Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Salzburg and the Salzkammergut
Tuesday 9/22
Lammerklamm hike
The Lammer River flows through a narrow gorge (klamm) to the Salzach River downstream. I had seen pictures of this "Dark Gorge" as it's called and we decided to see it for ourselves. We drove to Oberscheffau and paid at the little kiosk, then headed down into the gorge. I really have to mention here that we appreciate the people who maintain this gorge. There are wooden railings attached to the side of the rock that help to keep you from falling into the gorge. This river frequently floods and the railings and stair-ladders are completely underwater when that happens, so some ares need to be rebuilt every year. There are high water markers along the trail and the marker for 2002 was way high up near the top edge of the gorge. We couldn't even imagine what it would like with so much water flowing through there. The little towns downstream would certainly have been flooded.
We first hiked upriver from the entry point to the narrowest part of the gorge that you can access on foot. The sheer vertical face of the rock is amazing and the water is the most awesome shade of blue in there. The trail is very narrow, in some spots we had to turn completely sideways a couple of times just to get through.We then turned around and hiked downstream all the way out of the gorge along the river and into the little town of Oberscheffau. The waterfalls and swirling basins of water were so cool that we kept stopping just to enjoy the sight of it and the sounds of the rushing water below us. When the water is a bit higher, they say it's a favorite place for kayakers. After fortifying ourselves with a cool drink and some strudel in town, we hiked back up the trail to the gorge entrance and headed the car toward Werfen for our next stop. We had a little trouble getting there as our rental Garmin was having some sort of nervous breakdown, but we finally got going in the right direction.
Hohenwerfen is a fortress castle that sits 155 meters above the town of Werfen in the Salzach Valley. Built in the 11th century, and despite a large fire in 1931, the castle is still very intact. The clock tower is very impressive as it dates back to the original castle and was not damaged in the fire, we climbed up to see the clockworks (still quite accurate) and the giant bell at the top. Pretty cool to realize that the wooden beams overhead and walls of the tower are original and still in great condition. Very windy at the top of the tower and rather chilly. We had a late lunch of wurst and Coke Light, then walked down to the falconry center to wait for the bird show.
Now this is not our first bird show, but I have to say that we enjoy them all. This one was particularly enjoyable as the birds were obviously not on their best behavior. The first out was the falcon, lightning fast. We always crack up a little when they bring the falcon out with it's hood on. This is because we saw a hilarious interaction between the falconer and the audience at a bird show in Ireland. Anyway, I digress. Next up were the hawks, 3 different kinds and I was surprised when they flew them at the same time. Typically they only fly one bird at a time or at least one species at a time. Well the Hawks were having an awesome time just flying around, doing whatever they wanted - except the Harris Hawk who seemed more interested in just landing on the ground and looking around.
Next up were the Eagles and vultures. The bald eagle responded pretty well to the handlers commands but the sea eagles and the vultures just decided they wanted to do their own thing. They finally got all the birds back by the end of the show except one of the vultures who was still just soaring around the castle parapets when we left. It's handler was still outside the falconry center just waiting for it to decide it was ready to come in.
Lammerklamm hike
The Lammer River flows through a narrow gorge (klamm) to the Salzach River downstream. I had seen pictures of this "Dark Gorge" as it's called and we decided to see it for ourselves. We drove to Oberscheffau and paid at the little kiosk, then headed down into the gorge. I really have to mention here that we appreciate the people who maintain this gorge. There are wooden railings attached to the side of the rock that help to keep you from falling into the gorge. This river frequently floods and the railings and stair-ladders are completely underwater when that happens, so some ares need to be rebuilt every year. There are high water markers along the trail and the marker for 2002 was way high up near the top edge of the gorge. We couldn't even imagine what it would like with so much water flowing through there. The little towns downstream would certainly have been flooded.
We first hiked upriver from the entry point to the narrowest part of the gorge that you can access on foot. The sheer vertical face of the rock is amazing and the water is the most awesome shade of blue in there. The trail is very narrow, in some spots we had to turn completely sideways a couple of times just to get through.We then turned around and hiked downstream all the way out of the gorge along the river and into the little town of Oberscheffau. The waterfalls and swirling basins of water were so cool that we kept stopping just to enjoy the sight of it and the sounds of the rushing water below us. When the water is a bit higher, they say it's a favorite place for kayakers. After fortifying ourselves with a cool drink and some strudel in town, we hiked back up the trail to the gorge entrance and headed the car toward Werfen for our next stop. We had a little trouble getting there as our rental Garmin was having some sort of nervous breakdown, but we finally got going in the right direction.
