Saturday in Wattens

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I stole the title of tis blog from Albert's photo collage he posted to Facebook via his iPod - it names it himself, apparently, but it is a good enough title for what we did (or lack thereof) today. I suppose I could have included something about crystals as well, seeing as that was our whole purpose in being in the little town of Wattens. Well, technically, we weren't exactly in the town, but just outside of it.

Wattens is located about a 20-30 minute drive outside of Innsbruck. It is accessible from the bus terminal as well as via train. It is nothing more than a small town with what appeared to be about 5 churches and houses built in weird places. It seems that Austrians have no rules as to where they can build their houses. If they feel like building one on top of a mountain, then they can. There is no one there to stop them. So, it's rather funny driving past and seeing the town and as your eyes move further up you see a house here and a house there - built into the mountains.

Unless you're a resident there, the only reason somebody would have for going to Wattens is Swarovski Kristallwelten (Swarovski Crystal Worlds). Whenever you Google 'things to do in Innsbruck' this would always be near the top of the list, minus the Olympia World and Ambras Castle, which is also here. Four times a day, you are able to get on a shuttle bus which is organised by Swarovski, from the main train station. It's about twenty minutes and 9,50 euro for a return ticket.

We all know the brand Swarovski and the shops you can probably see all around the world, selling bracelets, necklaces, earrings and other things you are able to picture. They focus on crystals (obviously) and all of it is really pretty. Of course, they make great gifts for people as well!

Well, in case you were all wondering, it is an Austrian-produced product, and the headquarters are in this tiny little town of Wattens. We had been planning to go here for months, but we had little idea of what exactly we were expecting to find. Crystal Worlds? Was it just one big shop which sold very expensive products that we couldn't take back to Australia anyway? Was it where they made everything and you got to go into the factory and watch? These were what I was expecting, at least, as we boarded the bus.

How very wrong I was.

It costs 19 euro to enter, which is a bit pricey, but it is well-worth checking out this place. The entrance, itself, is stunning, with a massive water fountain made from a plant of some kind. The stand-out, though, are the eyes. They are made of crystals!

You find that a lot here - everywhere you look there are crystals hiding in lots of different places.

I will not go through every little room we entered, as I cannot remember, but I will point out what I felt like the highlights were. This is not a factory, where you watch the production, but more like a museum which shows crystals from many different perspectives.

The first room instantly had us in awe from the huge crystal wall on the left, and to the largest hand cut crystal in the world right in the centre. The majority of the area is dark, but you are allowed to take pictures of everything that is there, so we have quite a few - though we have only selected the best ones to show you on here.

The next room didn't have much to do with crystals as such, but had technology of some kind which had trousers moving mechanically, as well as shirts. It was a bit confusing, but cool nonetheless!

Our favourite room, however, was the next one. You walk in and it is like you are standing inside a crystal. Crystal mirrors are facing in every direction and it really gives the feeling like you are standing inside. I can't really explain what it is like other than that if you are here, you need to experience for yourself!

It doesn't take long to get through, truthfully, but each room is new, exciting and fresh and doesn't get boring. They have a Christmas tree made out of crystal, they have models of buildings, and pretty light displays. All of it is made from crystal.

As any museum has, as you leave the exhibition, you are taken into the gift shop. I spent a bit there, and the main thing I got was a display crystal owl (the last one, too). It was 99 euro, but as our trip is nearing the end and I haven't spent much, it was okay to buy it, I think. It's really pretty! Besides, I filled out a form where I apparently can get the tax money back at the airport in Vienna when we leave.

After exiting that, your ticket also gets you in to an area called the Crystal Cloud. This one is outdoors and essentially is what the name says - crystals that look like clouds. Even with the cloud cover today, they were sparkling very well, so I could only imagine what they would look like under the sunlight!

There's a nice restaurant there, and also an ice-skating rink. I am a bit unsure if the entry ticket gets you onto the rink or not, as I believe when I asked, the lady misunderstood my question, but it is 4 euro to hire skates. We didn't go on due to time, but it would have been nice to.

Randomly, there is also a small section with Roman buildings, coins and other objects which have only recently been dug up (in 2014, some of it). This was accidentally discovered when they had been looking to renovate the crystal worlds. They now have a small glass-covered section which displays the ruins underground and cabinets with the coins and pottery around it.

They work the buses so you have about 3 hours there. If you want, of course, you can stay longer, but in our opinion, 3 hours is long enough. We were back in Innsbruck by 2pm and after a short rest we decided to look at what was in the shops around Innsbruck. There are a few shopping malls nearby, and I managed to buy a vest in H&M that was 40 euro reduced down to 10 (I know how to find a bargain).

It was raining by then, though, so we didn't stay out for long. We ended up having dinner just around the corner at Vapiano (the same restaurant we ate at for lunch in Vienna once - the one where your order goes on a card and then you pay at the end).

So, not an overly exciting day after the crystal worlds, but we have plans for the next few days before our departure on Tuesday.

I hope you enjoy the pictures, but I must confess, it is better in real life!

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Photos

Castle display
Had Big Ben and Statue of Liberty. Not sure of its purpose, but the room it was in was coolly decorated.

Crystal lights
This was actually one. In many rooms they had mirrors, so it looked and felt like two.

Fountain
This is the entrance. You walk through it. The eyes are made of crystal

Painted crystal room
These had many cool painted light displays. I'm not sure what they were exactly, but some of the images reflected Roman style images

Roman remains
Bones and pottery

Roman ruins
A small section of uncovered Roman ruins - aspects of this were uncovered in only 2014.