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A Drive Into Austrian Mountains

April 19
Written April 20-21
Dear Friends and Family,

Our plan for the day was to drive over the road on the top of Austria, the Grossglockner Pass.  We were not sure if it was open yet (it wasn't), but we expected a nice drive anyway (it was.)

We started early enough, for a vacation schedule, despite the gray skies.  As we headed north, there were patches of blue sky to perk up our spirits.  Once we got off the boring autobahn, the road wound between mountains, passed new and old houses.  The area was a combination of settled and very quiet.  I imagine it might be more crowded during ski season or when the pass is actually open.

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We pulled off for a couple of side trips, nothing spectacular but twisty paths and a few cows saying "Gruss Gott", the traditional morning greeting in Austria and southern Bavaria.
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On one pull-off, we visited a school for wood carvers, chain-saw wood carvers.  The school offers week-long workshops for whoever wants to learn.  Marianne talked to one "student", who said he has another job and just likes carving with a chain saw because he found he wasn't good at painting.  His eagle was really quite remarkable, after just two and a half days of class.
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The end of the road for us was Heiligenblut (Holy Blood), a village nestled at the end of the valley we had been driving up.  The road over the Grossglockner Pass was apparently closed just ahead.  We could tell that the place would have been teaming with skiers in the winter season, and with hikers, bikers, and family drivers in the summer, but for now it was just a very, very quiet mountain village.
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Throughout the drive, we had been seeing mountains: mountains up close; mountains hidden behind hills; sunny peaks; cloud-shrouded peaks; settled mountainsides; impassable mountain faces.  Despite the clouds, we were impressed.
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We had thought we would try another mountain valley on the way back, but got lost instead.  Not lost really, just didn't find the second valley.  Next time.

d120419_60_Villach.jpgd120419_62_chickenCook.jpgSince we still had some touring time, we stopped at the town of Villach, just at the cross road where we turn up the Rosental Valley where our Wahaha Paradise is.  Sorry, but Villach did not seem like paradise material.  Maybe it was because we parked in the red light district, although even these businesses seemed closed for the between-seasons.  I took one or two pictures, just to prove we were there, and we got in the car and headed to our Paradise and a home-cooked chicken dinner.  The restaurant was as good as the Juritz Campground, and much better value.

The weather forecast continues unsettled, so planning is a bit unsettled as well.  We'll see what the last few days of our Austrian vacation bring.

Regards,

John and Marianne
ps: today's track:
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