Autumn in Austria - Glacier Skiing

Autumn in Austria is always a great time of year to take in the autumnal colours which are stunning. It is often warm enough enough to be in shirt sleeves in the valley bottom while looking up and seeing a sprinkling of the first snows on the mountain tops.

There were plenty of friendly folk out there, all too ready to stop and listen, as depicted in the photographs before and after a mulled wine!

Its interesting to see the changes that have taken place since your last visit to an area, the Austrian are an hard working type, not ones to sit back on their laurels. It is satisfying to see new buildings going up, old buildings being extended, extensions to cycle paths, and continuing improvements all round ready for the new ski season.

Up on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun, where skiing is possible all year round, the Volvo XC ice camp has been enhanced by three snow parks, DC Central Park, Roxy Park and a super-pipe. This means there are up to 70 obstacles have been provided for your enjoyment, the super pipe promises to be over 150 meters long.




For further information please see www.austria-holiday-apartment.com

More Impressions from Austria

Click on the link above, and you will find an interesting site with some lovely photographs, which really give a good impression of Austria and gets you in the holiday mood.

I will need to practice more to get more photographs of this quality. I found this photograph above on my internet travels, click on the scene it to get the full effect, which I found to be stunning, it shows the Kaprun Alpine Reservoir which were finally completed after the war with funding from the Marshall Plan. It is just up the valley pass the Kitzsteinhorn ski lifts and is well worth a day out in the summer months to admire the engineering, scenery and wildlife.

The Kapruner Tal (Valley of Kaprun) is very attractive in the summer due to its dams and setting. The dams are built one above the other, like terraces, and took many years to be completed. Many engineers come to visit and research them as engineering marvels in their own right
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If you like these sort of things, you can visit the Turbinenhaus (Turbine House), inside the Tauernkraftwerke, which is an hydroelectric plant. In there you can observe the many shafts, tunnels, turbines and structures. There is also museum with displays of technical drawings and photographs. The dams offer an opportunity of a whole day of exploring around the dams where something like nineteen billion gallons of water are stored, 4.54 litres to a gallon so you can work it out for yourself! You can get to the dam lakes by using the postal bus and a funicular railway take you up the up the mountain to observe the dams close up.

The dams are normally open to the public from May till October only.

To stay in the area, ideal for groups of 6-9 people please consider? www.austria-holiday-apartment.com a great place to stay all year round.

That's Entertainment: Sun, Snow & Party Week:- Smokie do the Klammer

What's on in Kaprun and Zell am See?

The excellent tourist offices in Zell am See by the Ferry Porsche congress / event centre in the middle of Zell on the main road, and its sister office in the Kaprun, which is located in the main village square. Publicise a list of activities throughout the season, these can be found via the following link. 

In Zell am See on Fridays throughout the year, it is market day, the market is traditional as you can get, with a wide variety of street stalls throughout the city centre streets.

Both offices are worth a visit to pick up a map, or leaflet, to get your bearings, and the staff are always accommodating with the answers to your questions.

You can even sign up to get email alerts of activities in advance of your stay in the Europa Sport Region by signing up for the Kaprun and Zell am See area monthly newsletter.

Whats on at the Schmitten?

Throughout winter and summer a series of events is scheduled for the Schmitten mountain, which suits behind Zell am See and looks down onto Kaprun across the valley.

Events planned are planned  throughout the season, and a visit to their website will provide further information, night skiing is also  a possibility snowboarding and Freeski nights  So if you have got the energy why not make a night of it?

Other events include the traditional "Trass" race, which is a slalom race off 100 gates over a 1000 metre course, it makes for great viewing, and a chance to pick up on few tips when making those turns!

There are also for the artists amongst us an art exhibition / sculpture to be pondered  based on previous years it promises to be something special, to amuse and stimulate interest?

Something that does appeal to most people is the annual balloon festival,  for the BP Gas Balloon trophy
this normally takes place over two nights in Zell am See and Kaprun at the end of January.
There is even a "night of the balloons" event, which promises to be something spectacular to see and hear the roar of the flames. For another linking article with photographs on hot air ballooning please see click here

There are other events planned, why not come and see them for yourselves?

Smokie band live in Austria

70's Cult band Smokie make regular sojourns to Austria to perform concert in Zell am See - Kaprun.

For those who prefer there music to be a little bit more refined there is the Porche Centre in the middle of Zell am See which provides entertainment throughout the year to fulfil most tastes.

For another angle on the story please see the Kaprun and Zell am See tourist website. They have plenty of information for places to stay, things to do and on places to go, what ever time of the year you are visiting the area.

Smokie by popular request make a return "legendary" appearance in 2009 on the 1st April on the Schmitten it looks like one of those nights to remember?


British Ski and Snowboard Show 2008

Over in the United Kingdom the British Ski and snowboard Show is due to take place at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham over the weekend of the 31st October to the 2nd of November 2008 it is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

30 Oct-02 Nov 2008

Flying in Europe: Trip to Salzkammergut and Zell Am See (LOWZ), Austria

Flying over the Austian Alps Zell Am See

Link from another blog detailing a flight into the aerodrome which sits in the valley bottom between Zell am See and Kaprun, the airport owned by the Porche family of Car fame.

It is recorded in earlier times aeroplanes used to land on the frozen lake, (not much good in the summer) and then the grassy meadow was made into a landing strip, before finally becoming the runway for the Zell am See aerodrome.

The attached map shows the location courtesy of Google maps, the aerodrome can be seen to the right of the picture below the word "moos", the lake at Zell am See can be clearly seen.

Private flights can booked from the airport, with the possibility of flying over the Kitzsteinhorn glacier which stands at just over 3000 metres.

It is possible to charter a plane with pilot for 30-6- minutes for that special occasion, for those who a technically minded attached is an aerial map showing the flight paths in and around the area of the aerodrome or in German flugplatz.