Week 90: Overnight at The Grossglockner and some big news!

Our 90th week in Austria was spent along the highest alpine road in Austria–The Grossglockner High Alpine Road. This paved road is one of Austria’s must-see destinations in the heart of Hohe Tauern National Park and directly at the base of the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain.

For 87 years, visitors from all over the world have been drawn here and this year was our turn.

Sunrise at The Grossglockner High Alpine Road

On Friday, we packed our bags, grabbed the dogs, and drove 2.5 hours to the highest drivable point, the Edelweißspitze.

There are two entrances to the road. One from the Austrian state of Salzburg and another from the Austrian state of Carinthia. We arrived at the Salzburg side, paid €38 for our 1-day ticket, and were on our way up the mountain.

This road is a dream for motorcyclists and a big accomplishment for bicyclists who reach the top. While I commend any cyclists who completes this road, getting stuck behind one can be a bit frustrating.

The ascent is one hairpin turn after another. After 30 minutes, we turned into the parking lot at the Edelweißspitze, a lookout point where most people come to observe the views on a cloudless day. 37 three-thousand-meter peaks and 19 glaciers can be seen from this point.

However, Friday was not one of those cloudless days. We could only see a few feet in every direction, which was not ideal.

*The view from the car, just a few meters from the parking lot.*

We proceeded to the Edelweißhütte, which is a hotel offering traditional mountain hut rooms, but they also offer a cabin, a chalet, and a self-catering hut a few meters down the mountain for rent. Since our dogs were with us, it made the most sense to rent the cabin so we could have our own space. The cabin was so cute and cozy we were able to look beyond the fact we could not see anything and focus on this fun family experience with our pups. It was equipped with our own shower/toilet, heating, TV, and kitchenette with fridge.

*Charlie and Daisy making themselves at home*

We spent the evening relaxing in the cabin, praying for the clouds to part for sunrise, and taking a few family photos.

At 5am, I woke up, ran over to the window, peeked past the curtains, and saw the most majestic view. Puffy clouds clinging to the mountains. Faint bells jingled from the sheep and cows nearby. I harnessed the dogs up as fast as I could, grabbed the camera and tripod, and raced outside to capture it all. Eric heard me moving around (I was not being quiet 😆) and I flung the curtains open.

By 5:20, we were dressed and walking out of the cabin to start our sunrise hike. As we walked up a short hill from the cabin to the start of the trail, the sky turned from a hazy blue to streaks of orange. The sun was just moments from peeking out from behind the peaks.

The Baumgartlkopf trail leaves from the Edelweißspitze parking lot and takes 3 hours to complete. We were 15 steps into the hike and I had to stop to take more pictures. The need to stop for pictures happened so many times, but you would too if you saw the sky and the colors reflecting on the mountains mixed with big clouds passing over the ridge where we were walking

*The start of the Baumgartlkopf* *trail*

Five minutes into the hike there was a sign reading “Hohe Tauern National Park”.

The trail was leading us over the largest national park in the Alps. The National park stretches across three Austrian States–Carinthia, Salzburg, and Tyrol. According to the park website, “More than one-third of all plant species recorded in Austria can be found in the national park, and animals that were almost extinct in Europe in the 19th century are no longer in danger and call the Hohe Tauern National Park, home.”

On our pursuit to the Baumgartlkopf, we were greeted by mountain sheep. The sheep were very interested in the two weird-looking sheep walking with us (our dogs). Charlie and Daisy returned the curiosity, but since they were heavily outnumbered, they just looked at them and let them pass without getting out of control.

We were one hill away from reaching the end of the trail and the top of the Baumgartlkopf, but we were starting to run short on time. Breakfast at the Edelweißhütte was at 7:30, so we turned around and made the trek back. We did not miss too much. We saw the cross, we did the hike, and we were satisfied with the distance we achieved.

We ate breakfast and relaxed for a while on our private cabin patio.

We checked out and drove to the other end of the Grossglockner High Alpine road.

We drove past a monument dedicated to the workers who built the road and through a tunnel bridging Salzburg and Carinthia. After 30 minutes, we parked at the Glocknerhaus, a popular mountain hut-restaurant combo, and also the starting point for our second hike of the day.

Even though we had been up and hiking for a few hours already, we chose to do one more. This time a 3-hour hike guiding us to “the Pasterze Glacier” and “the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Hohe”, two of the top attractions along the alpine road.

The Pasterze Glacier is 9km long and claims to be the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps.

*Reflections into the Margaritzenstausee*

The hike from the Glocknerhaus to Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe is an absolute must. It is well-marked and easy to follow. Mountains and glaciers aside, we were able to see marmots, as well as an ibex, which is considered lucky to see on the trail.

From the Glocknerhaus, we made our way to the Margaritzenstausee reservoir. The water of the Pasterze Glacier feeds Margaritzenstausee.

Next, the trail ascends to “Sandersee”, another lake en route to the glacier.

For our final climb, we took the Glockner funicular up to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, our endpoint and a famous Panoramic lookout point named after Emperor Franz Joseph. He and his wife, Empress Elisabeth, also known as Sisi, marveled from this spot frequently.

*The funicular up to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe*

It is possible to take a shuttle back to Glocknerhaus. However, these shuttles are very infrequent (max 3 per day). So, we walked down a steep meadow back to the Glocknerhaus, which took about 40 minutes.

*We hiked down from the tunnel at the top.*

As we were almost done with the hike, we all stopped in our tracks after hearing the loudest, high-pitched squeal. It was another marmot! A marmot’s warning call is a very loud whistle.

Here is a video allowing you to listen to what we heard.

*I did not take this picture, but here is what they look like.*

We were exhausted from our adventures, but made it back to the Glocknerhaus and sat down for lunch ordering our favorite Austrian meal–Kasespetzle.

The sound of waterfalls, the shrieking marmots, and the howling of the wind at the highest peaks are noises that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is an unforgettable way to spend a day and it was without a doubt the best way to spend our 90th week in Austria.

If you are still reading this, then that means you enjoy reading about our adventures and hopefully find our recaps entertaining and/or helpful, so this next sentence will be a good one–

We are extending our expat contract in Austria until September 2025!!

We are so excited because this means more time to see more places, experience new cultures, and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Week 90: Overnight at The Grossglockner and some big news!

Week 91: 91 Degrees and Rising

Week 89: Our first sleepover in an Austrian hut