Blogs from Obertraun, Upper Austria, Austria, Europe

Wednesday 20th May. Not a good day. It started out OK, and finished well, but the middle of the day was not so good. I set off from Vienna for Obertraun. This place is a little off the beaten track, and required two changes of trains to get here. The first leg was on a RailJet train from Vienna to Leoben. This train went through the Semmering Pass, a section of railway that is World Heritage listed. It was quite a spectacular trip, winding along the valley, twisting and climbing, many tunnels, bridges and viaducts. Once over the pass the train descended into a valley with a fair amount of towns and industries. Five minutes before Leoben we stopped at Brück am Mur, and probably at that stop someone stole my backpack from the rack above ... read more

It's another hot day today at 32 degrees and certainly not one to go biking. We walked up to the Krippenstein Seilbahn and were wet through with sweat before the day had barely begun. The cable way goes up to 2108m so it's long and high. It does it in two legs where the first stop is at the location for the Mammoth Cave and Ice Cave. Since it was a very warm and clear day it was best to go to the top first. Once out at the top station there is a huge expanse of mountains for 360 degrees. The Dachstein is the highest at just under 3000m. The vast area is a huge karst landscape of limestone and dolomite with the typical look of our Takaka limestone at home. There are some of ... read more