After about six hours, we reached the Austrian-Italian border and decided to give the Dolomites a visit. Unfortunately the weather was really bad, so we returned to Austria the next day. Tyrol it was then!

From Larger Villages, To Smaller Ones; And From Smaller Ones To Innervillgraten.

Innervillgraten is one of the most traditional and most beautiful mountain villages in Tyrol. Approximately 940 people call it their home and it’s a very typical scattered settlement at around 1402 metres above sea level. The region is one of the most remote regions in Austria and is only accessible throughout the year since 1956. This gives you a hint of what our next couple of days looked like.

Small alpine villages are characteristic for Innervillgraten and while driving along the continually smaller roads, we ended up at exactly one of these…

Welcome To Oberstalleralm.

These alpine huts were built for the summer cattle husbandry. Farmers lived with their animals during the season. That is why these huts are actually quite large with living rooms and a stable. Today, they’re used as holiday cottages for vacationers like us.

The protected alpine village Oberstalleralm consists of only 18 rustic alpine huts, which was perfect for us. This part of Austria is a paradise and a place of refuge for anyone looking for peace and tranquillity. Unspoilt nature is all you’ll get here.

Restaurant Tip.

• Gasthof Badl Alm
• Adress: Kalkstein 160a, 9932 Innervillgraten
• Opening Hours: Daily from 11.30am – 6.00pm

The “Gasthof Badl Alm” in Innervillgraten is the perfect place to start your hike or excursion. Great food and a lovely place to stay at.

Farming is the number one business in Innervillgraten.

Apart from the town centre, Innervillgraten mainly consists of farms spread out across the area.

The landscape around the Innervillgraten valley is one of the most beautiful we’ve come across in Austria.

Oberstalleralm is one if the most serene and peaceful places in Tyrol.

The alpine village Oberstalleralm consists of only 18 rustic alpine huts.

Apart from vacationers renting one of the farm houses at Oberstalleralm, you’ll only come across hikers once in a while.

This August: Celebrating Its 80-Year-Anniversary.

Long stretches of this road were made of cobblestone, an everlasting material that withstands extreme cold and heat. Today, asphalt replaces cobblestones but you’ll still see & feel the history along the road. There are two side trips one can take while driving along the road. One is the drive up to Kaiser Franz Joseph Höhe (In 1856 His Majesty Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) came hiking to the spot and that’s where the name originated) from where you have a beautiful panoramic view. Once you get there, you stand right opposite the Grossglockner with a view down to the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps, the Pasterze. The second side road leads to the Edelweisspitze. Both of these are heavily frequented on sunny weekends, so it’s best to get up there early in the day.

If you intend to spend some time hiking in the area, you’ll come across several accommodation options. Most of these are mountain refugees with limited basic rooms, but what do you need beside a bed and a shower when this area is in front of the doorsteps? Be sure to make a reservation by contacting the owners beforehand, otherwise you might have to spend the night outdoors…

Grossglockner High Alpine Road Facts.

Opening Hours:

• Beginning of May until 15 June: 6.00 am – 8.00 pm
• 16 June until 15 September: 5.00 am – 9.30 pm
• 16 September until end of October/beginning of November: 6.00 am – 7.30 pm
• Last admission: 45 minutes before night closure

Rates (day ticket):

• Car 34.50 €
• Motorbike 24.50 €

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is the highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria. We were there on the first opening day, May 1.

48 kilometres of high alpine road with 36 bends and an altitude ascent to 2.504 metres at the highest point are just a few fact about the Grossglockern High Alpine Road.

The road is named after the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain.

The road up to the Edelweissspitze is a winding one. Up there, you can enjoy a lovely meal at the Edelweisshütte with a fantastic view of the surroundings.

The serpentine curves make the Grossglockner High Alpine Road a popular destination for motor bikers.

In the years 1936 and 1937, 350 men shovelled 250,000 cubic metres of snow in an average of seventy days to keep at least one lane on the Grossglocker High Alprin Road free. Today, modern machinery does the job.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road connects Bruck in the state of Salzburg with Heiligenblut (seen on the photo) in Carinthia.

It’s a deal.

Ulli and I made a deal not too long ago, to drive somewhere new at least once every second month. After all, we live in the centre of Europe and have neighbouring countries pretty much in front of our doorstep. This time, South Tyrol was on our list. We’ve been here before, but never in the area around the Antholzer See. For a travel photographer, this area offers truly great photo opportunities!

Crystal clear turquoise water.

After driving along for a while, we checked into a small farmhouse B&B and were ready to explore the area further. Accommodation can easily be found in the surrounding villages, either on the Austrian or the Italian side, so there’s no need for pre-booking.

Anyway, as a good start, we decided to walk around the crystal clear Antholzer See. The turquoise water is in fact out of this world! Combine this with the amazing mountain range - still with some snow on the top - as well as the thick forests surrounding the lake, and you’ll get the most enduring impression ever!

It was a long weekend and therefore we were not the only ones, but the good thing is that this location is pretty much a dead end, so not too many people come here. There is only one road that continues to the Austrian border up to the pass, as a one way system regulated with a traffic light. The road is pretty narrow and winding, so only cyclists can get along fast.

In this area it seems like time has stood still. Sure, there’s (limited) internet and phone access, but the way of living hasn’t changed all that much. I felt like the mountains radiate some sort of energy that automatically makes you feel more at ease. Exactly what you need after a busy week in the city…

The village of Bruneck.

A visit to the largest town of the area followed. Bruneck is a great place for real authentic Italian food, which was what we were after. But it has more to offer: It’s a cute little town with a neat pedestrian area, cosy cafés, pubs, restaurants and shops. Bruneck’s picturesque streets bustle with life. Nearby await the Dolomites where walkers, hikers and climbers can set out for some of South Tyrol’s most striking beauty and variety.

