Zell am See has competition: Hallstadt

This weekend we went to Hallstadt, a UNESCO World Heritage site here in Austria, about 2 hours away from Zell am See.

What else better do we have to do then visit other cute Austrian towns with lakes? Or towns like Zell am See without the lake? Yes, we live in tourist central and sometimes we find amusement in comparing the tacky tourist attractions we have in Zell am See with other tourist towns.

Actually this town had some cute little touches.
They also had a waterfall that practically dropped into the town. Bonus points.

I am glad we decided to visit it in the dead of winter because by the looks of the gates that appeared to be there to prevent traffic from driving through, and the many signs available in Asian languages, this is a tourist science fair in the summer.

Thanks to a huge prehistoric cemetery that was discovered near Hallstadt, Hallstadt gave it's name to the "Hallstatt culture", which was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC (European Early Iron Age). It extends from 1200 BC to 500 BC.

We toured the freezing city museum to see some of the artifacts that were found in the cemetery. It was worth it.

As a child, I had visited the salt mines there, one of the many things this little town is famous for. It is supposedly the first known salt mine. It was a fun time and still recommend it no matter how "touristy" you might think it is.

Yay! YAY! Yay! YAY! Yay! yay! YAH!!!!!!!!!!

While everyone is wishing for spring I want winter to stay forever. I am working on putting 1000KM on my snowboard this season and I cannot do it without the snow!

Krimmler Wasserfälle

Today was very warm, which annoyed me because I want it to snow so that there will be better conditions on the slopes.
Warm weather does make for a lovely breakfast on our balcony though.

After some discussion we decided that we would drive to Krimml and see the waterfall.

Research on the website indicated that access might be a problem for the winter. This is one minor annoyance I have living in Austria. "Winter" lasts from October through April, so many of the natural attractions are closed for 7 months out of the year. We learned that "closed" just meant that you did not have to pay to use the walkway.
The waterfall is a 380 meter drop and is Europe's highest waterfall. It consists of a "ground" level fall,

a "middle" fall,
and a "high" fall.

We hiked up to the middle fall and took a picture of the highest level fall. It is also part of the Hohe Tauern National Park system.

Happy me, the waterfall is on the southern side of the valley and therefore was not as exposed to so much sun (as opposed to the north side of the valley where the snow is already melting so much). It still felt much like a winter wonderland to me!
Amen!

Happy Birthday Mommy! (belated)

So I realize that this post is VERY late. Your birthday was on the 10th, and I did make an attempt to go out on your birthday and get Kaffee und Kuchen, but I went to the local Konditerei and the best cakes were almost gone, the server was rude, and I was all by myself!


I recruited Jason to come with me to have Kaffee und Kuchen in honor of your birthday! I had no idea what kind of cake I was ordering, but it ended up delicious! Mine was a coffee flavored whipped cream and caramel cake and Jason had something that tasted like it was made with rum and lady fingers! YUM!

Tiefschnee!!

So this last weekend Jason and I did some winter hiking nearby. We went to the neighboring town of Saalfelden and hiked a nature trail, although there was not much nature to see except for beautiful snow!

We did find a cave with some stalagmites made from ice!

Jason did some impressive flips into the equally impressive deep snow.

Anu from India went skiing!

Anu is a 6th grade student at Pardada pardadi Educational Society. She is my friend and she is learning about different parts of the world. Today she went 2000 meters above sea level and went skiing. She also learned that unlike India, which is large and has 28 states, Austria is small, with only 8 states.

Pardada Pardadi seeks to educate and inspire school aged girls from rural india. By providing free schooling and vocational training it seeks to meet the goals of its mission statement by empowering girls from the poorest areas of India.

Please visit:
http://pardada-pardadi.blogspot.com/
http://education4change.org/

Nostalgic Skiers

Every year on the Schmittenhöhe has a different type of race.


The racers wear actual antique wooden skis and the traditional, historic attire to match.


This particular day was quite foggy. A cloud was hovering on the Schmittenhöhe. It seemed eerie in a way and played with one's imagination.


Almost as if ski-ghosts from the past, who had perished on the slopes, had risen from the fog to participate in this event.


Come back to haunt the slopes.


With subtle reminders of what might have done them in.


A distillery on a sled....


...and a little mingling with the present.



Who says ghosts don't party.

300 KM downhill and counting....

The mountain is my new best friend. It's name is the Schmittenhöhe. Here is where I spend most of my day.


Above the clouds it is quiet and peaceful.


The mountain doesn't argue, it just listens.


It is a reminder that there are things much bigger then me and that everything is in God's hands.

There are still Americans in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen has always been a top tourist destination for Germans and Americans alike. It is the closest town to the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

We went there on a Sunday so the pilgrimage destination of US military wives, "Kathe Wohlfahrt" was unfortunately closed (but not unfortunate for Jason's wallet)!

We were still able to find good Bavarian Food like this Jagergoulasch and Schupfnudeln.

I was just excited that I could understand the Bavarian dialect! It's so much easier than Pinzgauish.

We ended our stroll through the town with a stop in a Konditerei for some Kuchen zum mitnehmen....

Bad Tölz

On the way back from Garmisch we made a spontaneous stop in Bad Tölz!

It has a historical Altstadt with beautifully painted buildings and a medieval layout.
Kaspar Winzerer III, the "Golden Knight" is prepared for rain

Inside the Mühlfeldkirche there is a very ornament nativity scene.
Perhaps some would consider the the interior a bit "kitschy" but I really thought there was incredible detail.
The reserved seating is a nice touch!
We went on a Sunday, so nothing was open, but there was enough to keep our eyes busy and a plenty of places to walk for our legs to get exercise.
On the way out of town I noticed apartments that looked exactly like the housing that I had lived in when my father was stationed in Germany. When I got home I looked up US Military installations and discovered that Americans used to be in Bad Tölz. There is a lot of history and culture in the area that is worth the research and a short visit!

And I'm Back......

And guess who is so happy??

So after 2 years of non-stop studying I am taking a break to embrace my destiny which is to snowboard and take advantage of Kasleberkas mit Gurken und Senf (see goodness below).



Das Nic PhD came over for a quick weekend of ski and apres ski.



I was home less than a day before I we were on the Schmittenhöhe. Beautiful weather and snow!