A Trip to Austria: Ice Caps and the Sound of Music

chillibreeze writer — Ambujam Hariharan

Need an editable PowerPoint map of Austria

When and how it began – the genesis

Coming to think of it, the whole idea of visiting Austria during the long Christmas holidays started taking shape sometime in August, over a cup of afternoon tea and snacks amongst us women, 3 of us, who had all the time for afternoon breezers while the men toiled. Our husbands were working for an IT company that had sent them to Europe for a contractual period. As better halves, apart from all the entertaining and supermarket-shopping and attempting-to-learn-the-language exercises that we indulged in, a greater and good part of the time was spent in planning for holidays. And that is how one August afternoon, we decided to do Austria and later finalized upon Innsbruck for its scenic beauty and Salzburg for the Sound of Music fame.

The journey

We left our homes in Eindhoven (about 1.5 hr drive from Amsterdam) on 25th December by 6.30 am – 7 of us – Ganesh, the ace driver, his wife Deepa, Saroj, Asha, their 2 ½ year old daughter Tanvi, Kaushik and I. Great drive, passed through Germany, entered Austria, landed in Innsbruck by 10 pm., had dinner at an awesome place called Hotel Rama’s (which shall receive more mentions as we go along) and slept off our tiredness.

We had opted for a ‘home stay’ option since home stays came well recommended for a large group, and with cooking facilities (becomes crucial if you are a vegetarian like me), at rates that made our wallets happy. Our apartment was called ‘Haus Sissi’ and located in Rum. Rum is a small village 5 kms from Innsbruck. The place was marvelous. It was like a 4-star hotel, only, this was a home, and felt like one too, with an old landlady who spoke little English, but nevertheless was very kind and hospitable, you could feel the warmth there and she showed us around the house, separate bedrooms for the 3 families, and a kitchen which we could use.

The view from the window was breathtakingly brilliant – those views, which photographs can never do 100% justice to - snow-covered mountains, pines clothed with snow, all white, grey clouds –hmmm, it’s great to re-live this on paper too! This was going to be our home for 5 days, a very nice thought. Extend the thought – who wouldn’t want to come back home (look forward to, I mean) to such a place with the cozy sheets after a long day outdoors with temperatures ranging from –2 to –4 degrees Celsius. So that was X-Mas day, and after a really good sleep, we were up, (all at different times) to have coffee and breakfast (made at home). We could not stretch breakfast beyond 11 am and hence decided to leave the four walls and begin exploring.

Point 1 : VVV

We headed to the place where all tourists head first – the VVV (read fey, fey, fey), in Austria, referred to as the big green ‘i’ for information. Lots of discussions, the minutes ticking away, and finally we were back in the car at the parking lot by 12.30pm, with the “Innsbruck Card’, a sort of discount card bought at 26E which enables one to visit several tourist attractions in Innsbruck free of charge. With the Innsbruck card in our pockets and hunger in our stomachs, we set out. Ganesh took us to the first important place, he said, in Innsbruck, which we were to revisit at least once a day for the rest of our stay there – Hotel Rama.. Yes, up the hill, oh, no, I mean, up the slope, with the Alps around, as far as our eyes could stretch! We ate that afternoon as if there hadn’t been food yesterday and neither would there be any tomorrow – it was hot, delicious food with free, no, the magic word is unlimited – rice and rotis. Somewhere, we realized that even the bottomless pit had managed to reach the depths, and so, off we went, slowly into the car, fought the good Divine Sleep that comes after a sumptuous meal, and reached Hungerberg – isn’t it an irony we reached this place with our stomachs full?

Hungerberg or Anywhere!

We parked the car, got out into the open, and then began indecision – we were all working our brains and our eyes and bingo, there were 20 opinions of what to do next, I mean, where to begin our sightseeing. We just couldn’t agree until we had the sense to glance at the watch which said 4pm – here, all agreed, it was late, soon it would be End of Day and we’d have wasted one day completely and there’s be nothing to account for, no feast for the eyes and no notes for the traveler. Then we agreed we’d see the museum cum old green-painted-tower which was near the Zentrum (it means a central place – mainly shopping etc.) and not very far from where we were too.

So off we went, but a little disappointing, and looking back, not surprising, that the museum was closed 25 and 26 December. So we looked at the Golden Tower, yes, all Gold, just before it was dusk, that was a wonderful sight and later, a band played there too, we listened to that also. In the meanwhile, we felt our day would not be complete if we didn’t go ANYWHERE – just anywhere, so we took the first tram we got and reached the last stop! But we were happy we did that at least, could take in more of Innsbruck, and so we feasted our greedy eyes of all the snow-covered peaks, promised ourselves we’d be on a few of them the next few days and headed back home. That evening, we made out a good plan for the next day as time was way too short to whimsically decide places of visit.

