 | Austria Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 185 |  | Popular Off the Beaten Path | Miscellaneous Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (185) The food here was typical of most restaurants we found in the region. The Wiener Schnitzel was good as was the self serve salad buffet. The service was good and we were not rushed to leave even though we had finished our meal and stayed in the restarant talking to friends. Leave a Comment Other Contact: In the centre of Bad Goisern |
3774 meters high, the Wildspitze is the high point of the Otztaler Alps. The top arises from a sea of glaciers and other peaks. Several mountain huts can be found up high in the area. Most people approach via the Otztal and the ski resort of Solden though the Pitztal to the west is a more direct approach. It is in the ices of the Otztaler Alps - Similaun Glacier, to be exact - where the 5500 year old Ice Man was discovered. Climbing, hiking and skiing are all possible in these upper reaches, though a climb of the Wildspitze requires knowledge of glacial travel. Leave a Comment |
I waa nervous of going on the Grossglockner pass as I was told of the many turns in the road and the height at which it takes you. I need not have worried! I am so glad we drove up there (and of course down again) We started our journey about 8.30am as we had both woken up early. The journey can take you as long as you like but stopping on the way to take photos and take in the magnificent views is an absolute must. The first part of the journey is free but then you reach a toll and you have to pay to go the rest of the way. The road is 48 km long and was built between 1930 and 1935. There are numerous parking spots on the way and there is an observation tower at Eidelweiss spitze. If you are lucky (and we were you can even see marmots which live in the montains. They are beatiful creatures. Leave a Comment |
Just 9 km east of Innsbruck- a sort bus ride - Hall is a very pleasant town to visit with a well-preserved old town center. A 15th century Rathaus (town hall), a 13th century parish church and a convent dating back to 1557 - Damenstift. Also, the Burg Hasegg is here, a castle with a 300 year career minting silver coins - thalers. There is a factory outlet for all of those Austrian alpine table cloths you find at all of the tourist shops throughout the Alps. You can pick up tablecloths and other items at costs much cheaper than you will find in St Anton or St Moritz! Leave a Comment |
The first mountain railway was built through the pass at Semmering in 1854. The train journey is worth the trip alone - it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - see the website: http://www.bassa-austria.at/partner/trsued/whsemmeringbahn/home.htm for more on the railway. Atop forested terraces, huge hotels attest to Semmering's grand tourist past when the royal - and not so royal - of Vienna would make a mountain escape. See my Semmering pages for more ideas on this interesting and pretty area. Leave a Comment |
The limestone massifs of the Rax and the Wiener Schneeberg are separated by the deep Hollental (Hell's Valley) through which the Schwarza River flows. Along with the Rax, the Schneeberg is considered as a Wiener Hausberge - Home mountain for people from the Vienna region. You will find locals enjoying the mountain at all seasons. There is an extensive trail system in place with several mountain huts to stop or stay at. Many people take the cog railway - the Schneebergbahn - up from Puchberg - a resort town on the north side of the mountain. There is an old steam option or the green, yellow, black cars of the Salamander train. From the upper station - Hochschneeberg station, 1795 meters/5889 feet, you can walk across the summit plateau in a couple of hours to the massif high points: Kaiserstein 2061 m/6762 ft and the Kosterwappen 2075 m/6808 ft. The cliffs of the Rax lie directly west. These are the last 2000 meter peaks in the Alpine chains. Leave a Comment |
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Another of the Wiener Hausberge, the Rax features cliffs of dramatic quality. There are all types of trails - some requiring climbing experience - that come up the mountain from various directions. Plus the oldest cable car in Austria at the massif's eastern end. See my travellogues in my Semmering pages for much more on this beautiful mountain. Leave a Comment |
Built in 1077 for the archbishop of Salzburg and rebuilt in the 16th century, Hohenwerfen sits on a hill above the town of Werfen gloriously. Entrance into the castle includes a falconry museum - 20 minute demonstrations are shown - and a guided tour of the castle (in German, but ask for an English audio handset). Walking up from Werfen takes about 20 minutes. The tall mountains rising above are the limestone crags of the Tennengeberge through which several trails and mountain huts are available to elongate your visit. Leave a Comment |
The royal family of the house of Liechtenstein is one of the older families in Europe. The family was one of the shining lights in the Hapsburg Empire serving closely being elevated to that of hereditary Imperial Prince in 1608. The family lived in Feldsberg (Valtice), Moravia in the 18th Century but moved closer to the powers that be - Vienna - in the 19th Century. They lived in the simple home pictured for most of the 19th Century - the Majoratspalais on Bankgasse, just off the Ring. The family has always been involved in amassing some of the world's greatest art treasures and these were housed in this palce until 1807 when they were relocated to the grander Gartenpalais, now the Liechtensteinmuseum, a grand house of baroque art opening to the public in the spring of 2004 - Vienna. The Majoratspalais still served as a family residence for when the family was in Vienna, though some of the building has been rented out to Austrian government agencies over the last years. The family is planning on opening up the entrance and grand staircase to the public in 2005. It is well worth a walk by if you are around the Hofburg in Vienna, just to see that some of the Hapsburg Empire is alive and well at its core. http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?〈=en for more on the history of the Ruling Family of the House of Liechtenstein. http://www.liechtensteinmuseum.at/en/pages/home.asp for more on the new to open Liechtensteinmuseum located in the Gartenpalais - also in Vienna. Leave a Comment |
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ust 50 minutes south of Salzburg, near the town of Werfen, are the largest accessible ice caves of the World - the Eisreisenwelt - World of the Ice Giants. To get to the caves is a little adventure in itself. From a car park on high (Minibuses do go up from Werfen below, too), you walk about 15 minutes to a cable car. From the upper station, another 15 minute walk takes you to the entrance of the caves. There is a 75 minute tour which visits formations and large caverns. You only visit 1/50th of the cave - there are over 42 km of passages which have been explored. Take warm clothes with you. These are ice caves, afterall:-] Leave a Comment |
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