Despite of the large number of sights Austria counts, it's not that easy to set a clear goal for a weekend getaway. Beautiful scenery, clear lakes, high mountains and baroque monasteries are just everywere. To begin with the trip, I chose the Styrian village Admont because of it's impressive Benedictine Abbey. The attraction of this abbey is obviously the library. When I first saw it's pictures on the internet, I coudn't believe its beauty and I definitely had to head there one day.
Anyhow, I
did my best to keep my expectations low, because I expected the
library to look bigger on the pictures than it actually is. I also
had no info about
the abbey, which made the visit a spontaneous and very surprising
one. Besides the library, the abbey offers a
natural museum, an
art museum and areas for history about the holy Benedict and the
Benediction Monastery on film.
We arrived quite
late in the afternoon and thought to have enough time. We immediately
started with the library. It was a very serene atmosphere, as we were
the only visitors. When the doors of the library were opened, the
richly decorated interior
blew my mind. The room is very spacious and well lit by natural
light. The ceiling frescoes are painted in pleasing soft tones and
show allegories of the arts, sciences and religion. The bookcases are
divided into two floors. It's unclear how to get to the first floor.
After having asked the employee,
she showed us one of the four secret staircases,
hidden in the bookcase. I could have stayed here longer, but I was
too curious about the rest of abbey. We watched on of the movies
about Benedicts live. This presentation is very modern and well
designed. Visitors can start the movie by pressing the button in the
center of the room. Some matching images are being projected to
enhance the story. On the same floor there's a small museum with
religious art and church treasury. The most impressive I found the
clothes decorated with stunning embroidery and gemstones.
The biggest surprise was
the natural history museum. I didn't think stuffed animals exhibition
would impress me that much. The huge insect collection, reptiles dry
and in alcohol, birds and animals were mesmerizing. And before I
knew, visitors were asked to leave the museum.
The day was still
young and the weather was beautiful. Without any idea where to drive
next we just left Admont and made a brief stop at the Frauenberg
church which
is located on a high hill and offers a spectacular panorama view over
the region.
We decided to drive
to Hallstatt, even when my husband was there at least three times
before. First we rode along Bad Aussee and learned this place is
the geographic center of Austria. We
found ourselves a cute overnight stay at Obertraun, a place which is
simply cheaper and more authentic than Hallstatt.
Next day we took a
trip into the Dachstein mountains. These are mainly famous for the
beautiful ice caves. We skipped those and went for the height and
views. I will certainly
visit the caves some other time. We took a cable car to the top.
There was still quite a lot of snow, but the sun was very warm. I was
not really warm dressed, but did not get cold either. After have
walked about twenty minutes we reached a sightseeing platform in the
shape of five fingers. At this location you have a great panoramic
view on the surrounding mountains and the Hallstädtersee. The view
was spectacular. We had such luck with the weather, the visibility
was perfect. It wasn't busy at all, therefore we could quietly enjoy
and take pictures.
On our way back we
sunbathed a bit on the special benches and watched how paragliders
jumped off the mountain. I have never seen people doing anything like
this in real life It was spectacular to watch them. Totally satisfied
and mesmerized we left the mountains for the way more touristic
Hallstatt.
Hallstatt is
probably the most visited place in this area. I've even learned the
Chinese designed an exact replica in their Guandong province. How
crazy is that? Maybe they are right, because this place is really
astonishingly beautiful. But despite its beauty and rich history,
Hallstatt lacks atmosphere. And only a few kilometers away you'll
find real Austrian villages with delicious homely kitchen. Next to
the picturesque houses, narrow streets, lake and mountains, Hallstatt
has another famous sight. On a rocky outcrop above the village,
there's a church. Just beyond is a chapel where since 1720 skulls and
bones were preserved. This tradition came from a lack of space in the
cemetery. After about fifteen
years graves were reopened and the contents were put in that chapel.
The skulls were decorated with drawings and described with
information about the deceased. The latest skull was placed here in
1995. It's a very small space with the stacked bones and orderly rows
of skulls above. The idea seems scary, but the entire collection
looks actually quite nice.
We did not stay long at
Hallstatt. We drove on without any idea where to stop. First we
wanted to take a look in Bad Ischl, but spontaneously we decided to
go ahead and ended up in lovely St. Wolfgang. The weather was still
very nice and we had a beautiful view of the lake at the hotel. We
enjoyed our balcony and toast to our fourth wedding anniversary.
The continuing heavy
rain on the next day ruined our stay, so we simply called it a day
and returned to Vienna. It was a short but enjoyable weekend. I
cannot
wait to discover the rest of Austria!
