‘I visited a beautiful European city and it reminded me of one English county’
EXCLUSIVE: Christopher Sharp spent 48 hours in Austria's second-largest city and made an interesting discovery.
I’ve never been to Austria, I’ve seen it on a map, I’ve read about it and know a little about some of the famous people who’ve come out of this famous European country.
However, until the opportunity came up to drive a product of Austria’s premier motorcycle and automotive brand KTM, I’d never had a reason to go. That all changed when I left my flat at 4am on a wet Wednesday morning last month.
What followed was a long journey involving a cab, train, plane, and coach to Austria’s second-largest city, and one of its cultural hubs, Graz in the heart of Styria.
With a population of around 300,000, depending on which statistics you choose, Graz is a similar size to the Welsh cities of Newport or Swansea in terms of the sheer number of people living there.
However, when I went for a walk on my first night, I couldn’t help but be a little struck by some unexpected reminders of Norfolk.
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It will sound slightly strange and I know the reasons have to do with globalisation, franchises, and businesses expanding into different markets.
Despite this, it was a little strange to see an original Mini Cooper parked next to a Spar a stones’ throw from a place selling Wild Bean coffee. I was fortunate to spend a lot of my summer holidays as a child in Norfolk and travelling through Suffolk.
Outside of those two counties, I couldn’t recall seeing as many branches of Spar and Wild Bean as I saw in Graz. It felt briefly like I’d stepped through a portal into North Norfolk.
However, it is here that any similarities between that English county and this large city end. Graz is one of the cultural hubs of Austria, filled as it is with interesting sights and sounds which I didn’t have enough time to see.
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That, I concede, makes me sound like a rubbish traveller and if I were to return I would make climbing to the top of the Schlossberg one of my top priorities for the view I’ve heard it provides.
I would also take in the Alstadt von Graz, the Uhrturm, Sporgasse, Hauptplatz as well as the Kunsthaus Graz. I would either tackle these individually or as part of a tour either on foot or by bicycle.
What I was able to experience at least was the city itself having an opportunity to walk around the areas closest to the River Mur that runs straight through the centre of this fascinating place.
As well as having a spectrum of architectural and historical options to choose from, Graz is also known for its fried chicken according to Austria's official travel portal.
Furthermore, Graz has received rave reviews on Tripadvisor from visitors who have spent a much longer and more focused time in the area than I. Reviewing the Scholssberg, user Jeffrey Koslowski said: "This is the go-to spot if you are in Graz.
"You get an excellent view of the city as a whole, there are fun ways to get both up and down, lots of sightseeing, and there is a nice Biergarten at the top of the berg."
The Alstadt von Graz also received praise. Visitor Phillygirlagain said: "You could really just stay in this neighbourhood the whole trip and be happy. There are lots of sites, bars, cafes, shops, and restaurants. I recommend getting a hotel here, so you’re in the heart of everything."
As well as later sampling some of the city’s culinary options I also took in some of its mechanical handy work in the form of the KTM X BOW GT XR, a supercar built in a bespoke factory in the south of the city.
