The Picky Traveler: Obertraun

Monday, June 23, 2014

Extreme European Adventure: Obertraun and the Dachstein Mountains (June 23, 2014)

Monday, June 23, 2014
Today was a day you only dream about. Beautiful weather, clear skies, and gorgeous expansive views.

We started off the day well with a yummy breakfast at the Obertrauner Hof. The variety was good and kept well stocked by Trevor and Debbie. We filled up before heading across the street to the local grocery store for provisions to make lunch.

After packing lunch, we walked the 30 minutes through the neighborhood to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Dachstein Salzkammergut. We got to the cable cars that take you to the Ice Caves and 5 Fingers overlook, and used a discount card provided by the Obertrauner Hof. We'd been given sound advice to go to the top and 5 Fingers first in case a weather system moved in. We wound up with perfect weather, but the advice was great for avoiding crowds. Almost everyone goes to the ice caves first.

We bought all inclusive tickets and headed up the two cable cars to the top.

I don't know how to suitably explain the beauty of the views we were afforded at the top of the Dachstein mountains. Everywhere you looked - gorgeous. (Seriously please...somebody loan me some synonyms.) Our cameras were ready for the snow covered mountains, green hills, water, and clean, fresh air, but it still took my breath away.

We went on the 30 minute fairly strenuous hike to the 5 Fingers overlook stopping at the rest area to grab a different view and watch a paraglider take off.

Kris takes photos from the rest area. Comfy, eh?

When we got to 5 Fingers...MIND BLOWN!

Disclaimer...our photos do not do this area justice. We tried though.

This overlook is named for its odd shape. They created five different platforms for you to go out on and grab different views.

5 Fingers Viewing Platform

Turns out that you could see 5 Fingers from our balcony at the Obertrauner Hof and while walking around town.

One of the platforms has a really powerful viewing magnifier attached. You can operate it for free, and I was able to see the train coming into the Obertraun station, the ferry boat we took to Hallstatt, and much of the route we'd taken the day before.

Kristy using the magnifier on the 5 Fingers Viewing Platform (and Kris's photo of the view from the magnifier).

Another viewing platform has a picture frame attached. It was a trick to squeeze behind the bars to get a photo on the correct side of the frame. Tests your fear of falling from high heights for sure.

I made sure to go onto each of the various platforms and took far too many photographs...none of what adequately captured what my eyes absorbed that magical day.

So worth the hike!

The walk back is easier, as most of it is back downhill. Of course, Kris took a break to play in the snow and Queetar made an appearance.

After returning to the cable car, Kris and I had the entire cable car to ourselves as we went back down a stop to go to the Ice Caves.

The Eishole Ice Cave is also quite a trek. The altitude was really getting to me by now, but I tried to be a trooper.

It was interesting to see the Eishole Cave since I'd never seen an ice cave before. The ice has grown over the years since discovery too. Need I mention it was chilly in there?

Our Eishole Cave tour was conducted in Germany and English, and ran late. We had to hightail it to the Mammut Cave for our next tour time. Kris ran ahead to stall the guide while I did my best not to lose my lunch. (I really have trouble with altitude.)

View from outside of the Eishole Ice Cave exit

The Mammut Cave is massive in size, but it didn't offer anything I hadn't seen before. Unless you just haven't seen many caves, I'd skip this one.

Regardless, our trip up the Dachstein Mountains was beyond expectations. So lucky to have gotten to see that view on such a clear and wondrous day! So understandable why it was made an UNESCO World Heritage site.

After going down to the bottom, Kris and I walked back to the Obertrauner Hof to rest a bit. I showered while Kris worked on photos. After enjoying the balcony and some foot rest, we decided to go to dinner at the Restaurant Reba attached to our lodging. They offer a special each day of soup, salad, main, and dessert for a very reasonable 15 Euros per person. Guests at the Obertrauner Hof get a free beverage of their choice with dinner.

Restaurant Reba and Obertrauner Hof

After inquiring what the evening meal would consist of, Kris and I both ordered the daily special. Fantastic choice!

Our soup was a yummy cabbage and potato soup with semmel roll.
Then we got a fresh spring salad with a yummy dressing.
The was the main course - a yummy chicken stew with hearty vegetables and a wonderful sauce. Fresh and earthy, I would happily eat this again.
Dessert was a light, delectable cheesecake with fresh wild strawberries, homemade whipped cream, and a wonderful fresh raspberry sauce.

Did I mention that I would gladly eat this entire meal again? It was FABULOUS! And they even gave us ice in our glasses!

Yummy chicken stew at Restaurant Reba

After dinner, we went wandering around Obertraun.

This horse had velcro shoes on???

We took a casual stroll through the neighborhood and even stopped to play at the park. They have some awesome playground equipment. We had to play on the zipline!

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨»*«´♥`»*«´¨`·.¸¸.*¤*

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Extreme European Adventure: Hallstatt, Austria (June 22, 2014)

Sunday, June 22, 2014
Getting to Hallstatt/Obertraun by public transportation from Munich isn't difficult, but it also isn't direct.

We wanted to get the most out of our day in Hallstatt, so we caught the 9:09am U-Bahn to the Munich HBF where we caught the very nice and spacious 9:34am RailJet 63 to Salzburg. First class on this train is nice with comfy seats, a welcome bag of pretzels, and footrests at the seats.

