Glockenspieling: Kitzsteinhorn Glacier

Just before we moved to Germany, we had set up a long weekend in Austria. Because moving is stressful and we like to get away as a family before the girls and I inevitably disappear to the US for weeks on end. Without B. But then the move to end all moves happened and the thought of a long weekend on vacation seemed more stressful than relaxing. So we called the hotel and asked if we could postpone...and they said no problem. And even gave us a recommendation on which weekend to come. And that happened to be last weekend. And their recommendation was spot on!

Zell am See is located in Salzburgerland in Austria. It's only about 2 hours from our home in Munich but feels like another world. As does most of Austria. It if fast becoming one of my favorite locations in the world. But I digress. We pulled up to the hotel (1st picture above) and were greeted by this view from our balcony about 10 minutes later...

It was late afternoon and we had about an hour to kill before dinner so we did this...

The pool had a "car wash" that let you go inside and outside.

We had a full day planned for Saturday so we had a quick dinner and hit the hay.

The next morning dawned clear and bright. We were told that if there was no haze we should head immediately to Kitzsteinhorn to catch the views before the clouds set in. The town would still be there when we got back but we wouldn't get to see the impressive glacier or views if we waited. We were very happy to see the sun early the next morning so we rushed through breakfast and headed over to Kaprun and the mountain.

Kitzsteinhorn is very popular as a ski area in the winter but it also extremely impressive in the summer. Located in the High Tauern section of the Alps it covers over 1800 square meters making it the largest National Park in the Alps. A trip up to the peak takes you on a trip to the Arctic, as you pass through every climate one from Central Europe to the poles. It's like a "Noah's Ark" of the plant and animal world as you travel from 900 to 3000 meters. And to reach the peak it takes three separate cable cars/ And each of them has their own fear factor built in for those of us who don't love heights.

Above is the view from our first cable car. If you cannot tell from the hastily snapped picture, that cable goes STRAIGHT down, or up, depending on how you are traveling. It was absolutely terrifying for someone who has even the slightest fear of heights.

The second chair was a bit easier...

maybe because I had this to look at...

This is the final lift to the top. A much easier slope and great views of the glacier. Which I don't have many of in this post. They will be added to the picture post...This would be way too long if I added all of my favorite pictures so I will add them to a separate post.

Heading to the top.

We made it to the top of the range and saw some of the most stunning summer views of the glacier. Now, if only the floor hadn't been made of that same open grating that the wall was, I may have snapped a few more pictures. Seriously, it was very disconcerting...for the adults. The kids didn't seem to have a problem.

i-Phone panorama.

It may be summer but it is still chilly out there in the open, on a glacier, so we headed into the restaurant to have some hot chocolate and a bit of streudel...

We had warmed up a bit so we headed into the tunnel to learn about the making of such an incredible site. And pershaps to do a bit of sledding - in summer!!!

This one thought she resembled someone...

We stepped outside, and they once again tested my resilience. The views were astounding. But to really get the picture (pun intended) of what surrounded us, we had to step out onto a long platform. With an open bottom. That swayed in the breeze. And bounced whenever someone sneezed. I snapped as quickly as I could and walked back to solid ground...

And then we walked down, down, down to the sledding hill off of the glacier...

And grabbed a few more amazing views as we did.

That little pink dot is Stinkerbell!

The ski hill.

Heading up for their first run.

We were a bit cold, and hungry, at this point so we started our trek back down...maybe a bit reluctantly on my part as I knew how we had to get there...

First leg down we stopped to take in the views, have lunch on the mountain and maybe a drink to fortify our strength to get all the way back down...

We lived to tell about it! And celebrated by throwing ourselves onto one of the more intense alpine sleds I have ever been on. (It really was a day for testing our fears).