This short weekend trip again reminded us of the fact, that Europe has some of the most stunning landscapes you can find!

The water of the Antholzer See, South Tyrol, is so clear that reflections can be seen pretty much any given day (if the weather is on your side).

Walking around the Antholzer See, South Tyrol, will give you some of the most stunning impressions in the area…

The best time to visit the area around the Antholzer See, South Tyrol, is definitely summer and the beginning of autumn.

Living away from all the hassle of a city has it’s advantages: Not only do you get a stunning view every time you look out the window, but if feels like the way of living is more relaxed…

The striking mountains in the area around the Antholzer See, South Tyrol, are really amazing!

For a travel photographer, the area around the Antholzer See, South Tyrol, offers great photo opportunities.

Enjoy & have a great weekend everyone!

Since I know that many of you are still waiting for a real winter, I wanted to post a couple of winter wonderland photos of the landscape around Vienna. Enjoy and daydream. I’m sure we’ll have a tough January & February…

The Vienna Woods can turn into a real winter wonderland.

Hard rime can only be seen very rarely around Vienna. It’s a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects. It is often seen on trees atop mountains and ridges in winter, when low-hanging clouds cause freezing fog.

The peaks and mountain passes of the Eastern Alps are lower compared to the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.

The Erlaufsee is only about 1 1/2 hours away from Vienna and therefore popular for day-trippers.

I love the atmosphere in the Vienna Woods that comes with snow.

Eisenerz is a market place and old mining town in the Austrian state of Styria.

Winter landscape in the Alps in Lower Austria.

Frosty times during winter in the Vienna Woods around the capital city.

Because you’ve always wanted a spa treatment.

Bad Gastein is a real spa town (the word “Bad” even means “spa” in English so this fits). Here’s the history on why this town became one of the most famous in Austria: The town gained early fame because of the Heilstollen’s (which means “healing tunnel”) spring water. The Swiss  physician & biologist Parcelsus studied the spring water to discover its secrets. Marie Curie and Heinrich Mache helped to discover that it contained radon and as a result radon therapy began in the town. Today there are many resorts that offer all kinds of spa therapies. If you feel like going there for a treatment, be sure to bring cash … Bad Gastein is not a cheap.

Because you love winter activities.

Bad Gastein is also a popular destination for winter activities (as are pretty much all the towns in Salzburg). The town has held the alpine skiing world championships once and is regularly a scene of the snowboarding and boarder-cross world cup.

Because there are many places to visit.

• Gasteiner Waterfall: It’s one of the most famous waterfalls in Austria and Bad Gastein’s landmark. The waterfall is located right in the center and has been used as a motive of many well-known painters.
• Churches: Preimskirche (the church with the red roof in the first photo) and Nikolauskirche – both beautiful old historic buildings & must-sees if you’re there.
• Bad Gastein’s surroundings: As you will see in the photos below, the area of Bad Gastein is absolutely breathtaking and it would be hard to name all the wonderful spots. Feel free to write us if you want more exact information ;) Until then, take a look at some impressions.

The townscape of Bad Gastein is characterised by historic multi-story hotel buildings erected on the steep slopes.

The historic multi-storey hotel buildings in Bag Gastein erect on the steep slopes in the center.

The name “Bad” means “spa”, reflecting the town’s history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley.

Snow can be found up in the mountains near Bad Gastein pretty much all year around.

are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass.

With an area of about 1,834 square kilometres, the Hohe Tauern National Park is by far the largest of Austria’s seven national parks as well as the largest nature reserve in the Alps.

I work in the beautiful city of Vienna and since Austria is a small country, distances are easily overcome. Getting out of the city is simple and shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes. I love being out in the country, especially since I grew up there…we live in a small village in the west of the capital city and the Vienna woods are right at our doorstep. A pure (Austrian) paradise!

Here are just a couple of impressions why I love being a “country-girl”:

The Green Lake (German: Grüner See) is located in Syria and is surrounded by the Hochschwab mountains and forests. The name comes from its emerald-green water. The clean and clear water comes from the snowmelt from the karst mountains. In recent year the lake has become a popular place for tourists and divers.

The Vienna basin and the Austrian sections of the Carpathian plains in the East are areas that feature green hills and plains, fields, wine regions, idyllic rivers and lakes as well as wide open steppe.

In the West os Austria, almost two thirds of the country is covered by high- and medium Alpine mountain regions with spectacular mountain ranges and majestic glaciers. Almost one half of the mountains are covered by forest.

The landscape around the Danube river northwest of Vienna (the area near Tulln) consists of forest and meadow land.

This place is in the heart of Upper Austria – the “breadbasket of Austria”. Some farmers rent out holiday apartments, so if you are ready for a quiet peaceful stopover for a few days, this is the area to go to. Taken near Wels.

The Vienna Woods are a 45 km long and approx. 30 km wide range of hills and a popular recreation area for the Viennese.

The landscape around Austrias highest mountain – the Grossglockner.

A mountain rising out of the forest in the Salzkammergut around Grundlsee in Salzburg.

During summer, cattle is driven up in the mountains where the lawns are fresh and the animals can stay outside all the time until autumn. As soon as snow arrives they’re back in the stables until next year. Taken in Hochreit, Göstling.

Hidden in the mountains there are little huts for hunters, forest maintenance as well as for tourists who rent these places to get away from it all for a few days. Taken in Hochreit, Göstling.

Horses enjoy the rich fields around the Vienna Woods.

This is just 20 minutes outside of Western Vienna. Rolling hills and fertile soil halted by large forests make the area a perfect getaway for a weekend not far from the bustling city.