Graz–Jan. 10, 2025

My first appointment today was at the Standesamt (registration office) at 9:00 a.m. to get a Personalausweis (ID card). The office is near the Hauptplatz. On the way there, a man came up to me and asked if I could help him find someplace. (I have no idea why people come up to me to ask for directions. Maybe I just look like I know stuff.) It turns out he was going to the same address that I was. If I understood him correctly, he was from Afghanistan via Iran, had lived in Germany for 10 years, and was registering his child for something or other. We found the place, he went off to the third floor to do his thing and I went to a different office on the ground floor. The process took about 15 minutes and cost about 62€. I should get the card in the mail in a few days.

Afterwards, I went looking for an Asian grocery nearby. It was closed until 10 a.m., but very nearby was a set of stairs going up to the clock tower. During the winter, the stairs are closed if there is ice or snow accumulation. Luckily, the weather was clear and so were the stairs. I was debating with myself whether to go up or wait until later. I figured as long as I’m here, I might as well do it now rather than going back another day.

There’s also an elevator that goes to the top, but it costs 2,40€, and so Mr. Cheapo here decided not to use it, and I took the stairs. (There’s also a 64-meter-high underground slide, but that can definitely wait for a later date.)

Here are some pictures from the climb up, and at the top.

Relief sculpture of man holding sword at his side

Text on the statue reads „Furchtlos und Treu“ (Fearless and Loyal)

City view showing the Mur river in the vertical center.

This is the Kunsthaus (Art House)

Also at the top is the Graz Schlossberg Museum.

sign on Graz Schlossberg Museum; the g and m are connected

I got no idea what this artwork represents. If anything.

If you turn the hand crank (there are three of them at the base of the sculpture), the furry column will turn. Again, no clue.

There was a kiosk with the four elements at the base:

Fire

Air

Water

Earth

And this billboard:

Austrian government building with a “For Sale” sign on a statue.

Austrian Parliament: For Sale. It seems as though democracy in Austria can’t stand itself.

Making change: US vs. Austria

I had bought some items at a grocery store and the total came up to 1,96€. I gave the clerk a 2€ and a one-cent coin. Just as would happen in the US, she asked me “Why are you giving me the extra penny?” I wasn’t fast enough with my German to reply, “Trust me; it’ll work.” So I took the one-cent back,and she entered 2€ into the cash register. As soon as she saw the 4-cents change come up, I could see the “Aha! moment” on her face; she took back the one-cent coin from me and gave me back a 5-cent coin. The difference between the US and Austria is that in the US, the clerk would have given me back four cents and never figured out the correct five-cent transaction.