Blogs from Tyrol, Austria, Europe - page 13

Woke up that day feeling nervous because in a few hours I would be flying off the ground in a parachute and that terrified me because I am scared of heights. People were talking about the masked party the night before at the bar which was apparently a lot of fun. Some back story, Venice is known for its Masks which allowed in the old days people of nobility and peasants to go to parties. So last night's parties people had bought masks in Venice and wore them to the party. The bus left fairly early that morning because we had a long ride to Austria and we had to be there shortly after noon for the optionals. We were just pulling out when I realized I had left my jacket which had my passport in ... read more

Geo: 47.2627, 11.3947 We left Melk today bound for Innsbruck (Austria), roughly a four and a half hour drive. On the way we called in to see Mauthausen Concentration Camp, just outside of Linz. Mauthausen was classified as a so-called "category three camp". This was the fiercest category of concentration camp, and for the prisoners it meant "Rûckkehr unerwünscht" (return not desired) and "Vernichtung durch arbeit" (extermination by work). Mauthausen was chosen as a site for a slave labour camp because of the nearby granite quarry, and due to its proximity to Linz. The granite mined in the quarries had previously been used to pave the streets of Vienna, but the Nazi authorities envisioned a complete reconstruction of major German towns in accordance with the plans of Albert Speer and other architects of Nazi architecture, for ... read more

Skiing!... read more

Rumor has it there was an Austrian farmer who wanted to cross from Heiligenblut to Kals, not an easy route. Being quite drunk, he managed to get lost in the mountain mist but he was able to get to Kals because he could hear the church bell. Like all legends, there is probably a hint of truth behind the origin of the name of Austria's highest peak - Großglockner - which I summited Friday morning at 7:35 am local time. It was definitely an exhilarating combination of major adrenaline and being very much aware of the extreme exposure. I wanted to try for the 3798 meter summit when I was in Austria back in May but the weather was far from cooperative. I decided on a return trip from Turkey and bought a one way ticket ... read more

Day 3 of our hike was most difficult. The destination was a very famous and old hut called Berliner Hutte. As the name suggests, it was built by Germans, more than 100 years ago. To get there from Furtschaglhaus, we had to first get up a 3100m pass and then again get down to 2000m to the hut. Needless to mention, we were expecting spectacular views at the top of pass. We started our day early as we wanted to walk slowly, enjoying the views and not have to rush against time. The beginning of hike was on easier side, trail was well made and grade was not too steep. We decided to start without breakfast, and then stop on the way for some bread and peanut butter. That was kind of mistake. The valley was ... read more