Foodivore: No kangaroos in Austria

Werfen castle: a standout in the dozens we've seen

Crossing the border from Italy, which we had loved, into unknown Austria brought many unexpected changes. Of course, within the first ten minutes we knew it was going to be good as we'd already seen two donkeys (everything is improved by a donkey).

Krimml Falls, with bronzed ibex friend

We found a country that takes beauty seriously enough that their hydro power station building had window boxes full of geraniums.
Our hotel welcomed us calmly, sincerely and efficiently. The shambolic performance the night before in Dobbiaco was put firmly into perspective. We could even get internet in our room without having to stand in the corner of the room on one leg while while humming the theme song to Mash ;-)
Church spires suddenly changed and sported flower-like caps. Dotted every few kilometres, acting as beacons to the communities nestled around them.
Roads were suddenly flat, well-made and sported speed signs (hard to say if those are extinct or just unknown in Italy).
We found the people quirky - something for which they're not famous. All manner of whimsical wood sculpture adorns the land (we think that Austrians learn to whittle in the cradle), whether it be wicker cows on a roundabout or strange hairy-biker creations outside hotels. Even the road signs in the country are made from wood, though this changes the closer you get to Vienna. The guy who showed us around the ice caves (more on this later) had rapid machine-gun delivery, punctuated with dry and/or dark jokes delivered totally deadpan. For instance "watch your head as you pass under this rock...or not, it's up to you"
A Sunday afternoon glimpse of a pair of old men sitting outside in Tyrolean hats, smoking their alpine pipes and just watching the view.

Krimml Falls (L) and Andrew (R)

A t-shirt stating "No kangaroos in Austria". When a waiter on our second night learned we were Australians he was very keen to let us know that this is one of the unofficial mottos of Austria. We'd never considered that the mistaken identity thing cut the other way. Perhaps we should print shirts back home saying "no marmots in Australia".

Addressing confusion, Austrian-style

The south western parts of Austria where we stayed for two nights was breathtaking. It had only been a short drive from Italy (through a very long tunnel) so we had much of two days to explore and this is one of the few locations we felt we were not spending anywhere near enough time and will need to return in the future. We stopped for our first Austrian meal in Werfen, a beautiful town at the base of the Austrian mountains with a spectacular castle on the hill. It was here we discovered the Austrians aren't shy about there serving sizes, even after almost 6 months of training we left enough on our plates to feed a small African nation.

The yawning maw of the Eisriesenwelt

That afternoon we walked off a fraction of lunch at Krimml falls, the longest waterfall in Europe (5th in the world). Standing at the base with tons of water crashing downhill and mist dampening all that surrounds it, it was easy to see why it attracted the bus loads of other tourists. Having seen the longest waterfall, we added to our list of world beaters by visiting Eisriesenwelt - the biggest ice caves in the world, 1600m above sea level, 1400 steps up and down within the cool cave (0 degrees) to marvel at natural ice sculptures (eg polar bear, elephant). Some crazy guy actually climbed up from the valley back in 1880 and discovered them....good for us, but what drives you to that kind of climb in the first place? Happily these days there's even a bar/restaurant at the end of it....bless the Austrians.

"Polar bear" in Eisriesenwelt

Not been satisfied merely with the longest and biggest, we then drove along Grossglocken pass - the highest mountain road in Austria, glorious sunshine lighting up the awesome peaks on all sides as Pierre took us up to 2571m. We put the roof down and cruised through the mountain pass, where snow sits all year round. We saw an ibex grazing by the side of the road in its natural habitat and also watched with enchantment as happy chubby little marmots were getting on with life on the hillside only metres from us (no doubt they need all the weight for winter and that when spring comes they'll be far far thinner...perhaps that's why the Austrian meals were so humongous, there fattening up for winter also).

We were surprised by the quality of food even if the serves are a little over proportioned. We had some beautiful air-dried deer and deer escalope with elderflower gravy and redcurrant crepe. The kalbsleber (calves liver) in a dark, creamy mushroom sauce was also a highlight.