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Enjoying your report and all the photos.
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Thanks Leely2!
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Dec 16 -
So far, we’d only used four of the six cable cars included in our pass and were a bit bummed that we’d be unable to take the Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime cable car. It was -9 c when we left the apartment for café lattes and pastry at the Watchler Store, €12.30. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ea12828dd.jpg Watchler Store https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e05e4b2e83.jpg Watchler Store Afterwards we popped into the Post Hotel, paid our bill, bought laundry tokens (€5 each to wash and dry, laundromat in the basement of our apartment building), and arranged a ride to the train station for our departure tomorrow. Then it was on to the 446 bus, planning to go up to Kreuzbergpass /Passo Monte Croce to look for a winter hiking path and maybe eat lunch at the restaurant - this as an alternative to going up the Tre Cime gondola, which was still closed. During the ride, we learned why we couldn’t find Signaue yesterday - because the bus continues on from Croda Rossa up to Fischleintal/Val Fiscalina and then comes back down, and then goes up to Signaue. Ah-ha! As we approached Signaue, we noticed the Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime cable car was running, evidently it had been repaired! We got off the bus, walked down to the cable station and climbed aboard. At the top, we weren’t sure specifically what we were supposed to see - those promised ‘best views’ of Tre Cime - but we enjoyed it just the same. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c8bd77f4a.jpg Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d085bebcd6.jpg Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime We walked a portion of a trail until the snow became too deep. We then took the Stiergarten cable car all the way down, took in the views and then went right back up. Our ticket didn’t work, no idea why as it was included in the three day pass, but both times we were let through by the cable car operators. Then we tried to get on a third cable car - which we couldn’t even find on the map - but our ticket wouldn’t work again. We weren’t that interested as we could see no sun at the top, so we didn’t pursue it. We eventually returned to the bus stop planning to take the 446 bus in the direction of Helmjet/Sexton, but it wasn’t due for half an hour. Instead we crossed the street and got on the 446 bus in the direction of Kreuzbergpass which was our original destination before we discovered the Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime cable car was operating. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e22b6f0962.jpg Drei Zinnen/Tre Cime parking lot https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...97b168d7e9.jpg I sure hope these two were traveling together Once at Kreuzbergpass, we walked around for a few minutes, took in the views, and then got back on the same bus which was headed back to Helmjet/Sexton. We got off there and took the cable car up, planning to have lunch. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f25fc68ea.jpg Kreuzbergpass https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7d4d8b562e.jpg Helmjet/Sexton https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...789251e2d3.jpg Helmjet/Sexton The restaurant was absolutely heaving; we had to wait a bit for others to vacate a table. We finally scored one, and then took turns going through the self-service line, not wanting to risk losing it. We both went for pasta and wine, and I fell for a slice of Sacher torte (which always looks better than it tastes; you'd think I'd learn, €40). https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d6af9a010f.jpg Afterwards, we took the cable car down, and froze our bits off while waiting for a return bus to San Candido. We’d gotten our money’s worth out of those three day cable car passes. Winter days are short, the sun was gone from one of the ski pistes by noon! I had a chill I couldn’t shake. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6229414899.jpg Views from bus stop We got off at the Haunold/Baranci stop, and walked the 10 minutes back to our apartment where we had a fight with the Italian washing machine in the basement of our building. There were no instructions in any language, so we just randomly pushed buttons until something worked. It took 90 minutes to do one small load of laundry plus 1:40 to dry. The Europeans must go mad doing laundry. To be continued... |
love_travel_Aus - can you define not found it too hot? You Aussies are much more tolerant of the heat than we are!
Ah yes! I guess we think of 25C as quite cool, and we also found the morning temperature around 14C as cooler still. I always wore a short sleeve ice breaker or light tee shirt and a loose shirt so I guess this reflects my tolerance of heat. I never wear shorts. Having grown up in Perth and living in South Australia our perspective on cold and warmth is probably not all that helpful. Your hiking in the cold is awesome and the photos are wonderful. Thank you! |
love_travel - you're right about your tolerance - 25c isn't cool to me, nor is it oppressive.
