To Bad Gastein

Leaving Faak am See

Wednesday 15th June

Another big WOW day - and the van got to ride on a train through a mountain!

After another rainy night, the sun was shining brightly when we left Faak am See and drove (with 1,500 mile on the clock) via Villach and Spittal, then NW towards Mallnitz, just stopping in Muhldorf for the Spar.  With the most amazing scenery through this valley, the camera didn't stop clicking.
 

The last bit, from Obervellach to Mallnitz was up a hair-pin road, then looking back down the valley (didn't manage a decent picture here as we were back and forth so much).  At Mallnitz railway station we bought a ticket - Autoschleuse Tauernbahn Einzelfahrt - then drove onto the end of a very long train with open-sided carriages.  We (very very slowly because we only just fitted in!) followed half a dozen cars down the length of the train.


The next tricky bit was getting out of the van, because passengers are not allowed to travel in their vehicles.  We both managed to squeeze out of the passenger door and walked along the platform to the first carriage which was a passenger one.  The train left at 11.50 and arrived the other side of the Kreuzkogel mountain 11 minutes later. 

 
A few minutes after that we were in Bad Gastein - we'd decided to stop here for the night and maybe visit a hot springs pool.  This beautiful town is built on a very steep hillside, all around the natural thermal springs.  We read that 13 of the 25 springs have been harnessed, producing 5 million litres of hot water at 42 degC a day.  Way, way down in the valley we came to Camping Erlengrund.  We settled in and the owner gave us discount cards and lots of information about the pools.  She recommended the Felsentherme, at the top of the town, and showed us the walk on the map.  The first stage was easy - along a footpath beside the fast flowing Gasteiner Ache, passing a pristine golf course and some very beautiful houses.
 
  Then the path began to go up and soon we'd reached the foot of one of the most amazing casscades of waterfalls we've ever seen.  Again the camera was red-hot because at every bend in the river and the more we climbed was another spectacular sight of white water.  So maybe all the rain we've been having was for us today!


 
 

Looking down - the red thing is an armchair flying fox!

 
 That last half hour of the walk was quite demanding, up very steep slopes and steps, but eventually we reach the pool complex - after over 7k from the campsite.  It did cost just a little bit more than the Pavilions(!) but wallowing in the warm pools for a couple of hours was well worth it.  Reminded us of all those lovely pools in New Zealand - but these were without the smells! 


 
 
On the top floor of the building, above all the indoor pools, is a restaurant, so we went up there for a hot drink and ended up having their super pick-and-mix salad for our tea. 

All this excitement had been very exhausting(!) so we did the easiest thing and got in the taxi waiting outside, back down to the valley.