Zell am See: Krimml Falls and The Glacier

Before we left for Zell am See, we did a fairly limited amount of research--browsing through the guides we already had on Austria and poking around the internets were about as far as we made it.  We had ideas for a few day trips and decided for our first that we didn't want to miss out on viewing Europe's tallest waterfall.  We were only an hour-long train ride away, so we jumped at the opportunity.

Audrey and her Papa Elephant

As we started off on our little journey, I found myself surprised at how much there really is to see in this area of the country.  The train we took was a local line that runs hourly between Zell am See and Krimml (the town known for it's famous waterfall) and stops about a million times in between.  The number of cyclists hopping on and off the train was impressive, not to mention pack-laiden hikers and families like ours out for a jaunt in the country. People were clearly out just for the privilege of wandering about this particular spot of wilderness. The scenery was beautiful and I loved seeing how even our girls could appreciate the majesty.  At the end of our ride, though, we were ready to stretch our legs.  We were surprised (I don't know why...) to find that Krimml falls is rather touristy (think Multnomah Falls and then add in booths selling grilled chicken halves or plush yodeling beavers in lederhosen), but we made the most of it.  We had anticipated doing a bit of hiking and brought the girls' packs; they rode on our backs down to the base of the falls where you can get quite close to the falling water.  At that level, there is a permanent haze of whipping mist and the gravity of just how much water is pummeling to the ground is indescribable. Many people chose to climb closer to the drenching waters than we did while others grabbed a lawn chair and sat, enjoying the sight of something so rare.  We took a mostly-deserted trail running along the river of runoff water from the falls and eventually ended up circling back to the main viewing area where we let the girls scamper about a bit before letting them take a crack at the main, paved hiking path up to better views of the falls.

This picture is epic--check out The Bear's face

It was so crowded and Bailey is generally so oblivious to people within a five-foot radius, we threw in the towel after only a few minutes of hiking with the masses.  John and I know well enough to call it quits when parenting starts to feel more like herding cats, so mama declared it was time for ice cream...and after that it was time to get our tuckered kiddos back on the train.  We made it back to Zell am See in time for dinner, but we realized all too late that Zum Hirshen (the establishment we had chosen for dinner) was a bit high in the instep for our whack-a-doodle sleep-deprived girls. Bailey spent the ENTIRE meal on John's lap, demanding he hold her juice glass while she essentially sucked air through the straw.  And Audrey spent the majority of the meal with her head on the table, perking up only to roar at flies.  The flies were such a fiasco that I ended up killing three of them.  I'm sure our server would've expired from shock if he had been a witness to the massacre. Our meal with the girls was so hysterically disastrous, we even stuck around to order coffee and ice cream through our tears of laughter. 

The man on the mountain

After some much needed rest that night, we headed out Friday morning to Kitzsteinhorn--a glacier near the town of Kaprun which boasts the best (easily accessible by cable car) views in Austria.  I was expecting something cool, but I was absolutely floored by the experience.  After taking the half-hour bus ride to the base and getting our tickets, we jumped on the first of three sets of cable cars, each of which led to completely different views and impressions of the surrounding Alps.  We took quite a bit of time exploring the Alpincenter where the views were spectacular and there was plenty of open space safe enough for the girls to run about--there was even some lingering snow that the girls were thrilled to be able to stomp through.  We took some time debating whether to get in line to wait for the final cable car up to the highest viewing platform, but even though the girls were starting to lose it, we were glad we did.  The views from the platform at nearly 10,000 feet were amazing.  And luckily there was more snow...so Audrey and Bailey made a fairly quick recovery.

A Father-Daughter moment if there ever was one

After taking in the surrounding peaks, we took the lift back down to the Alpincenter where we grabbed some lunch and were pleasantly surprised, yet again.  At Kitzsteinhorn, they pride themselves on using renewable energy and local food sources--our lunch was phenomenal. You could tell it was made with REAL food.  We ordered a board of meats, cheeses, pickles and bread along with our main meals.  I had a salad. And it blew my mind.

Salad, people.

Not to mention John's grapefruit Radler and delicious goulash.  We were rolling on a food-induced high all the way back down the mountain.

Our return to Zell am See, however, was kind of bittersweet.  It was our last day before heading home to Vienna and we felt there was much more we would've liked to see.  We ended up eating dinner at a place called Villa Crazy Daisy (usually I put quite a bit of stock in a restaurant's name, but lately I've been letting the weird ones slide)  and we weren't disappointed.  Two gastronomical successes in one day!  After dinner we took a long walk around the lake; it was so absolutely calm and relaxing.  Especially since I knew all I had at the apartment were three bags waiting to be crammed full of our stuff.  I have no idea how I did it, but I managed to get everything in our luggage without bursting any seams.

Good-bye Zell am See!

The morning we were scheduled to leave we took things at a very slow pace--Audrey and John were both starting to feel sick and we all were sleep deprived from our crazy vacation schedule.  So, we grabbed some snacks for the road and then some coffee and cake at a bakery near the town square while we waited for our train.  The trip back home went really well--John and I hit our stride, making our connection, and the girls were just fantastically behaved.  Even though we were all exhausted and feeling ill when we got home, John and I agree that train travel here is the way to go.  Even though we would've preferred a longer stay, it was fortunate we came home when we did.  There was no way my entire medical kit would've fit in my definition of "traveling light".