{"id":2211,"date":"2013-07-03T18:45:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T17:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=2211"},"modified":"2026-05-24T08:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:22:35","slug":"from-0-to-25c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2013\/07\/03\/from-0-to-25c\/","title":{"rendered":"From 0\u00b0 To 25\u00b0C"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday we woke up to the most brilliant, bright blue sky, so we were definitely going to go up another mountain.\u00a0 We left Camping Mayrhofen and drove up to Hintertux, at the end of the Tuxertal Valley.\u00a0 We filled a rucksack with all the warm clothes in our wardrobe, fleecies, scarves, gloves, hats, padded gilet, etc and walked over to the Gletscherbus 1, a gondola that takes you from 1,500m up to Sommerbergalm at 2,100 m.\u00a0 We then walked across to the next gondola which carried us up to the Tuxer Fernerhaus at 2,660m where we walked across the snow, carefully avoiding all the skiers, to the Gletscherbus 3.\u00a0 This gondola is considered the most spectacular cable car in the Alps, as well as the highest bi-cable cable car in the world and it whisks you up to the top of the Hintertux Glacier at 3,250m.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Skiing
Skiing in the northern hemisphere in mid-summer on July 1st<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was incredible to be standing on the top of a mountain on July 1st<\/sup> and be surrounded by skiers, but it\u2019s one of the few places in the world offering skiing all year round. It\u2019s so high that there are almost always good snow conditions, enabling almost all of the pistes and lifts to be kept open <\/b>365 days of the year. Unfortunately we didn\u2019t have our gear with us, so we stood on the Panorama Terrace and enjoyed the most amazing 360\u00b0 views across the Alps; we could even see Italy.\u00a0 It really felt like we were on the top of Europe and we couldn\u2019t have had better weather in which to see it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rodney
Rodney and the Olperer peak (3,476m)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking towards the Italian Alps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

So instead of skiing, we took a guided tour through a crevasse called the Natural Ice Palace. Its entrance is just above the top station on the Gletscherbus 3<\/i> lift and you get to climb about 25 metres down into the ice using a combination of slippery steps and metal ladders. This was why we needed all the warm clothing! \u00a0It turned out to be a frustrating tour, with way too many people (about 30) crammed in to the tiny area; we spent most of the 70 minutes stuck on icy ladders or in cramped tunnels, unable to hear any of the information being imparted to the front few folk.\u00a0 But it was quite amazing to realise you are actually inside a glacial crevasse with ice stalactites, sparkling ice crystals, frozen waterfalls and a pond and the view when you returned to the surface was just so beautiful; we had a lovely morning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Inside
Inside the glacial crevasse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
Modelling the glacier-crevasse-helmet look<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a couple of good warming soups at a caf\u00e9 on the Sommerbergalm level, we caught the Gletscherbus 1 gondola back to the base and wandered back to Eileen peeling off our clothes as the temperature was now over 20\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"On
On the way back down to Hintertux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We drove back down the valley to Zell Am Ziller and then turned right up the Gerlostal Valley.\u00a0 We passed a lot of meadows being cut and in each field, groups of people would be raking the cuttings downhill; it looked like hard work in the now 24\u00b0C heat.\u00a0 It was a beautiful wooded valley and I gave up counting pine trees when we got to one million, and that wasn\u2019t counting the ones already felled, piled up high beside the road. We also passed lots of small ski resorts along the way, but there were only a few gondolas running, purely for hikers, not skiers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Speicher
Speicher Durla\u00dfboden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After an initially easy drive along the valley, the road started to zig-zag up and over the Gerlos Pass.\u00a0 On the way down the other side, the road actually turned back under itself at one point, and we pulled in to a lay-by when we glimpsed the impressive Krimmler Wasserf\u00e4lle.\u00a0 The three levels of falls add up to 380 metres, making them the highest waterfall in Europe and apparently the fifth highest in the world. An annual average volume of 177 billion litres of water plummets over the falls in to the valley and in winter it is apparently partly cloaked in ice, which also must look quite spectacular.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
The Krimmler Wasserf\u00e4lle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We tootled along through the Salzach Valley, remarking on how much prettier Austria looks when the sun is shining and then we found a dreadful traffic jam.\u00a0 We crawled through Piesendorf, past F\u00fcrth and Zellermoos, turning the engine off most of the time, and trying to work out why we weren\u2019t moving. It took us an hour and a half to travel about 5kms and by now the temperature was 25\u00b0C and our internal temperature gauges were struggling to work out if we should be shivering, or sweating, after spending a good part of the morning at 0\u00b0C\u2026?!\u00a0 At least the views were lovely and the nice thing about being in a campervan is that you can always turn a traffic jam in to a snack stop, which we did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The Salzach Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

So instead of turning up at Camping Bad Neunbrunnen am Waldsee at 5:30pm, we didn\u2019t get there until after 7pm and the reception was closed.\u00a0 Fortunately they did accept us and we settled in to a late dinner and a late night in the sleepy silent campsite; again surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains.<\/p>\n

We were woken at 5am by sunshine pouring in through the skylight, oops forgot to close it last night, but we were glad to see it was going to be another sunny day.\u00a0 After breakfast we gathered up two loads of washing and strung lines all around us to get everything dry, while we relaxed in the sunshine.\u00a0 After lunch we unstrapped the bicycles and cycled in to Maishofen, the nearest village, to find a post office and then as the cycle way seemed pretty flat, we continued on to the Zeller See.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking towards Zell Am See<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was a lovely ride and we decided to continue on round the lake to Zell Am See.\u00a0 We had expected to find a traditional Austrian village full of cuckoo clocks and outdoor clothing shops.\u00a0 I had skied there back in 1985 and was keen to see if I remembered the area.\u00a0 However we got quite a surprise when we discovered it is now very much a holiday resort with a Muslim influence and most of the women were wearing burqas and hijabs.\u00a0 We\u2019re not sure if they ski there in the winter, but a few of the restaurants and shops were selling food and clothing to suit their needs.\u00a0 For a moment we thought we were already in Abu Dhabi and we\u2019re not supposed to be there until October.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cycling
Cycling beside the Zeller See<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We cycled back to the campsite along the same route, rather than get lost in other villages and although planning to eat dinner outside, we were driven inside when a thunderstorm moved across, just as we were dishing up our meal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sunset
Sunset at the campsite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ah well, by the time we woke up in the morning, the sky was blue again and we managed to get another load of washing on our line.\u00a0 We spent the morning catching up on news, emails, banking, blogging and a bit of reading and I actually managed to get my rag-rugging out, to fill in a bit more; I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ll ever finish our back-door mat before we sell Eileen.\u00a0 I stretched my legs with a stroll around the campsite lake and met some people in the forest who were smaller than me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Party
Party time in the forest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Camping
Camping Bad Neunbrunnen am Waldsee, which is not bad at all….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rodney went for a cycle ride out around the local villages and got back just before a mild thunderstorm passed by.\u00a0 To save getting everything wet, we pulled in the awning, chairs, table and groundsheet; we\u2019ll be leaving here tomorrow anyway, so that\u2019s saved some time for tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Afternoon
Afternoon thunderstorm approaching<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday we woke up to the most brilliant, bright blue sky, so we were definitely going to go up another mountain.\u00a0 We left Camping Mayrhofen and drove up to Hintertux, at the end of the Tuxertal Valley.\u00a0 We filled a rucksack with all the warm clothes in our wardrobe, fleecies, scarves, gloves, hats, padded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8381,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions\/8381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}