I decided we needed a rest stop on June 14, 2025, as we drove from Keszthely, Hungary, to Villach, Austria, to begin our week exploring Austria. I chose a walking tour in Graz, in southeastern Austria. Graz is Austria's second largest city, with a quaint, historic core.
As we waited for our tour guide on Graz's main plaza, I had the perfect lunch--a typical Austrian parfait of three scoops of ice cream covered with apricot sauce and whipped cream.
There was a terrorist attack in Graz the week before we arrived. The plaza was filled with votive candles, flowers, and notes commemorating the victims.
Dave and I realized, as we surveyed the square, that a wedding party had just emerged from the town hall.
Our guide was originally from China, although she had lived in Austria for twenty years. She often leads tours for Chinese tourists. It was interesting to hear, on our walking tour in Austria, comparisons to the architecture and culture of Beijing and Shanghai! We do live in a multicultural world.
Our guide pointed out a building built during the Renaissance and still in Renaissance style. Much of Austria, like Hungary, was rebuilt during the baroque age.
Graz, in southern Austria, has the feel of nearby Italy. Our condo in Villach, equally far south, was just fifty miles from the Italian border.
We wandered the quaint "old town" and visited the magnificent baroque cathedral.
The palace, linked to the cathedral by a private bridge, included a stone spiral staircase. The views upward were dizzying.
Our tour ended at the entrance to the cable car hoisting people to the "schloss," or castle, on top of the hill. We rode to the top, although we didn't take the circular slide from the top down--an adventure which created screams we could hear all the way to the schloss!
The views of Graz were spectacular.
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