Obertraun - Hallstatt

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Since it was to be another scorcher of a day we decided some more shaded paths would be a good idea and since we had not been in the valley above Obertraun we headed off up the road that would normally lead to Bad Aussee but it's still shut. There is more to Obertraun than initially takes the eye as it is spread right up the valley.

Where the rail and bike path entered the gorge we parked our bikes and walked up to the Koppenbrullerhohle which is another one of the many cave systems in the area. This one doesn't always have running water but does have pools inside. We opted not to do a tour since it was just another cave and we have heaps of those at home. However, not far from the cave were some exposed fossils and I presumed that these were the "cows footprints" that we had read about up on the Krippenstein yesterday. They look like brachiopods and do indeed look like a cow's footprint". We looked for some fossils coming down the path but didn't find any, mainly because they are the same colour as the rock.

Back on our bikes we went in search of the small lake up towards the end of the valley and the source of two streams coming from the cliffs and running into the Traun which is the main river through here. There were many trees and meadows up there so it was a bit cooler, thank goodness. Eventually we heard rushing water and parked our bikes to eat lunch by a very cold stream. A track indicated the path to the river source. As we headed upstream the water got stronger, the river noisier and the air cooler. The rush of water thundering downhill churned the air so much it was quite cool - really nice! As we approached the source, we found the water gushing out in all directions from a layer of rock, not just one source but many, merging further down. It was a churning, boiling, freezing and noisey mass of water. The geology is not unlike the Riwaka Resurgence - limestone caves and internal water sources flowing out of the rocks to form a river. This was well worth the visit.

We decided to bike to Hallstatt, heat or not and it wasn't that bad as biking creates it's own breeze. It's the stopping that makes you sweat. We made some stops along the lake shore and saw a bizarre fat lady in a swimming suit. Not a pretty sight! Front and back looked much the same...........

We had thought to go up into the valley at Hallstatt but instead headed to the Catholic Church to visit the Charnel House which is a sort of chapel filled with skulls and bones. Even though a macabre thing to visit, it was something quite unique. The House dates back to 1200. There are more than 1200 skulls in the house and over 600 of them are painted. When bodies have been in the ground for 15 years they are dug up and cleaned with the skull and large bones placed in the charnel house. Each skull is labelled with the person's name and painted with leaves of oak, ivy, roses or ??, can't remember. The rest is cremated. The reason was to create a place for the remains because of lack of space.

We visited the church too which dated back to 1181 and had some interesting paintings and decorations to look at. It was also COOL and we could lean against some nice cold walls. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

An icecream was called for which was yummy and this was followed by a nice cold beer.

Rather than going by bus to Bad Gosau for a visit we opted to return to Haus Hepi. It was going to be nice just to get out of the sun. It's been 33 degrees today and felt like it. I even managed to bike up the steep hill up to the house, just to prove a point.

We had our last meal with the Ozzie crew which was the usual laughter and enjoyment. You do not get this in a conventional hotel. There is a certain type of person who wants to bike and hike and they are relaxed and willing to socialize with fellow guests.

The day finished with a ripper of a thunderstorm, brought on no doubt by the heat building up enough humidity to drop as rain. It went on for 3 hours with thunder rumbling around the mountains.

So ends our biking and hiking adventures in Obertraun. It's a great place to visit with many things to do although I think hiking here has more choices than biking. There's heaps of tracks to explore. It's very pretty and staying at Haus Hepi made the stay that much better. We'd certainly recommend this type of holiday but at a cooler and more settled time of year. See http://www.haushepi.com/ Larry and Lisa are great hosts and you never know what interesting guests you'll meet with your stay.

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Photos

Fossils in the cliff
These are up the valley from Obertraun on the rail and road that go to Bad Ausee

Not a pretty sight on Lake Hallstatt
Obesity is rife, but togs??

In the Charnel House at Hallstatt
A macabre sight indeed. 1200 skulls and bones are contained here. Dating back to 12th century