Seven summers in Perth almost did me in, not to mention Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Indonesia! I hope to never live in climates like those again. |
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Adelaidean - those numbers make me physically sick. Don't know how you Aussies cope, especially those without air con, of which I know there are many.
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We have strong memories of Perth heat having got married there in January 50 years ago - on a 42C day!
No air con as was the norm and my mum a bit annoyed because I did not wear tights under a long dress with long sleeves: I am quite amazed how we managed. My folks never installed air con despite all of us wanting them to. My heat tolerance is certainly less now and I don't miss being in a hot house. Loving re reading all of this so thank you again for sharing your trip report. |
Having been to Australia at the height of summer several times, I would say the most brutal was on the Top End because of the intense humidity. Even Uluru at 43 degrees wasn’t so bad; hot, yes, but not uncomfortable. Sydney or Brisbane never felt too bad even on the 40+ days; perhaps the water has a moderating effect.
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tripplanner - as far as I'm concerned, the the only thing worse than high temps is high temps + humidity! Perth has both, although people insisted on comparing it to San Diego, which I could never get my head around. I've been to San Diego, although not in the dead of summer.
The one saving grace was the Freo Doctor, the cooling afternoon sea breeze. |
Dec 17 -
Another sunny day was promised, but alas, it was time to leave, -9c. We’d both thoroughly enjoyed San Candido and were already talking about a possible return visit. It was Sunday; I’d picked up some UHT milk and cream the previous day as I suspected grocery stores would be closed at our next destination, Bad Hofgastein. The two closest cafes to the apartment were closed, so I walked to Bar Café Kastro - happy to find it open. The proprietor recognized me from a few days prior and we had a nice chat while I enjoyed a lovely *hot cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. Bill was content to drink crap coffee in the apartment, but was glad to have the croissant I took back for him (€6.60). *We'd had trouble getting hot coffee - even when I asked for extra hot at Café Silvia, it was tepid. Wachtler Store had done well the first day, but the coffee on subsequent visits was not as hot, even when requested. Do Italians not like hot coffee? We’d looked into purchasing an Einfahrt Raus ticket, which is similar to the Bayern Ticket in Bavaria - an all-day ticket valid on regional transport - but we couldn’t make the entire journey on regional transport; one train was an EC and therefore ineligible. So, Bill booked the entire journey on the ÖBB app (€75 for both). We packed up, caught our ride to the bahnhof and were on our way to Bad Hofgastein, Austria. Our journey took us first to Lienz, where I was pleased to find a huge grocery store and bakery at the train station, both open on this Sunday. I made a mad dash into the store looking for a quick lunch, but the lines were long and our connection was short, so I returned to the platform empty-handed. We then boarded a train to Spittal-Millstattersee, where we had an 18 minute connection, but there was nowhere to buy food. I was hangry, and was kicking myself for not planning better. Both trains had been practically empty. Still foodless, we boarded the train to Bad Hofgastein Bahnhof, which was busy; many seats reserved. I took a seat that was reserved from Bad Gastein to Salzburg, vacating it when we reached Bad Gastein and standing for the last 11 minutes to Bad Hofgastein (yes, all these “Gasteins” are a little confusing). I was curious what one does when they have a reserved seat, but no place to put their luggage. Upon arrival at the Bad Hofgastein train station, we located the bus stop and eventually boarded bus 558 to Tauernplatz, very near our apartment. The journey had taken just under four hours; I was in full on hangry mode; shaky and lightheaded; I needed to eat, and soon. We located our apartment building, momentarily confused by the instructions we’d been given on how to retrieve the key, but quickly sorted. The apartment is situated in an old building, but it had an elevator (yay!). It was interestingly configured, with a tiny kitchen, a small living area with furniture too big for the space, a dining nook, one bedroom and oddly, 1.5 bathrooms, right next to each other. The ‘guest’ bathroom had the tiniest washing machine we’d ever seen. It was comfortable and well equipped, albeit compact. The location turned out to be perfect. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5e7bb13c25.jpg This was our second apartment this trip with “poop shelf” toilets; mystifying and hilarious. Here’s an interesting take on the poop shelf toilet: https://amsenneff.wordpress.com/2010...he-pooh-shelf/ Naturally, the apartment was also overheated, so we turned it down first thing. Which begs the question, why do Europeans keep the heat up so high? We immediately went out looking for sustenance, surprised to find the nearby Mpreis grocery store open for business - special Sunday hours this weekend before Christmas - thank you food gods! We bought sandwiches from the attached Baguette bakery and promptly devoured them, me feeling better almost instantly (€7.40). After picking up some groceries and dropping them at the apartment, we went out to explore the Christmas market; knowing this would be our only chance, this third Sunday of Advent, as it’s only open on weekends. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...23293b0ed8.jpg Bad Hofgastein https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2265e90c60.jpg Bad Hofgastein https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3040221b57.jpg Krampus demons The small and sedate market was located a short walk from the apartment; live music was set for 6 pm, so we sought out a nearby pub and had a drink while we waited. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8c95fe08e7.jpg Bad Hofgastein https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f52d60263d.jpg Bad Hofgastein https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...16f777be37.jpg Bad Hofgastein https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3053fb9ae2.jpg Bad Hofgastein Later, I was approached by an intoxicated man who struck up a slurred conversation. This very thing had happened in San Candido, making me wonder why I was attracting drunk European men. To be continued... |
Dec 18 -
The first full day in a new town tends to be a bit disjointed; today was no different. We first sought out the tourist office, where we picked the brains of the helpful young woman manning the desk. We knew we were in for some bad weather and would need to prioritize, so I asked her what she would do for our two nice days if it were her. She suggested SportGastein, Stubnerkogel, and Schlossalm as a close third. After figuring out the logistics for Sportgastein - the highest ski area in the Gastein Valley, we walked to the Bad Hofgastein Busbahnhof/Schlossalmbahn, about 10 minutes from the apartment. By the time we’d reached the busbahnhof, Bill had decided he needed a second layer, so we went back to the apartment. Upon our return to the bus station, we discovered that there was a two hour gap between buses; we’d need to wait for the 11:45 am bus. So, we set out on the river trail towards Bad Gastein, the trees covered in a beautiful hoar frost. We wandered the intersecting paths, watched a toddler chase the ducks and then continued walking up to Weitmoser Schlössl, which I’d read has a restaurant; closed this time of year. https://www.weitmoser.at/ https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fba36e089e.jpg River trail https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...db51233b4d.jpg River trail https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3605ebe8c2.jpg River trail https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...360df310c3.jpg River trail https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fb60322c05.jpg River trail https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11e6cb7750.jpg River trail https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...239867ef88.jpg River trail https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...91fe19d64a.jpg Weitmoser Schlössl An hour later, we returned to the bus stop and caught the bus to Sportgastein, part of the Hohe Tauern National Park, situated at the end of the Gastein Valley (€15.20 for both return - €1.50 each way per person with Gastein Card discount, plus €2.30 each way per person for the Gasteiner Sommerfeldstraße toll road). https://www.skigastein.com/en/activi.../sportgastein/ Note: City buses are free with the Gastein Card, all other buses are at a reduced fare of €1.50 per person per journey. The city buses are pretty limited; we never used one. Once at the “sunny high plateau” of Sportgastein, we walked the Nassfeld trail, an easy well-groomed 4.5 km loop; the sun already behind the mountains at 12:45; we were in the shade for most of the walk. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...55c23b1200.jpg Sportgastein https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66a9cae190.jpg Sportgastein Afterwards, we walked down to the Valeriehaus restaurant, which looked more appealing than the self-service restaurant near the Sportgastein bus stop. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...913d738936.jpg Valeriehaus The diners at the table next to us had ordered a fantastic looking cheese spätzle with fried onions; I was tempted, but didn’t think I could eat an entire gut-busting order, so we agreed Bill would order it (accompanied with a garden salad) and he’d share. It was fantastic. I ordered the coconut curry ginger soup, which was also fantastic. So good was the food that I wanted to try their topfenstrudel with vanilla sauce as well, so we shared a slice; warm and delicious (€59 with Grüner Veltliner, all excellent). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ad491bb4fb.jpg Cheese spätzle with fried onions https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c72af8fff0.jpg Topfenstrudel with vanilla sauce There were four in-our-age-bracket diners at a nearby table who had consumed a massive bottle of wine and then ordered a second regular sized bottle. And they weren’t the least bit rowdy or snockered. After lunch we walked back down to the bus stop to catch the 3:30 bus back to Bad Hofgastein. The bus was completely full; humans and their skis filled the aisles. Some of the skiers were a bit reckless with their ski poles, carrying them horizontally and not paying attention to those around them; I half expected someone to get impaled. The last bus from Sportsgastein left at 4:30; I wondered if they‘d all fit. The bus emptied out in Bad Gastein; we had it pretty much to ourselves by the time we reached Bad Hofgastein. We were glad we decided to stay here; especially after getting a closer look at Bad Gastein. Bad Hofgastein felt small and easy to navigate, at least once one was in the town center. By comparison, Bad Gastein is situated in a sprawling valley; the train station, thermal baths, grocery store and various other businesses sit at the top of the valley, the church is in the valley floor; dozens of beautiful, but imposing hotels crawl up the valley walls (more on that later). It didn’t seem to have a town center. I’d assumed Bad Hofgastein was smaller than Bad Gastein, so I was surprised when I Googled and learned that Bad Hofgastein has a population of 6,770, and Bad Gastein a population of 4,465. Before returning to the apartment, we stopped at a grocery store, amused to see this: https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f684e40d50.jpg Heart-shaped salami! To be continued... |
That icicled river trail imagery is very special, so rare to see trees like that.
Congrats Mel. I am done. the tempting foods |
Finally some fantastic food! YAY!
That's a beautiful walk by the river. And I think I saw the begin of a groomed x-country ski trail there, too. |
Dec 19 -
Today was predicted to be the last sunny day for the next 10, so we’d booked online tickets for the Stubnerkogel last night at a reduced rate of €29.50 each. We’d debated between the Stubnerkogel and the Schlossalmblick, deciding that the Stubnerkogel suspension bridge and various viewing platforms (2,300 meters) would be more unique than the single viewing platform and limited winter hiking trails at the Schlossalmblick (2,052 meters). https://www.gastein.com/en/gastein/a...-stubnerkogel/ https://www.skigastein.com/en/activi...wing-platform/ The Stubnerkogel touts 360 degree panoramic views, the suspension bridge and numerous viewpoints, and is referred to as “a real highlight for alpine fans and panoramic connoisseurs”. It sounded right up our alley. We took the 9:15 am bus to Bad Gastein (€1.50 each with Gastein Card), and then walked across the street to check out the Felsentherme (thermal spa) and asked how hot the pools are (32-34 c). Then it was back across the street to take the cable car up to Stubnerkogel. It was a beautiful day, perfect for walking to all the viewpoints; we were surprised to find more walking up here than expected. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c958bf08b0.jpg Onboard the gondola to Stubnerkogel https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...37217b101f.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5581340b4c.jpg Stubnerkogel https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...afac23b44a.jpg Stubnerkogel views https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ad739f78da.jpg Stubnerkogel views https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ad44d7c5e.jpg Stubnerkogel suspension bridge https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...70ab0f65b0.jpg Stubnerkogel suspension bridge https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8c84c63a85.jpg Gipfelrestaurant https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...360b2c5281.jpg Gipfelrestaurant We met an Austrian man at the Glocknerblick view point, who pointed out the Großglockner, Austria’s highest peak at 3,798 meters; letting us use his Swarovski binoculars. The Watzmann, Dachstein and Hochkönig can also be seen from here and the view extends as far as Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria and neighboring Bavaria. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8a5559c433.jpg Looking down from Glocknerblick view point https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...080651e9f8.jpg Glocknerblick view point He asked us to take some photos of him and then photographed our traction cleats, asking where we bought them. We had a nice chat, him thanking us for our country’s support of Ukraine. The day was beautiful, the skies a vibrant blue. We walked across the suspension bridge a few times, and just tromped around, taking in the wonderful views. Lunch was at the Gipfelrestaurant; an encore of cheese spätzle with fried onions and salad for Bill, fries for me, €36.20 with wine and beer. