Graz Shopping

Normally people come to a bakery to buy bread but to this one much more to take pictures. In general you may find in Graz lots of great old shops. The reason for it is that Graz was for quite a long time somewhat in the shadow of the economic boom in Austria. So the shop owners were often not affluent enough to destroy and rebuild their shops. But things have changed and now Graz is very prosperous and in the meanwhile people appreciate the shops which could survive in the old shape..

What to buy: I would not say anything against the bread here - This bakery is the second biggest one here with numerous other outlets in Graz and in general I found the bread - especially the rye bread - far better in Styria than in my second home in Tirol.

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Its one of the oldest papeterie (papershop). It has a collection of very sophisticated and unsusually rich artistic design. If you need Christmass decoration papers and cards, its an ideal shop to visit.

What to buy: Christmas posters, cards and window decoration.

What to pay: Depends on what you buy. Maybe you may spend 20-40 dolars.

Maybe not one for the purists who think the shopping section should be filled with obscure individualistic shops selling stuff like ashtrays made from dog hair. For any males like me who need a 'one stop shop' to get your Christmas shopping out the way then this massive department store fits the bill. It’s spread over about 7 floors selling products ranging from food, house ware, clothes ware and a huge sports section. It even has a hairdresser, which my brother opted for to get a trim. The only thing he didn't account for was that the hairdresser didn't speak English and of course he didn't speak German. It was definitely amusing watching him trying to talk the hairdresser through what he wanted. He got a hair cut in the end but I don't know how he did it.

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Moser is the most traditional and best bookshop (at least in my opinion :)) in Graz. Not only it is worth a visit because they have a wide selection of books and magazines of all topics over 3 floors- the building (or better 2 buildings) in which it is located is interesting for itself. They combined the old houses with big glass windows and modern architecture. In their literature café you can admire nice old frescoes on the ceiling while having a coffee. They have a choice of english, french, spanish and russian (!) books as well. I wondered that they even have the Asterix translated to Russian :). They have a seating area where you can read as well. I am usually to be found on the 3rd floor with the travel guides :).

One of the nicest markets in Austria is the one behind the Graz Opera house.

What to buy: Pumpkin Seed Oil is a speciality produced only in Styria and neighbouring regions of the Southern Burgenland and Slovenia. A special sort of pumpkins grown only in this area has the seeds without non-edible shells which are first roasted and then the dark green oil is pressed out. In ancient times (not longer than two generations ago) it was the "poor man's oil" and more or less a side product of the pumpkins which were an important but not very prestigious foodstuff for the Styrians and their pigs. That has changed fundamentally. Styrian pigs eat nowadays mostly corn (you see the problematic monocultures of it in the flat regions south of Graz) and in the meanwhile you may get in good local restaurants wonderful refined and sophisticated dishes made of the Styrian pumpkin. And the dark green oil (which looks more or less like that what you get out from the engine of your car when you change the oil) has a great nutty taste which is perfect in many types of salads. I like most the Styrian Farmers salad with beans, onions, white cheese and boiled eggs and Pumpkin Seed Oil. But I found it also great when Pumpkin Seed oil was added to Vanilla Icecream.

An other great product are the roasted and slightly salted pumpkin seeds themselves. It is said that both products are also excellent to prevent prostata problems - but that is of minor importance for me ;-))

What to pay: Dont expect that the Green Gold of Styria is cheap. It is in the price range of excellent olive oils from Tuscany. If Graz is the only place you visit when coming to Styria you should buy it here at the market. Otherwise it might be more economic to buy it directly from the farmers when visiting the countryside.

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Panthertazen, Sissi-Busserl & Kaiser-Zwieback will certainly make a great souvenir from Graz, packed in lovely boxes with the portrait of empress Sissi or emperor Franz Joseph ! These specialities are maybe a bit more expensive than other confectionaries, but they are produced according to the old recepees of the K&K Hofbaeckerei.

What to buy: Take a look at their webpage - unfortunately it is in german only - and you will get an idea of the great konfectionaries you may buy there and take home for your family and friends !

What can I say? Shops are shops. Graz has a beautiful central street off-limits to private vehicles so trams and cyclists only. As there's no traffic as such, it's very open, clean and "quiet". I loved it. All the shopping you could wish for is there - except Dunnes Stores (the Irish will know what I mean haha!)

But be prepared, as with all touristy areas - prices are about as high as Britney Spears' voice compared to Barry White's!! But still, if you've got a credit card and more money than sense...then knock yourself out. In fact you probably will when you get the receipt!!!!

What to pay: An obscene amount of money!!!

This is one of the many trachten, or traditional Austrian clothing shops that sells loden coats, hats, and acessories. You can expect to save at least half of the money you would pay for the very same item in Vienna.

What to buy: I bought a traditional ladies' jacket with the alpine type collar in a sumptuous cashmere blend fabric. The styles are very traditional but as you will see from all the Austrians sporting them, still quite popular. Afterward I went to lunch & the waitress was wearing a very similar type of jacket with a knit top & jeans, and it was a very chic outfit - I'll be trying that combination myself.

What to pay: This jacket cost about 290 euros. In Vienna, I saw the identical thing for well over 600 & that was on the lower end of the spectrum.