I got a bit freaked out when, due to delays, our 10 minute connection time turned into a 2-3 minute connection time. After our train finally stopped and doors opened at the Salzburg HBF, Kris and I sprinted (quite a feat with all of our bags) down the stairs and back up different stairs to get the our IC 549 train to Attnang Puchheim. Phew - we made it, but it turned out we didn't need to run afterall. Scheduled to leave at 11:12 am, this train was also delayed due to the RailJet delay. Thinking we needed to sprint at Attnang Puchheim to find our train to Obertraun Dachstein, we were very pleasantly surprised that we just needed to walk off of our train and a few steps across to our final train to Obertraun. (This train was held too. Going to Hallstatt from the RailJet must be popular.) We were glad not to have missed any connections. It would have meant an hour wait for the next train.

Austrian countryside from the train

After getting to Obertraun Dachstein around 1:40 pm, we walked the 5-7 minutes to the Obertrauner Hof, our home for the next two nights. We were checked in by the owner Debbie and shown to Room 17.

Our awesome room at the Obertrauner Hof

Our room was spacious and clean with a comfy bed and pillows and a lovely balcony with a view of the 5 Fingers viewing platform. We also had a private bathroom. Each floor has coffee/tea any time of day and a shared mini-fridge. A really nice breakfast is included in the room price.

We tried reading the bus schedule to get over to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hallstatt and failed pretty abysmally. We opted to take the next train one stop back to the Hallstatt station and ferry across.

Kris on the Stefanie ferry to Hallstatt

Talk about a nice choice. Seeing Hallstatt on that ferry boat (called the Stefanie) was outstanding!

Hallstatt from the Stefanie ferry

We landed in Hallstatt and decided to do a walking tour we'd found on Big Boy Travel. We just did it in reverse.

Hallstatt was one of the stops that I had been most anticipating, and it did not disappoint. Stacked timber houses along a lakefront with gorgeous balcony boxes of flowers are a visual delight. Hallstatt is a 7,000 year old village and even older than Rome, but it is well kept and clean! You don't think about it being so old, but they have the oldest functioning salt mine in the world which attracted villagers many moons ago.

Granted, the terrain in Hallstatt isn't very flat, but it is beyond charming.

We headed uphill toward the Pfarrkirche (Catholic Church) to view the two-level picturesque and tightly packed cemetery. Every grave had a little flower garden and some kind of twisted metal grave marker. The cemetery had a great view too. The cemetery only has room for just over 100 plots, so people are actually rotated out. Over 1200 bodies have been cycled through, and, when they are removed, they are brought to the Bone House in Michael's Chapel.

Pfarrkirche Cemetery in Hallstatt

The Bone House is a sight to behold. For people slightly twisted like Kris and I, it is definitely worth the small admission. The bodies exhumed from the cemetery are cleaned and left out for a few weeks until they are smooth. Since 1720, the skulls have been painted with flowers, leaves, ivy, and laurel. A few former priests have crosses with bibles painted on them.

The Bone House - Hallstatt

The latest skull in the Bone House belongs to a skull exhumed in 1995. The woman still has a gold tooth attached. Fewer skulls are added today since the church has started accepting the practice of cremation.

Note the gold tooth at the Bone House - Hallstatt

Our next stop was up a bunch of stairs to what we thought was the overlook mentioned in the walking tour. Turns out that we didn't need to go up any stairs for our next point...we should have instead gone downstairs from the church and followed a rather flat road 300 meters. Both spots offered nice viewpoints. Kris and I certainly aren't practicing for The Amazing Race with this trip. We're making many mistakes.

Nice view of Hallstatt

Next stop: Marktplatz or Market Square. In 1750, this part of Hallstatt was leveled by a fire so all of the buildings in Market Square were rebuilt from stone instead of wood. Kris and I decided to indulge in our first gelato of the trip. Kiwi for him...strawberry for me. Both crisp and refreshing.

Indulging in gelato

Don't forget to drink enough water

At this point, we made sure to note all of the buildings discussed in the tour, but I was just soaking in Hallstatt and going for a stroll. I was just less interested in the facts and more interested in the ambiance.

Until 1890, the only way to reach most of the homes in Hallstatt was by boat or through narrow passages. It wasn't until 1890 that the main road of was constructed.

We walked along the waterfront passing the rental Swan paddleboats and actual living swans of Hallstatt. The swans were brought to Hallstatt by Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi. Sisi, like her cousin the crazy Mad King Ludwig, was obsessed with swans.

Swan paddleboats

Swan in Hallstatt

We walked back to have some dinner in town (goulash soup for me and hot dogs for Kris) then realized we'd missed the last ferry back to Hallstatt. Doh!

Missing the ferry made us schmucks we figure

We tightened our laces and prepped ourselves for the hour and a half walk back to Obertraun. Truth was...it was a nice walk. We got to see the residential parts of Hallstatt we would have missed, part of the lake we would have never seen, a freshly killed large snake that was run over by a car, a roadside memorial, the campgrounds of Hallstatt, and part of Obertraun we would have missed. With the weather as nice as it was, I think it was good we missed the ferry.