A beautiful sunny summer day and wine food pairing finds itself in the city of Graz, Austria ... beautiful, clean and friendly ... and with about 250,000 people it is Austria's second largest city!
A bit of history on this beautiful city ...
I found out that the year 1128 is the first significant date in Graz’s history ... where the city was referenced in documents ... 250 years later, in 1379, Graz had grown enough to be designated capital of "Inner Austria", an area which comprised Styria and Carinthia, along with Krain, Inner Istria and Trieste (now in present-day Slovenia, Croatia and Italy). As the capital, Graz was residence to the Hapsburg dynasty until 1619.
Later, Italian architects and craftsmen came and shaped the city with their building skills. Graz served as a mighty stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire against threats from the southeast. Then, during the Napoleonic Wars, the last walls of the castle fell without even being stormed. The citizens of Graz, however, paid the invaders to spare both the Glockenturm and the Uhrturm, the clock tower and bell tower that crown the Schlossberg. This "insurance" cost the citizens 2987 gulden and 11 kreutzer, around 87,000 euros in today's money. It seems a fair price to have paid for two buildings which are now famous Graz landmarks.
Graz has distinguished itself primarily in the worlds of science, culture and technology and is today the capital of the province of Styria.
Quite some history ... hope you enjoy our walking tour ...
Walking around in the Austrian summer heat required hydration so I tried out a very popular beverage in Austria ... an "Apfelsaft gespritzter" ...pronounced G'spritzter. Spritzer is derived from the variant of the German language spoken in Austria, where this type of drink is very popular ... bottom line ... this is apple juice combined with soda water ... what a thirst quenching drink!
Wine food pairing without the wine ... who would have thought?
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