Western Austria Part 1 - June 2010

We arrived late Monday morning in Zurich after a very pleasant flight from Toronto.

We picked up our car at the airport (a beautiful new Audi) and made our way into Zurich. We were headed to the Jewish neighbourhood to pick up kosher supplies for the next week. After a few wrong turns, we found the Jewish neighbourhood and Kosher City, which is a totally kosher supermarket. We stocked up on some bread, meat and cheese (most of the canned stuff we brought with from Toronto) and were off to Lucerne. 

Arriving in Lucerne in the afternoon, we were headed to the Hotel Sonnenberg, high on a hill with a magnificent view in front of us. We checked in and then headed downtown to explore the old city of Lucerne.  Lucerne is tucked into a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains; with an arm of Lake Lucerne jutting into the downtown area of the city. 

There is a very famous picture postcard of the old wooden bridge that spans this area of Lake Lucerne. You can walk the bridge from one side to the other. Swans and ducks are floating on the lake; it is quite a beautiful sight. The downtown area seems very old with chalet like buildings on the narrow winding streets. Very picturesque.

In town  we saw examples of famous Swiss desserts in a store window...looked good...but another time, perhaps!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the local supermarket and armed with our list of kosher products of Switzerland, we spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the "food" landscape. 

Hotel Sonnenberg is a combination hotel-school. They teach people how to work in the hotel industrey. So the prices tend to be a bit lower than other Swiss hotels, but because the staff is supervised and they wish to graduate, the service tends to be excellent. It was clean, comfortable and being high above Lucerne, the air was amazing! The doors were very interesting....they had the room number in multiple languages!

And the view of Mount Pilatus, where we were headed Tuesday morning was great. High atop Mount Pilatus in the distance was the chairlift station. 

The view from our window.

Zooming in, we see the chairlift station 7000 feet above us

We had an early night; prepared for the ascent of Mount Pilatus the next morning.

Early Tuesday morning, we headed a short distance down the hill to the chairlift station. The touring of Mount Pilatus is an interesting experience. You ascend the mountain by chairlift. 

On the way up we heard cow bells and looked down to see cows pasturing in the beautiful green fields below.

As we continued up, the terrain moved from green to brown and we wondered, who built that church on the cliff and more important how does anyone get to it?

The chairlift is a two stage process; first to a height of about 5000 feet and the second takes you up to the top of the mountain. It is a total of eight miles to the top of the mountain!

When we arrived at the top, we found a swiss man with the traditional Alphorn. The alphorn  is a labrophone, consisting of a wooden natural horn of conical bore, having a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece, used by mountain dwellers in Switzerland and elsewhere. 

We hiked at the top of the mountain. The views were magnificent. The air was amazing, the weather cool but warmed by the bright sunshine; in short, an ideal day. 

I now knew what Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch meant.

It was said about Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch that when he was well into his 70’s he decided to travel from Germany to Switzerland for a vacation. This was in the late 1800’s when cars and airplanes were unheard of. The trip was an arduous trek by train and coach. He was asked, ‘Rabbi, you’re an old man. Why are you taking such a trip?’ Replied Rabbi Hirsch, “After 120 years, I’ll meet my maker and he will ask me, ‘Raphael, did you ever see my magnificent Alps?’” I have to be able to answer that question.

The world is truly a magnificent creation filled with all of God’s beauty. And we want to be able to answer the same question when we are asked: Fran, David, did you take the time to see my amazing creations?

After hiking at the top of the mountain, you then descend by cog railway, which places you on the other side of the valley from where you started, directly on the shore of lake Lucerne.

There is only one track with trains going up and down; so halfway up, the conductor moves the centre ramp to line up with the track that will allow him to continue down

The view on the way down

Entering Lucerne

The famous hotel that looms above Lucerne

Could not resist...it means Jewellery and Watches!

 You cross the highway and take a water taxi back to downtown Lucerne,  where you then take a bus back to the chairlift station where you parked your car. It is a 4 hour process that allows you to experience 4 different modes of transport (chairlift, train, boat and bus) with amazing views all around. Thank God, it was sunny, clear and warm. 

We checked out of the hotel and headed eastward into Austria. We had a 5 hour drive ahead of us and spent the night in the Hotel Maxmillian in Mayrhofen. We were now in Austria and in the midst of the Austrian Alps. Most of the "hotels" in the area, are more like Bed & Breakfast places, built in the ski chalet style, with the owner/family occupying part of the home. The one thing that ties them all together is that they are immaculately clean and very organized. 

Wednesday morning, we left early for our ride thru the Alps and some of the most picturesque drives anywhere in the world. All around there were waterfalls and mountains. Being early June, there was still snow melting on the tops of the mountains which meant that waterfalls and streams below were full and flowing strongly.

Our first stop was at Krimmel Falls which we reached by driving through the Gerlos Pass.

 The falls were amazing. After walking at the bottom of the falls where you had to get wet from the large and constant mist, we hiked up the side of the falls; uphill all the way and all the while being passed by elderly Austrians equipped with their hiking sticks, hiking boots and occasionally their lederhoisen.

There were amazing flowers everywhere. 

We continued on to our major destination of the day, the GrossKlocknerStrasse; The High Alpine Road of Austria. This very famous alpine road leads you into the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park, to the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner (3,798m) and its glacier, the Pasterze.  

You pass through a unique world of mountains with blossoming alpine meadows, fragrant mountain forests, massive cliffs and eternal ice to the foot of the Grossglockner, the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. 
The construction of the road began in 1924 and was finally opened in 1935. You pay a toll to travel the road and it is well worth it. 

By the way, there are discount cards that drastically reduce the cost of tourist travel in Austria. We used the Salzburgerland Card which allows you entry in a specified number of days to any of the many attractions listed on the card. Many chairlifts are included and there is usually no limit to the number of times that one may experience a particular site. In one case, we rode up the side of a mountian on a chair lift and returned on a wheeled toboggan and enjoyed it so much that we did it three times; no extra charge. This card also gives you reduced entry to the GrossKlockner and to a number of other toll roads. Highly recommended.

Back to the GrossKlockner...you begin driving in the valley and begin to climb. You will have a driving and nature experience of a special kind on 48 kilometres of high alpine road with 36 bends, and an altitude ascent to 2,504 metres!

Every once in a while, a cyclist would pass us....GOING UP!!!! Showoff!!!!

The area where you begin is all green; halfway up it turns to brown and then it turns totally white as you are surrounded by immense quantities of snow and the temperature goes from short sleeves and shorts to freezing!!!!. It is amazing.

We made our way back down the mountain and continued on to our self catering chalet in Kaprun and a well deserved salmon dinner! 

Not bad for a home cooked meal on the road!

Tomorrow...the Kitzloch Klam Gorge and the Werfen Castle.

All the best

Fran and David