Hohenwerfen is a fortress castle that sits 155 meters above the town of Werfen in the Salzach Valley. Built in the 11th century, and despite a large fire in 1931, the castle is still very intact. The clock tower is very impressive as it dates back to the original castle and was not damaged in the fire, we climbed up to see the clockworks (still quite accurate) and the giant bell at the top. Pretty cool to realize that the wooden beams overhead and walls of the tower are original and still in great condition. Very windy at the top of the tower and rather chilly. We had a late lunch of wurst and Coke Light, then walked down to the falconry center to wait for the bird show.
Now this is not our first bird show, but I have to say that we enjoy them all. This one was particularly enjoyable as the birds were obviously not on their best behavior. The first out was the falcon, lightning fast. We always crack up a little when they bring the falcon out with it's hood on. This is because we saw a hilarious interaction between the falconer and the audience at a bird show in Ireland. Anyway, I digress. Next up were the hawks, 3 different kinds and I was surprised when they flew them at the same time. Typically they only fly one bird at a time or at least one species at a time. Well the Hawks were having an awesome time just flying around, doing whatever they wanted - except the Harris Hawk who seemed more interested in just landing on the ground and looking around.
Next up were the Eagles and vultures. The bald eagle responded pretty well to the handlers commands but the sea eagles and the vultures just decided they wanted to do their own thing. They finally got all the birds back by the end of the show except one of the vultures who was still just soaring around the castle parapets when we left. It's handler was still outside the falconry center just waiting for it to decide it was ready to come in.
Salzburg and the Salzkammergut
Monday, 9/21
Today we are heading to the village of Hallstatt and the beautiful Hallstattersee (lake). It's a very picturesque little town with a salt mine nearby. Our plan is to tour the salt mine, see the town, and head over to a nearby village to make the trip up to the Krippenstein Five Fingers viewing platform.
We arrived at the salt mine just before 10am and took the funicular up 838 meters to the place where you then walk up another few hundred meters to the building where you start the tour process. I say "process" because you have to wear a special suit to go into the mine. They sort of resemble scrubs, it's a jacket and pants but the pants have a special patch sewn on the rear end because you actually slide down two long wooden slides to get into the mine. The rear patch is to overcome friction and avoid splinters! So we suited up and waited for our tour guide.
The tour starts with walking up several flights of stairs to the mine entrance, then you walk a long, dark series of tunnels deep into the mine. Down the first slide- whoosh! Walk a bit more, then down the second, longer slide. Mike and I decided to do this one together and they timed us at 26km/hr. Not bad, but the guide did it in 32km/hr. She does get a lot more practice at it tho ;) We walked through the mine and learned about the importance of the salt trade and the wealth that it brought to the area. At the end of the tour, you jump on a wooden bench-like seat except you actually straddle it, and a little train pulls you out of the mine.
Once we left the mine, we headed to a viewing platform where you get a really good view of the little town of Halllstatt and the lake from about 900 meters above. Took a few pictures then headed down to the funicular for the trip back to the bottom.
We walked into Hallstatt to have some lunch by the lake and took some pictures of the charming little town, then took off for the Krippenstein 5 Fingers lookout platform.
The 5 Fingers is a series of 5 viewing platforms that are 4x1 meter in size and extend out over a precipice of the mountain. The platform is about 1 mile above the lake at Hallstatt and is pretty much straight up. You have to take a series of 2 cable cars to get up there and then hike (steeply) for about 20 minutes to the platform. We got up there kind of late so we only had about 45 minutes until the last cable car going down. We absolutely did not want to get stuck up there for the night, so we really made good time getting to the platform and getting some pictures. The view from up there is just unbelievable, you can't even do it justice in pictures. We took pictures anyway of course, to commemorate our efforts! Then we hiked back up along the seemingly even steeper trail (same trail, just seemed steeper at this point). Slow going this time but we made it back for one of the last cable cars and of course it was crammed with people cuz nobody wanted to get left behind. Anyway, made it back down to the bottom and looked back up again at where we had just been - so hard to believe we were that high up.
Drove back down to Salzburg and had dinner at a little Italian place. Then it was Advil and bed - in that order.
