ON STANDBY…

Though the plan was to go to Carinthia for nature and lakes, in the end it was Graz, the second-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Styria. I loved it, it is 1000 times nicer than the more renowned Salzburg, which I founded rather average. The red of the roofs, the green of the hills and the blue of the river Mur make Graz beautiful. It´s got six universities with over 40,000 students. Graz’s "Old Town" was great, no wonder it was recently included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. In 2003 Graz was named sole Cultural Capital of Europe. I´m not one for moder architechture (normally) but in Graz the blend shows a lot of taste. Special mention to the Kunstahaus and the Murinsel.

The Murinsel (Mur island) is actually no island at all, but an artificial floating platform in the Mur river. This landmark of Graz has the form of a giant sea shell. Two footbridges connect it with both banks of the Mur. The center of the platform forms an amphitheatre and below a twisted round dome there is a café and a playground. The Murinsel is built for a maximum number of 350 visitors. I don´t know why, but it is nice there where it is.