Graz, guns and swinging...

The train is probably the only mode of transport where you can take a picture of your own vehicle whilst still on it (or indeed, in it)! Our train to Graz took us through the Austrian Alps, winding around the side of stunning snowy mountains on long, snaking bends. We opened the windows (a novelty in itself) to enjoy the cool, piny air and watched the front end of the train as it curled round the track ahead.

In Graz we stayed above a swingers club (‘Lady Sunshine’ – the pictures have to be seen to be believed…what is the black panther cuddly toy all about?!) with our friend Joe. He’d very graciously put us up on a futon, albeit right next to his own bed in his studio flat. This was despite being in the final stages of rehearsals for his new two man stage show “Schuss Dammit!”. He plays a character who wants to commit suicide, whilst his co-star Martin has been hired to kill him, the tension playing out around who actually gets to pull the trigger. Death, as a little old lady with a pink leather handbag, also plays a part. Obviously.

Joe had bought a gun for the play, a weighty replica that felt all too scarily real for my tastes. Required to use blanks for the show, Joe had enquired to the local police station as to where he might safely fire a few trial shots (sensibly realising that his flat might not be the best place…though it might keep the Lady Sunshine clientele on their toes). The police response? “Buy a bottle of wine and ask a farmer”. I can’t speak for Austrian farmers but I have a feeling this would be viewed with suspicion in Norfolk (‘Red sky at night, get orff moi land’). They’d also had to take the precaution of closing the blinds during rehearsals, lest some concerned neighbour alert the authorities about ‘the two shouting men, waving handguns around upstairs’.

Graz itself is rather cool, especially the Kunst Haus (Art House) which was built to mark the cities role as European City of Culture. A bizarre, globular glass building with strange protuberances it resembles a giant ocarina and is affectionately known locally by many as the ‘blue bladder’. I say many, but definitely not all. There is a vocal contingent that also believes that its stark modernity clashes with the traditional architectural vernacular of the city and that the ‘bladder’ is actually taking the piss. Literally.