Today marks my second week abroad, my second week away from North America, and my second week living in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe: Salzburg, Austria. It's amazing to think I've seen, heard, and experienced so much in such a short amount of time, and yet time seems to be slipping from my fingertips with each passing day. I've already visited several beautiful villages around Salzburg, with the first being my excursion to Hohenwerfen Castle and the Eisriesenwelt.
Hohenwerfen, as shown to the left, is a castle standing high on a hill, overlooking the village of Werfen below. The castle is nearly a thousand years old. Our group toured the ancient grounds, exploring the chapel, armory, bell tower, and more. It was informative and fun, but the best part of the trip to Hohenwerfen was...
The falconry show! After our tour of the castle, we witnessed falcons, eagles, and vultures soaring across the sky, replicating the Medieval practice of hunting with birds.
we took a bus through the winding hills of Werfen, above the castle and into the Eisriesenwelt. In English this translates to the “World of Ice Giants." Mind you--this cave rests at the top of Hochkogel mountain, which is in the Alps-- so we had to take a cable car and then hike to the top of the mountain. The total altitude is 1,656 meters, or about 5,433 feet. Needless to say, after a morning of touring the castle and an afternoon hiking through the ice caves, we were all pretty tired. But holy moly Batman, was it worth it. These ice caves are amazing geological formations, first created over 100 million years ago. One can see why the Austrians call this the World of Ice Giants-- it is truly spectacular.
Above is a picture from Eisriesenwelt's website, and to the right I posted my own picture of the view from atop of the mountain. The town seen in the picture is Werfen.
The first week was good to me (as was the second!) and I will be posting more about my adventures when I find the time. Tschüss!
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