The tour starts with walking up several flights of stairs to the mine entrance, then you walk a long, dark series of tunnels deep into the mine. Down the first slide- whoosh! Walk a bit more, then down the second, longer slide. Mike and I decided to do this one together and they timed us at 26km/hr. Not bad, but the guide did it in 32km/hr. She does get a lot more practice at it tho ;) We walked through the mine and learned about the importance of the salt trade and the wealth that it brought to the area. At the end of the tour, you jump on a wooden bench-like seat except you actually straddle it, and a little train pulls you out of the mine.
Once we left the mine, we headed to a viewing platform where you get a really good view of the little town of Halllstatt and the lake from about 900 meters above. Took a few pictures then headed down to the funicular for the trip back to the bottom.
We walked into Hallstatt to have some lunch by the lake and took some pictures of the charming little town, then took off for the Krippenstein 5 Fingers lookout platform.
The 5 Fingers is a series of 5 viewing platforms that are 4x1 meter in size and extend out over a precipice of the mountain. The platform is about 1 mile above the lake at Hallstatt and is pretty much straight up. You have to take a series of 2 cable cars to get up there and then hike (steeply) for about 20 minutes to the platform. We got up there kind of late so we only had about 45 minutes until the last cable car going down. We absolutely did not want to get stuck up there for the night, so we really made good time getting to the platform and getting some pictures. The view from up there is just unbelievable, you can't even do it justice in pictures. We took pictures anyway of course, to commemorate our efforts! Then we hiked back up along the seemingly even steeper trail (same trail, just seemed steeper at this point). Slow going this time but we made it back for one of the last cable cars and of course it was crammed with people cuz nobody wanted to get left behind. Anyway, made it back down to the bottom and looked back up again at where we had just been - so hard to believe we were that high up.
Drove back down to Salzburg and had dinner at a little Italian place. Then it was Advil and bed - in that order.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Austria 2015/ Salzburg and the Salzkammergut
Sunday, 9/20
We reluctantly left Durnstein today and are heading to Salzburg, a couple of hours driving time on the autobahn. We were previously in Salzburg 6 years ago, but just for about 5 hours or so. We're looking forward to exploring more of the area.
The difference in temperature from Durnstein to Salzburg was almost 20 degrees, but we have been so warm that it was nice to be cool enough to need a light jacket. We made a quick rest stop at Mondsee where the lake is quite pretty with a large mountain sitting on the opposite shore.
Our hotel in Salzburg is in the Allstadt, the old city center. There are bollards, which are poles that raise and lower into the ground when you enter a special code, to keep cars out unless you have special reason to be there - like staying in a hotel in the Allstadt. We actually drove right past the hotel because they had a cafe set up on the narrow street and we were concentrating on getting past the patrons without injuring anyone with our car. Luckily we had only gone about 100 feet when we realized our mistake. Unfortunately that meant we had to back up on the narrow street to reach the hotel.
After we checked in, we needed to move the car to the parking garage which meant more raising and lowering of the bollards. The parking garage is actually inside the mountain that sits at one side of town.
We had a quick walk around and met up some friends who are also here right now and made plans for tomorrow.
We reluctantly left Durnstein today and are heading to Salzburg, a couple of hours driving time on the autobahn. We were previously in Salzburg 6 years ago, but just for about 5 hours or so. We're looking forward to exploring more of the area.
The difference in temperature from Durnstein to Salzburg was almost 20 degrees, but we have been so warm that it was nice to be cool enough to need a light jacket. We made a quick rest stop at Mondsee where the lake is quite pretty with a large mountain sitting on the opposite shore.
Our hotel in Salzburg is in the Allstadt, the old city center. There are bollards, which are poles that raise and lower into the ground when you enter a special code, to keep cars out unless you have special reason to be there - like staying in a hotel in the Allstadt. We actually drove right past the hotel because they had a cafe set up on the narrow street and we were concentrating on getting past the patrons without injuring anyone with our car. Luckily we had only gone about 100 feet when we realized our mistake. Unfortunately that meant we had to back up on the narrow street to reach the hotel.
After we checked in, we needed to move the car to the parking garage which meant more raising and lowering of the bollards. The parking garage is actually inside the mountain that sits at one side of town.
We had a quick walk around and met up some friends who are also here right now and made plans for tomorrow.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
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