TRAVEL TO GRAZ AUSTRIA
Find an inexpensive meal on Hauptplatz, where concession stands sell sand wiches, Wurst (‚1.50-3), and other fast food. Cheap student hangouts line Zinzen- dorfgasse near the university. Braun de Praun , Morellenfeldg. 32, is unafraid of a little culinary experimentation. Main dishes include curry pork with glazed banana and almond-raisin rice (‚12.50) and chicken mexicano (‚12.50), but the numer ous local dishes, Biergarten ambience, and Lederhosen-clad waiters keep it firmly rooted in Graz, (32 20 03. Open M-Sa 8am-2am. AmExMCV.) Gasthaus Alte Miinze , Schlofibergpl. 8, serves scrumptious Styrian specialties in a traditional setting. (Open M and Su 10am-7pm, Tu-Sa 8am-midnight.) A grocery store, Merkur, is to your left as you exit the station. (Open M-Th 8am-7pm, F 7:30am-7:30pm.)
SIGHTS AND NIGHTLIFE. The tourist office, in the Landhaus, is itself a sight; the building was remodeled by architect Domenico dell’Allio in 1557 in the Lombard style. The Landeszeughaus (Provincial Arsenal), Herreng. 16, details the history of Ottoman attacks on the arsenal and has enough spears, muskets, and armor to outfit 28,000 burly mercenaries. (Open Su and Tu-Sa 10am-6pm. ‚1.50.) North of Hauptpl. the wooded Schlofiberg (Castle Mountain) rises 123m above Graz. The hill is named for the castle that stood there from 1125 until 1809, when it was destroyed by Napoleon’s troops. Even without the castle, it remains a beauti ful city park. Climb the zig-zagging stone steps of the SchloBbergstiege, built by Russian prisoners during WWI, for sweeping views of the vast Styrian plain.
The hub of after-hours activity is the so-called Bermuda Triangle, an area of the old city behind Hauptpl. and bordered by Mehlpl. Farberg. and Prokopig. At Kul- turhauskeller, Elisabethstr. 30, the dance music throbs. (No sports or military cloth ing. 19+. Cover ‚2. Open Tu-Sa 9pm-late.) At the artsy grad-student hangout, Cafe Harrach, Harrachg. 26, most everyone tosses back white wine spritzers. (Open M-F 9am-midnight, Sa-Su 5pm-midnight.)
DAYTRIP FROM GRAZ: LIPIZZANER STUD FARM. The Gestiit Piber (Piber Stud Farm) is home to the world-famous Lipizzaner horses, whose delicate foot work and snow white coats are the pride of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Bom either solid black or brown, they become progressively paler, reaching a pure white color sometime between the age of five and ten. The rolling green hills of Piber are home to the mares, their foals, and trained stallions in retirement. On a lhr. tour of the stud farm, you can see the horses up close in the stables and visit the carriage house and the Lippizaner museum in the 300-year-old Piber castle. ( 03144 33 23. Open Apr.-Oct. daily 9-10:30am and l:30-3:30pm. ‚10, students ‚5.) The horse farm is 1km outside Koflach. Take the train from Graz (50 min. 8 per day 6am-2pm, ‚5.40), then the bus (‚1.60) to Piber. Sign up at the tourist office in Graz for a ride and English-language tour. (Sa 2pm. ‚24, children ‚9.)
