Thursday, July 25, 2024

Grossglockner Nationalpark: The Moelltal

 


Many skiers know the Moelltaler Gletscher (Glacier) as a fantastic Ski area south of the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria.  But as beautiful as the snowed-in Moelltal is in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall are at least as attractive for visitors!






If you come from or drive towards the Grossglockner Summit (3,798 meters), hold your horses, stop the car and take a long walk through the flower-blooming meadows and inhale the aromatic mountain air.  



.



Watch the mountain farmers working in high-elevation farm areas mowing the hay with sickles and filling their hay stakes to let it dry for winter storage.  The cows cannot graze fresh food in winter and need to be fed with this hay.



.


Visit the Putzenhof, a wonderful restaurant where you can enjoy delicious food - in fair weather served in their garden under huge shade-spending trees. But that´s not all: the large building houses the gold-digging museum. The area was once famous for its precious metal and gold has been traditionally mined here in the valley and its surroundings.






Homes, churches, and even a small castle give the appearance a homey and cozy feeling due to the liberal use of wood, overhanging roofs, and window boxes filled with colorful flowers.



.



Visitors can even make a road trip on a steep, narrow winding road up to an Alm (meadows in the mountains) from where they can discover the mountain tip of the Grossglockner (Glockner Blick), walking over meadows where cows are grazing.  There is also a guesthouse where visitors can stay overnight, and have a typical Austrian meal.  The view towards the mountain peaks is stunning!



.

Come and enjoy this beautiful Moell Valley any time of the year, smell the roses and the fresh hay, and admire the lovely mountain buildings and the snow-covered peaks.  Visit waterfalls, white-water streams, the gold-mining museum, and drive up to the high-mountain meadows (or even better walk).  This valley has the best of an old-fashioned ¨Sommerfrische¨.








.


<><><><><>

.