#40 Escaping the Winter

Beisl Ralley, Discover Graz, Foodie Tour, old town

Father Christmas has delivered all the presents, the “Christkind” has flown on, the rockets are all shot, the lead has been poured and the New Year’s concert is yesterday’s snow. What is there to look forward to when there are still so many dark and cold winter days ahead?

Firstly, you can make the best of it and try your hand at the many winter sports (see our logbook entry from January 2021). You can simply enjoy the winter, the snow, the clear air, your cosy flat or you can try to bring some summer to Graz. It’s easy, we’ll tell you a few tricks:

Escaping winter:

Palm house If you want to once again flood your lungs with warm, tropical air, take a seat under a palm tree and marvel at some colour and flowering plants, then a visit to the Palm House in the Botanical Garden is a good idea. Admission is free, by the way, and the building alone is really worth seeing and a prime example of the Graz School of Architecture. The surroundings couldn't be more enchanting, in the middle of the villa district of Graz, and the Botanical Garden is also worth a trip for fans of lost places, because behind the new palm houses are the old houses that are currently being restored.

Cocktails You rarely drink such a fine cocktail next to the ski slope, but all the more often on the beach, on balmy summer evenings, and so you immediately associate summer feelings with the taste of ``Mojito``, ``Sex on the beach`` and co. For a short time, the body can be tricked in this way, especially when sitting under the golden palm trees in the Ernst Fuchs Bar.

Spa zur Sonne If you want to do something good for both mind and body, then you should quickly hop into the Spa zur Sonne. In the relaxation room you can stick your toes in the sand, in the tea room you wait until you are called for your treatment and with every treatment the entrance to the Bad zur Sonne is included. The steam bath, whirlpool and sauna warm up the body in the long term, so you can happily get through a few icy winter days again.

Exotic food Another way to warm up and bring fire into your life is to eat spicy food. Winter is the right time to visit an Indian restaurant. There is a large selection of Indian restaurants in Graz. We find the Taj Mahal next to Schloßberg, the Ceylon Curry in Lend or the Hathi on Freiheitsplatz particularly good. Then watch the film ``Darjeeling limited`` and you will be dreaming of train rides, spice markets and colourful saris.

Ice cream I scream for ice cream! Why not take home an ice box and watch Baywatch with woollen socks, under the blanket and ice in your hand? Summer feelings are guaranteed to come up.

Spices, fruits and tea A few special ingredients, hot spices, teas and fragrances manage to create a summery dash in no time at all. You can also buy this regionally and seasonally. Dried fruit and spices from ``Gewürze der Welt`` at Lendplatz, lemons and other fruits from Italy in one of the Delicatessen shops of Graz and fragrant teas from Omas Teekanne.