A day well spent

We set out, on Dec 27, after an early breakfast to Point 1 – BERGISEL. To quote, “the Bergisel ski jump, awarded with the Austrian State Prize for Architecture in 2002, designed by star architect, Zaha Hadid (for those of you with an inclination to know Who-did-it)…. Olympic fame was lit in 1964 and 1976... skiing from this point started as early as 1925.

Yes, so there we were, literally gaping with mouths wide open, for we could see a big long path downhill, your head would roll just imagining how someone could go down that path… as we moved up by elevator we could feel something in the insides of our stomachs, that’s how steep it is. Well, we saluted those skiers and joked that did we ever try that, in case we’d be alive, which is a remote possibility – we’d be in the roof-top or chimney of one of the houses down there! The view from the top was great, we were drinking more of the city, with cameras clicking away and video cameras trying desperately to get the best coverage 360 degrees. It really was cold, if I must mention, and the winds to add to it, so as soon as we saw the wonderfully shaped restaurant above, we headed for warmth, hot cappuccinos and cream cakes.

It was well after an hour that we set out to Point 2 which was PATSCHERKOFEL (2247m), to be read as ‘Pasherkofel’. Brilliant! It is true that the deepest of emotions or the strangest of experiences cannot be described adequately in words – it’s a different language, an entirely different world up the peak. Our excitement rose with every few meters of ascent by Cable Car, the green pine cones, rock solid though layered with the white of snow, standing testimony to several thousands of years, several X-mas’es, and more to come. It sure was a wonderful feeling to climb, to ascend and move so fast that within no time human beings and cars are no more than dots and streaks to the eye. We reached the peak the easy way, but wondered of those peaks in the Himalayas in India, 5 times higher probably than these where mountaineers make expeditions and seek to enter the Hall of Fame and Adventure.

Well, Patscherkofel it is, and, my!, it was all white, just a large expanse of white 360 degrees, and a dome shaped small restaurant not far (You ‘ve got to give it to them – they manage to put up a restaurant just about anywhere!).First things first, all of us played our heart’s content with the snow; we rolled in the snow, slided, threw snowballs at one another, and still, after an hour, could do it all over again! That’s a wonderful place up there and a more serene and calm view of down below. With the wind beating against your face, it’s a great moment to sip the Gluh-wine - a hot, red wine. After the wine, and more rolling and sliding, we saw the clouds darkening, the day was soon going to end – it never is enough fun, is it? We had a very eventful day and were pleased with all that we had seen – everything was as planned. We ended the day Toboganning, it was good fun! Next point, should I say it again, Hotel Rama’s, where we gorged and hit the bed by 10pm.

Our skiing adventure – Nordpark!

Very soon, it was the beginning of another day. 28 December – this was to be the ‘Skiing Day’ – we were all determined to have fun the European way, be a part of the snow, ski, and lo, yet another experience. We were all looking forward to it. Soon it was all arranged. We were to have a ski-instructor, had our equipment on – special boots, the skis and the sticks. We were 5 of us and all around there were kids, fathers, mothers, fathers, with kids again, women and men skiing – everywhere you could see, either they were learning or just having fun. And here’s the fun WE had – our instructor decided that it would be best for us to start off on a Cliffhanger style – let me explain.

She stood at the edge of what was the peak, so that you go straight down if you miss, and made us practice there – we had to ski and reach the edge of the cliff – oh, oh! The best part, is, she hadn’t taught us how to apply the brakes!!! We were surprised, but nevertheless began – of course, fear was supreme for all of us, it prevented us from learning and grasping. She however continued and insisted that was the place to practice. Wonder why, as, behind us, stretching for quite a distance, was snow which looked less scary and was quite flat! Wee, we fell more than we skied initially, and after nearly 2 hours (that was the allotted time) thanked the instructor who made us realize how precious life is, in the 2 hours than we’d probably given a thought to in the last few days. Point 3 – the name of the place is Nordpark, where we “ski instruction” happened.

It was well over afternoon when we left Nordpark and our skiing and went up the cable car only to reach further high up – see more and more of the beauty of the mountains, the pine cones. The view from here was breathtaking, needless to say, and soon it was time to go back. We were glad to come into the warmth of the room after a freezing Minus10 Celsius (with winds, you could say it seemed more like minus25!!), you couldn’t hold the Handycam straight, the winds were beating continuously against you, and forget it, you couldn’t even open your mouth to say that it felt cold. Wow! and Phew! That was Nordpark peak. We were back home after dinner at Dear Rama’s, of course, retired early as next day was Salzburg!

