Sunday, 24 July, 2011 – We were up quite early on Sunday. Unfortunately the rain was up even earlier and had already had its coffee because it was putting in an honest effort. But our spirits weren’t dampened because we had settled on an agenda the night before that promised to keep us dry despite being surrounded by H2O. Dry, but frozen. We had read about some excursions from Salzburg and as soon as Ian caught wind of the fact that there were ice caves nearby he was sold. Not just any ice caves, either, but Eisriesenwelt (“World of the Ice Giants”), the world’s largest ice cave. We had considered negotiating the trip ourselves, but there was a tour guide company that made the trip in the afternoon at a reasonable price so after some debate we opted to go that route. That left us with the morning to roam, so we did.
We tried desperately to find a store with outdoor gear/winter clothing that was open so we (namely I) could layer up. I was more than a little wary of this ice cave idea, not because I don’t like ice or caves, but because I was nowhere near properly equipped. Ian assured me that I would be fine, but I’ve been in my fair share of unpleasant cold scenarios, and me in rain flats and a jacket didn’t bode well for traipsing through the largest ice cave in the world. Alas, the only stores open were tourist stores, so although Ashley got one of those decorative Christmas eggs, I did not even get a pair of socks. We also stopped in at Fürst, the chocolate store with the original Mozart Balls.
See the little white cubes in the back? Those were Bach chocolates (they also had one for Doppler). I really thought they were missing a great marketing idea by not calling them "Bach Boxes"
We also went in the Parish Church of St. Blasius, built in 1330, which was the first hall church in Salzburg and the low nave vaults juxtaposed with the high airy vaulting of the chancel.
During our continued roving we came across a monument to the equine - or so it seemed to me:
I wasn't too far off. The Grosses Festspielhaus was initially the palace stables, built in 1606, and converted to The Small and Grand Festival Theatres in 1920s (though not completed until 1960). But it started raining again so we went to a coffee shop near where we would catch the bus for Eisriesenwelt and waited it out there with coffee and hot chocolate. Perhaps not the best sign that we were chilled before we'd even left Salzburg.
The ride up was uneventful, but very foggy. As we pulled into Werfen, the town at the base of Hochkogel mountain, I could tell we were in the midst of a pretty massive mountain range but I couldn’t see a thing.
Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen
The bus chugged its way up the mountain, then we had to hike up about twenty minutes to the funicular which would save us apparently another ninety minute hike. Good idea in theory, except that I think the wait to get on was close to that long. We were told that nobody ever comes on bright sunshiny days, but on unpleasant days people come from far and wide because they still want to get out and do something but of course don’t want to go enjoy coffee by a scenic lake. It was a cold and wet wait, but we got our ride up followed by a last little hike to get our blood pumping again and warm us up before the seventy minute plunge through sub-zero temperatures.
It was admittedly really neat, though I lost feeling in my toes about ten minutes in. The cave is 42 km long, but we only traversed through the first kilometer. The cave entrance is 1641 m (5384 ft), and we climbed 700 steps up from there. They gave every third person a lamp, and those, along with our guide burning a strip of magnesium every time he stopped to talk to us, was the only light source in the cavern. That led to a pretty neat effect, and other than being in a large group and walking up a nice wooden staircase I almost could have felt like Alexander von Mörk going on an expedition in the 1920s. Too bad I didn’t have any crampons on hand.
We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I bought postcards with the same pictures on them so I feel entitled to their use...
We stopped off at a little restaurant at the top of the funicular for hot chocolate afterwards, then made the much quicker descent to another uneventful bus ride. We were back in Salzburg by 7:30, just in time to catch 8:00 trains to Munich (Ashley) and back to Vienna (Ian and me). I was a bit irked with myself when I realized I had left the postcards I’d bought on the bus, I think more because I hate letting my attention lapse even briefly than for the loss of those three euro I spent. Oh well. It was definitely a worthwhile excursion, and I’m really glad Ian insisted on us going cave exploring, even if it was bordering on Type 2 Fun.
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