If there is one thing that I have learned about Austria thus far is that heights are a plenty! Every time I feel like I am looking up at the highest peak, later I end up peering down from above that and barely being able to see what I used to think was so big. Yesterday's and now today’s adventure definitely proved this point. We left our place this morning with our sights set on Eisriesenwelt aka “World of the Ice Giants”. We drive for about 5 five minutes before seeing a sign pointing us towards the ice caves saying 5km. I expected to drive straight on the road we were on for that distance… but not long after we make the turn, we immediately start going up the mountain. We drive up a good bit, park, hike up to the main entrance. What a view already!
If you look right at the top of the mountain (well what looks like the top) you’ll see a little white building. We first had to hike about 20 minutes up to catch a cable car that took us to that building.
Remember the castle that was nestled high up on a hill overlooking the place we stayed last night… here it is from where we were standing.
The ride up the cable car was slightly frightening, being that you literally go straight up the mountain in a matter of minutes. Then we had to hike up even further to the foot of the cave. Pepe was a little scared.
We bundle up to head inside the cave which temps usually fall just around below freezing. I got my hood on, I’ve folded my sleeves around my fingers and tucked in my thumbs and place my hands in my jacket pockets as well. I hope I have on enough layers.
They open the door to the cave and suddenly we find ourselves in the middle of a wind tunnel, the temperature drops drastically and all of the lamp lights blow out. Alright, we’re in for it. The guide comes by to light the lamps and we hike up 700 steps to the top of the cave. Its cold, super dark with steep steps and I keep getting pelted in the head by large water drops… regardless, I am just in awe of my surroundings. There’s huge ice towers, one that Ray thought looked like pac man, another that looked like a huge mammoth. Layers upon layers of ice. The guide mentioned that some of the ice had been tested and found to be 5,000 years old. So crazy! This is the largest ice cave in the world, about 42km long.
Unfortunately, they do not allow photography once inside the caves, but I’ve added some pictures from the web just so you get an idea of what we saw.
From the biggest ice cave in the world, we head to the biggest waterfall in Europe, Krimml Falls, standing at 380m tall. It was almost hard to see the entire waterfall due to its length. Here’s just a small portion of it.
Here's a better look of the falls from a lookout point across the way.
Pepe and the goat.
We spent the night in the cute town of Innsbruck. We had a fantastic dinner at the Ottoburg restaurant which has been open since 1476. Pepe and I loved that they had fur blankets on every chair.
Here is the city lit up at night...
And of course the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof) the city's most famous symbol.
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