All of us are in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars - take 2

Dear, dear readers,

Please forgive me, but the post you read today and yesterday was not in the form that I had intended to publish it and had to go and edit it. See, last night I uploaded some photos and asked hubby to save them while I went to bed. Well, he not only saved them but published the post as well, before I had added more photos and added captions to them. The text remains unchanged but the photos are as I had originally wished them to be. Please forgive me for this slight inconvenience.

TKS

I don't know if you've noticed, but very few people look up. I know that looking up can cause logistical complications (bumping and whatnot) but I've always been a great believer in looking up as often as logistically possible. For one, I've been a stargazer for as long as I can remember. I have very fond memories of how my mum and dad would spread a picnic blanket out on the lawn on warm, balmy nights during school holiday time and we would lie there, the three of us, gazing at the stars and chatting. They were happy, happy times. I even wanted to be an astronomer when I was school at one stage. But when I realised that astronomy was really just complicated mathematics, the profession lost its charm somewhat. Wasn't quite as romantic as I thought it was!

When it comes to not looking up, I get particularly annoyed when someone tells me "such and such a city is ugly" or "there's nothing to see in so and so city". I often ask myself - have they ever looked up? I went to Graz, Austria yesterday and did a lot of looking up, I can tell you. Now, this is fairly atypical for the average Croatian because to the average Croatian, Graz is merely a shopping city, nothing more. There's nothing to see there except display windows, it seems. Sad, but true, I was one of those typical Croatians not too long ago. Thank God I got over it because there was so much to see and photograph - especially when I looked one storey above ground level.

But I have to admit, I did lower my eyes every so often. Well, there were a couple of kitchenware stores that I just had to look at, now didn't I? I mean, I just had to buy a sugar themometer (I can never quite get my caramel to set just the way I want it to), and a fondue set (hey, I was born in the 70's!) and a silicone mould in the shape of a rose (yes, I admit, it was a frivolous buy, but it's soooo cute and will be the talk of the town when I make a cake in it).

As not everyone in blogland knows about Graz, here are a few facts from Wiki for ya before we get to the photos:

* Graz has existed since the Copper Age, its name coming from the Slovenian word "Gradec" meaning "small castle" or "small city".
* Graz is located to the south east of Austria and lies in Styria or Steiermark in German. Mark is an old German word indicating a large area of land used as a defensive border, in which the peasantry are taught how to organize and fight in the case of an invasion. Graz was often assaulted so the name seems relevant.
* The old town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. Being situated in a cultural borderland between Central Europe, Italy and the Balkan States, Graz absorbed various influences from the neighbouring regions and thus received its exceptional townscape. Today the old town consists of over 1000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to Contemporary.
* In addition, Graz was named "European Capital of Culture" in 2003. Some astounding buildings were constructed to celebrate this, particularly the Kunsthaus (you'll see a couple of photos below, but as they were taken at ground level, they're not that great).
* It is the second largest city in Austria, second only to Vienna, with a population of 290,000. Graz's most famous ex-inhabitant is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even has a soccer stadium is named after him...

And now for a few photos!

First, some shop signs:



My favourite cafe in Graz. Has the best Malakofftorte, second only to Demel in quality.



A pub in Graz. This one's for Ross' and my mate, Pete!




I was too chicken to go into the Cafe Sacher. A bit too grand for little ol' me!

Now a few store windows:

Here are some tools I'd like to have about - they're made out of chocolate!



Grusse aus Graz.

Antique books. I love antique books and thankfully, this store was closed while I was passing by...

A window display from my favourite chocolate store in Graz. Has Valrhona, Lindt, the best Belgian drinking chocolate...yum!

This is the whole shop front.

A myriad of handblown glass Christmas decorations

This is actually a stall at one of Graz's open air markets. Love owls!

Almost every building in Graz has a religious relic on it, either just above the entrance or on the corner. Here are a few of my favourites:

And now, some various sites:

The opera house.

A cute little cafe called The Opera Pavillion, just down the road from the opera house.

Some beautiful buildings on the main square with a tram just below them.

A lovely looking bakery. The frescoes look either Middle Ages or Rennaissance. Will have to ask Davor...

Church cupola

This is Graz's quaint clock tower. It's unfortunately being renovated and is now covered in some brand or other...

Cannon in front of the armoury. Graz has the biggest armoury in Europe, surprisingly enough.

The so called "painted house" is one of the most famous sites in Graz. An amazing piece of "street art".

Detail from the painted house.

The Kunsthaus, constructed to celebrate Graz being the European city of culture in 2003. Its fantastical structure is only second to Bilbao imho.

The Graz island, another structure built to commemorate its being the European city of culture.

Detail of a baroque altar.

We are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars - Oscar Wilde