The next lockdown starts on Monday. On Friday the Styrians went to the hairdresser, went shopping and had mulled wine – they enjoyed the last few days in “freedom”. The “Krone” has looked around several Styrian cities.
The scent of mulled wine has been filling the main square in Graz since Friday. Children eat waffles with applesauce, students toast with mulled wine. The Christmas spirit won’t last long, however: the stallholders at the Advent market found out on the opening day that they had to close three days later. “Every mug is now damage limitation”, says Karl Schmelzer-Ziringer and lights his Feuerzangenbowle. The tenor among the guests at the market is similar: “I understand that there is now a lockdown, but politics reacted too late,” says Angelika Wille, who came with her husband from Lower Austria. “The situation is worse than last year” In the shop windows of Kastner & Öhler, Christmas trees and lots of glitter ring in the most important time of the trading year. Some of them turn over as much in a month as they usually do in the whole year. “The situation is a lot worse than last year,” says Kastner board member Martin Wäg. If there is not enough help from politics, he sees the future bleak. “The other lockdowns have left their mark. There’s no more air. ”Armin Starschowitz, who runs the Il Pelo hairdressing salon in Schönaugasse, also has little air left. “We open up on Saturday so that we can still supply our customers,” he says. Despite the lockdown, hope is not lost. “We can only get out of there if we stick together!” Since the 2-G rule, fewer guests and scene changes have come to southeast Styria. The autumn sun brings spring-like temperatures to the guest gardens on Feldbacher Hauptplatz – but many tables remain empty. This is also the case with the city coffee, which has always been a popular meeting place in the heart of the city. “Since the introduction of the 2-G rule, there has been a lot less going on with us. But many people who have been vaccinated are also unsettled, ”says owner Wolfgang Dollinger. Sales have halved in the last week. The owner of the popular Italian restaurant Montefusco near Fürstenfeld points to empty tables – where you can hardly get a seat. “I only need three Christmas presents for my grandchildren, I’ll buy them, then it’s a rest,” says a senior citizen. “We have been expecting it for a long time anyway.” In the paint business, many people give each other a hand. Once again, the lockdown will probably also be used to beautify the house …
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