The Sound of Music Tour

Yes! We did it, team work worked! This was 29/12/03, we’d decided we’d leave by 6.30 am, and true, we managed to do it. We were happy, it was a good start to the day, Ganesh drove real slow as there was much too much snow, it had snowed all night , it was all white around us, and slowly daylight crept in by 7.45-8am – it was beautiful – the mystery of a sunrise – it occurs everyday, yet hold you in awe every time you see it. And it’s not often one gets to appreciate this sunrise, we often take it for granted, as we do for most of God’s creation. The day dawned clear, sunny and the snow began to clear, it sure was a great start to the day. We were at Salzburg by 8.45 am, right in time when the Tour offices opened. Salzburg – the moment you hear the name, you connect it to The Sound of Music, the mountains where Maria sings, ‘The hills are alive’, the Abbey where she was and the Captain von Trapp’s villa. We saw all these, and learnt too that Captain von Trapp’s villa pictured in the movie by Warner Bros., was not shot at one place, but 3 different places – somewhere, all of us, seated in the bus on the Sound of Music tour, listening to the guide enlightening us, felt disillusioned when we learnt that fact. The 3 places are – the Gazebo, which is now housed in a garden, the lake which is there behind the house in the movie and the verandah and lastly, the rest of the house. The disillusionment didn’t end here. The lovely banquet hall, in reality was never there in that villa, but it was shot in the studio sets! Am sure all Sound of Music lovers like me who’d have seen the movie a countless times would’ve felt a pang to know this. Nevertheless, to cheer up myself and all of you - the Nonberg Abbey where our story (by the way, it’s a true story) takes place is still a functional Abbey, over the last 700 years. The Sound of Music was made from a book, which became a play, which later became a German movie. Warner Bros. was inspired by the German movie, and hence evolved the movie which we know as the Sound of Music, with parts of the story modified for commercial viability. The guide told us that the German movie was indeed closer to reality. In reality the von Trapp family singers were indeed popular all over Europe, however their escapade was not after the performance at the Austrian Folk Festival by foot, but by train a little later, with the Captain’s transfer some place else. Maria, sure, was the same vivacious woman who led the family along and von Trapp, right until the end never approved of the family singing in public, though he relented. He never did sing himself. Now three of the seven children are still alive. Well, that was the Sound of Music.

Bavarian Alps, Salt Mines and the Swarovski Museum

In the afternoon we had booked a tour to the Bavarian Alps and the Salt Mines. We had travelled for nearly an hour when the driver parked for a break and the guide told us that we had 10 minutes left to play with all the snow that was there. And after a small bend at the road, there it was! We were seeing such snow, knee deep, for the first time – the Bavarian Alps was really breathtaking! So we began, losing no time, made a lot of snowballs, threw them at each other, over ourselves, our faces and all folks around. Boy, was it fun! The minutes flew and we were back in the bus, headed to the Salt Mines.

A little about its history. These mines date back about 200-250 years, somewhere in the 18th century, where, due to several reactions and erosions, over millions of years there was a lot of water which contained the components of salt. Miners then began extracting these from the rocks which held all the moisture, treated them through several processes and extracted huge quantities of brine, over the days, months and years, then packaged and used for domestic consumption, as well as exports. We were to see this extraction, and some of the tools initially used. We had to sport the miner’s costume – overalls and a thick leather belt. It was fun, it was exciting! A small train was to take us to the spot that was the beginning of our adventure in the coalmine. It was to go deep down, and in the tunnel, was a coach waiting, where each of us had to sit close, one behind the other, each holding the other tight, so that it was indeed a chain, and off the train went. In full speed, and after 5-10 minutes of tunneling, we were there. We could see that these rocks were moist and held all the erosions and millions of years of seismic activity. We saw the tools used then, and how the miners went deeper underground – they slided down a wooden slide one seated behind the other with legs spread. We did that too! That was great! And we were one level deeper. Here there was more machinery and a small visual presentation on the science of extraction. Strange, we never think twice of the salt we consume in small quantities every day, and here there were people, risking, sweating below, operating so many machines, following so many processes, all so that we say we consume ‘common salt’. Then we were back in the train, which brought us back to the top, soon back in our clothes and were headed to Salzburg. We were given as a souvenir a small box of salt mined there. We also had got the seeds of Edelweiss flower earlier in the day. And thus we returned to Salzburg, and then drove down to Innsbruck.

The next day we had to leave. We visited the Swarovski crystal museum in Innsbruck, home of the famous Swarovski crystals. Walking through those rooms was similar to walking the Milky Way galaxy with stars; only add to it all the colours you can ever dream of! It was simply superb, shot it all on our camcorders as these had to be seen to be appreciated.

And then we drove back to Eindhoven, all of us happy with the journey, loaded with good memories, pictures and souvenirs of Innsbruck, promising the landlady and Haus Sissi that we would always stay with them and tell our friends to do so too if / when they visited Austria!!

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—About our writer:

Ambujam says, "A female pied piper, march to my own tunes, making rules and breaking them as I go along; enjoy - writing as much as reading, listening to music as much as bathroom singing, the company of friends as much as solitude, going places any time of the year as much as curling up in bed on a rainy day!!"

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