inside). 3 places with 3 different music styles: hip-hop and r&b, steier and retro hits, and the last one mixes actual, modern hits from the radio. Many refugees and drunk people, there You shouldn’t dream about establishing an intellectual conversation with anyone, because it’s impossible. The DJ’s were quite old, approximately between 35-40 years, so No, No, No!

Next experience: an open-air silent disco in Stadtpark. SILENTDISCO.AT 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+ 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 EUR, however, it was worth it.

Aufsteirern Festival is a national traditional festival just like Oktoberfest. It's an open-air festival in the city centre where people dress-up in the traditional costumes, there's lot of beer, authentic food, live music and dance. The sad fact is, that it's held only one time in a year. Oktoberfest is another big boom in the year. It actually originates from Germany, but it's celebrated in Styria too. In September. There's good mood, sausages, smoked meat, dumplings, knedles and good dark beers. Live music and tons of people dancing dressed-up in traditional leather clothes.

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

Thank You for reading, Dóra

(If You're interested about more writings of mine, click here)