That same weekend was the fall festival called Aufsteiern, which in all honesty does not really translate.  The province, in which Graz is, is called Steiermark.  I think you can see the relation now.  Anyway, I went early so I could look around and again later with my mentor to experience the Austrian side.
As you can see there is practically no one around.  It had been really cloudy and gloomy up until the moment I took this picture of Hauptplatz (main square).  All the side streets were lined with stalls selling traditional clothing, food, trinkets, and Sturm (a fall-time drink similar to wine, but it is not completely fermented and spices are added and so on, but it is great).

This picture was taken the second time I went.  We actually found a spot that did not resemble city under mass panic.  As we walked around it only got worse.

See....  There was not much opportunity or space for pictures.

 

After walking around, we found a cafe in one of the small squares to rest, drink Sturm and listen to traditional music.  This guy played the anvil right behind me and made me jump in my seat.  Then proceeded to play every weird percussion instrument known to man with a manical grin on his face.  I could not get a good picture of his face, though.

I know I said Vienna next, but I forgot about this and my hike to Schoeckl, which will be the next post.  So maybe I will get to Vienna this week.  Or not.