Graz Exchange Student Outing

Last week sometime, the other exchange students from the U.S. arrived in Graz. There are about ten of us total, from about 6 different universities. For some reason the University of Arkansas is heavily represented on this exchange program. They must have an enthusiastic and organized director of their exchange programs. On Saturday (yesterday) we all went along with our mentors to the Hauptplatz for a tour around town. The Hauptplatz is a marketplace/open area in front of the Rathaus, the main government building in Graz.

We first walked over to the Kunsthaus, to check out its funky exterior. Since it was cold outside, we went in for a bit to warm up. Next stop, was the mysterious Schlossberg. It turns out that the entire mountain was not closed as I previously thought. It was just the steps on one side were closed for safety reasons. I guess the steps get icy in the winter and they don't want people falling down and cracking their skulls open. Wusses. We walked through a tunnel from one side of the Schlossberg to the other and up a cobblestone road, which was pretty darn slippery itself thanks to the fresh layer of frost that morning. Here are some pictures from the top:

That's the clock tower on top of the Schlossberg. You can see American exchange students on the left milling about, probably wondering where the gift shop is.

That last photo showed a bit of the view from the mountain, but my favorite part is what's happening in the front left of the picture. My mentor Elisabeth and her boyfriend Thomas are having a debate about the directions of landmarks.

It was hazy out yesterday, but if you look closely in the center of the above photo you can see the majestic Hafnerriegel, my home away from home.

Here I convinced Thomas to take my picture with the Kunsthaus in the background.

Finally, a group photo under the clocktower. After the Schlossberg, we walked around the Old City a bit and over to the Glockenspiel, which was supposed to perform at 3pm. But something wasn't working on the clock, so we didn't get to see the mechanical musical show. Sorry, no pictures of that.... yet.