Graz, Austria

Tricia T
Jul 5, 2016
2 min read

This is the place where I decided to do something I have longed to do for a very long time, Paragliding!!! It is one of the best decision I have made in my life because it’s totally worth it and you get to see the beautiful landscape and mountains in Austria and the countries nearby.

The paragliding cost 99 Euros and the instructors are very experienced, so the whole 20 minutes journey was pleasant and safe. But in the beginning, we have to take the ski lift up to the mountain top to find a deep slope as the lifting off point. This is the scariest part for me because I am afraid of heights especially when it's windy. And you can only get lifted off if it's windy so that you can catch the wind. So both me and my instructor have our own seats with belts connected to each other. We waited for at least 10 minutes for the wind but we didn't catch it successfully. My heart is pounding like crazy, but at least I know that if I screwed up, we are going down together. At last, he shouted "Run Run Run!" and then I run as fast as I could down the slope and in 3 seconds, I am flying like a bird in the sky. That moment when you are up in the sky looking down and beyond the never ending slopes of mountains, you just feel so grateful to be alive.

Other than that, the clock tower in the middle of the Graz is a must visit. It is a small mountain with a clock tower on top, which is a heritage. You can choose to hike up there or be lazy and take the tram to go up to the mountain. There are some nice restaurants and cafes with very nice view gazing down the city and sunset. Also, if you are with some crazy friends, I recommend you to climb the lion to be the conqueror!

As seen from the paragliding, Austria has amazing landscape, so I went for a small hike. And highly recommend you to rent a car so you can do some day trips like I did, stop at points to take some pictures and get amazed by the Austrian landscape. At the start of the hike, there is a pond with a huge cow statue next to it. As you probably have guessed, it is a slope filled with Austrian cows running around everywhere. So you better have hiking boots because there are poops everywhere. At the highest point of all mountains, there is a cross carved with the altitude along with a log book. So people who have hiked there could leave a small note. The hike wasn't easy and there were a lot of flies because of all the poop everywhere, but I had so much fun and enjoyed it a lot!