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9d69f7b8c1.jpg Gipfelrestaurant https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8ce75ea220.jpg Gipfelrestaurant https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f0fcf2f97c.jpg Cheese spätzle with fried onions We spent about three hours up here; walking up and down ski pistes and between all the various viewing platforms; it was 40 F, blissfully sunny and before long we were peeling off our jackets. We returned to Bad Gastein, walked around for a bit, and picked up a few things at the giant EuroSpar. I was curious about this town, with its many Belle Époque hotels perched along the valley walls. I wanted to visit the town center, which I assumed was down by the church, but it was a steep icy walk down from the bus/train station; it looked like a long slog coming back. We were tired, so we decided to explore another day and caught a bus back to Bad Hofgastein (€3 for both). https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fe057afedb.jpg Bad Gastein Later we wandered out to explore, ending up at the cozy Café Pub Piccolo, where we sipped drinks and watched the locals gather, €20.80. To be continued... |
The cheese spatzle looks yummy. Craving it just looking at it.
I continue to enjoy all the snow-covered mountain landscapes too. |
Thanks tripplanner!
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That river trail with the frost - just stunning.
Appreciate your details about the differences between towns, and connectivity. I’m not up for steep, icy walks, but it looks like you stayed in places that’d well suit a warmer season visit. |
Adelaiden - I have no doubt every place we visited would make a good base for a summer holiday.
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Dec 20 -
As promised, the day was cold and gloomy. We walked to the tourist office to ask about a walk Bill had found up to Annencafe, said to be situated on the “sunny side” of the valley above Bad Hofgastein. We verified that the café was open, and that the walk would take about an hour each way with an elevation gain of 200 meters. We also asked about the walk to Dorfgastein, and verified that the Durzbauer Distillery was open to the public today; but we were told to call in advance We weren’t really keen on walking in the crappy weather and were a bit ambivalent about how to spend the day. We returned to the apartment to mull it over. I received a response to the email I’d sent to the distillery the night before, telling us to come on by for a tasting, but their tours were only in German. We went out to find lunch around 12:30, choosing Pane E Vino. We both ordered the lunch special which included soup and a small pizza (€15 each). I chose the tomato soup and Diavola pizza (a bit too spicy for me), Bill chose the bean soup and a pizza with bacon, peppers and mushrooms; all good, €37.60 with one glass of wine each. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...04af5ebbcb.jpg Bad Hofgastein After lunch we walked to the bus station planning to catch the 2:15 (550) bus to the Bad Hofgastein-Anger stop, a two minute ride. We arrived 10 minutes before the bus was due so decided to walk instead. Some 40 minutes later we strolled up to Durzbauer Distillery, having followed a meandering route through various residential areas. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46f75dae2d.jpg Walk to Durzbauer Distillery https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d84a68a87c.jpg Durzbauer Distillery https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e8b22c1618.jpg Durzbauer Distillery The man behind the counter didn’t speak much English, so he sent up Kathie, the woman who’d emailed us. We told her we were unfamiliar with Schnapps; she said that Schnapps just means alcohol. Huh. She gave us a rundown of their range and invited us to taste whatever we wanted (35 options!). We shared 5-6 samples, really liking the Wildbeere Likor, which was sort of like port, and the Bergheu Spirituose, made from hay, which smelled like hay, and tasted just like one would think hay tasted, assuming one were to eat hay. It was really unusual and weirdly good, although a bit strong for my tastes. We bought a bottle of each, (€31). Then we walked the 40 minutes back to Bad Hofgastein - passing several bus stops en route, but choosing exercise over efficiency. Part of the walk was along the Achenpromenade, which we’d walked a portion of during our first day while waiting for that bus to Sportsgastein. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...df965d65ea.jpg Achenpromenade To be continued... |
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