Week 106: Eric’s Dad in Austria

Week 106 brought Eric’s dad to Austria!

It has been over 2 years since the last time we saw him and over the past 7 days we explored Austria's second-largest city, walked around Germany's largest lake, went up to the Eagles Nest for the third time (it never gets old), and so much more.

Keep scrolling to read the recap.

Saturday, October 29

After roughly 18 hours of travel time, Eric’s dad finally arrived in Gmunden. After a walk around the castle, a tour of the house, and a climb up to our rooftop, we ate dinner at Urzn on the Gmundnerberg.

Sunday, October 30

By 7:30 AM, we were out of our house and on our way to tour around the Berghof as well as the Eagles Nest. We came on this tour in Week 51 with Eric’s mom, uncle, and grandpa and on a past trip in 2018.

We requested our same tour guide, Tom. While he generally takes the same route, he continues to share new facts and find new places to show us.

We learned there are only 14 records of Hitler coming up to the Eagles Nest. It was mainly used to impress foreign dignitaries and we can certainly understand why. The view is very impressive.

*The 406ft long tunnel leading to the elevator*

From the top, we were able to see lake Königssee at the bottom.

After the tour, we drove 15 minutes through Berchtesgaden for lunch and to walk around the lake. It is said to be the deepest and cleanest lake in Germany.

After passing by a series of old boathouses, we entered the beginning of Berchtesgaden National Park.

20 minutes later, we were standing at the Malerwinkel lookout point.

Malerwinkel Trail — *Malerwinkel trail views*

*Eric and his dad on the Malerwinkel trail*

On the way home, we made two more stops. The first stop was at the Maria Gern church located in upper Bavaria. Beyond the Maria Gern church is the prominent Watzmann, an iconic mountain range of the Berchtesgaden Alps.

*The Maria Gern church and the Watzmann mountain range*

*Looking back at the Maria Gern church and the Watzmann mountain range*

The second stop was at the Gaisberg, a mountain peak near Salzburg for a golden hour view over the city.

*Looking down at Salzburg. The Hohensalzburg fortress can be seen from here.*

Monday, October 31

While some Austrians attend Halloween-themed parties, the traditions of trick-or-treating, dressing up, and eating buckets of candy is rare. Instead, most Austrians just celebrate All Saints Day which is November 2. A day where the division between the world of the living and the world of the dead becomes thinner.

While we were out walking around Traunkirchen, a tiny town sitting on the Traunsee, several people were at the graveyards decorating the graves with Autumn flowers and candles.

*A boathouse in Traunkirchen on the Traunsee*

Tuesday, November 1

Hallstatt is a must for every guest we have and Eric’s dad was no exception. This was my 13th time here. Thankfully, I am not tired of it yet.

*Eric with his dad and Daisy at postcard point*

After walking the streets of the oldest continuously inhabited village in the world, we walked the trail around Gosausee.

Wednesday, November 2

We took a day trip to Graz! Now Eric and I have seen the top 5 largest cities in Austria.

Vienna
Graz
Linz
Salzburg
Innsbruck

Like all other Austrian cities, Graz features pastel-painted buildings, onion-domed churches, a castle, and is listed as the UNESCO world heritage site.

Graz was home to the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, supposedly the best-preserved city center in Europe, and 16 bridges. The Murinsel bridge is the coolest bridge with an artificial floating "island" in the middle of the Mur river.

The most iconic structure in Graz and a symbol of the city is the 94ft tall clock tower clocktower.

Positioned at the top of the Schloßberg, the tower was used primarily to watch for fires in the city.

There are three bells hanging on the exterior of the clock. One bell, from 1382, rings on the hour, one from 1645 served as a fire alarm and one from 1450 rang originally during executions and to mark the mandatory closing time for taverns.

Today, people walk up to the tower to enjoy the stunning views of both the city and the surrounding mountains. There is a funicular that takes you to the told or you can reach the top by taking a staircase or a gradual uphill walk on the other side of the mountain.

Our final stop before driving home was just a few minutes outside of the city. The Leibenau concentration camp.

A site where the unthinkable happened has been covered up. Literally. With a park. There was just one billboard posted along the walking path speaking about the past. This was a camp where 5000+ men and women were forced to work in inhumane conditions. During the final days of WWII, 5000+ Hungarian Jews were forced on a death march through Leibenau on the way to the Mauthausen concentration camp.