A Walk Up to the Clock Tower in Graz and a 175-meter Slide Back Down
Taking a walk up to the Clock Tower is probably the number 1 tourist attraction in Graz. For me though, the best part was the idea of taking the slide back down again.
I was in for a bonus attraction though. I saw a snake on the walk up to the tower.
This is the clock tower we were aiming to walk to. As you approach the tower from the Mur river, this is what you see.
As you get closer, you see the steps you have to climb. The climb looks steep but it’s a fairly easy walk up.
In the image above, the entrance in the center is where you need to go if you want to take an elevator up to the top instead of walking. It costs 2 EUR. It’s also where you’ll end up if you come down by slide, as we did.
As you start walking up the steps you’ll get a teat view of the city. You can see Kunsthaus Graz in the center of the above image.
Near the start of the steps, you’ll have a choice to go left or right. Going right is the more direct route to the top. Going left is long and more scenic and gives you better views of the city.
As we walked along the path, my wife was a little ahead of me. I heard her scream and saw her jump back. She’d spotted a 2-meter-long snake crossing her path.
After the snake crossed the path, it slithered up the wall and into the undergrowth. I think this was an Eastern Brown Snake, although I’m not certain. I’m always on the lookout for snakes, so I was very happy to see this one.
After seeing the snake, we continued our journey up the hill and came across this building, Starcke House.
The higher up the hill you get, the better the views. Here you can see the River Mur.
When you get to the top, you get the best view of Kunsthaus Graz.
And, of course, you get to see the Clock Tower up close.
Now all that remains is to get back down from the hill. You can walk or take the elevator. But why do that when there’s a slide to take you down?
Going down by slide costs 6 EUR. The slide is 175 meters long, with a drop of 64 meters. It’s quite an exhilarating ride. Much if it is darkness, with a few areas of lighting. Much of the ride seems smooth until you suddenly plunge downwards and around sharp bends.
Your time is automatically calculated. It took both me and my wife 38.7 seconds to reach the bottom. That makes the cost 571.43 EUR/hour. It sounds expensive. But it’s fun.
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