GrazMapFebruary 13–14, 2015 A very beautiful city.  Many houses have an alcove with the Virgin Mary or some other Biblical scene at the second-floor level.  Those who had money back in the day spared no expense for beauty.  The shop signs are also traditionally lavish.  There’s a hill with a clock tower downtown.  Here it is.  A great view of the city opens up from the top.  It’s easy to see how well the unconventional Kunsthaus (the contemporary art museum) fits in with its surroundings—a rare example of a highly successful ultramodern building in the midst of old architecture.  A street sign.  A memorial plaque.  A fancy font on a storefront.  A trash can with a solar panel that powers the compactor.  A granny and a mannequin.  There are lots of different trams here.  A whimsical bridge with a loop has been built downtown.  But there’s also a more utilitarian one that everybody uses to get across.  Graz has two interesting urban features. The first is streetlights with reflectors. The projector shines into the mirrored surface, which then bounces the light down.  The second is signs warning about possible snow avalanches from the rooftops. They’re on every second building. It’s completely unclear how you’re supposed to heed this warning in practice—wear a helmet? Run across to the other side of the street? Skip town until summer?  |
