July 1 - Ice Cave Near Werfen, Austria

Tuesday
While we were hiking up and down the mountain yesterday, some of us discussed going to an ice cave near here. Today six of us, Don and Mary Schultz, who are from Virginia, but have now moved back to Frankfurt with the military, and Debbie and Tina Parisi from Chicago, took the train, bus, and cable car to the ice cave. Tina is a student at Illinois State and just finished a college course in Italy.
We took the train toward Saltzburg and got off at Werfen, which also has the Hohenwerfen castle that we may visit. From Werfen, we walked to the bus, then walked to the cable car, then walked to the ice cave. These were all uphill

to nearly the top of a high mountain, so the view across to other mountains and to the valley was again breathtaking.

We especially enjoyed the cable car ride.
We took layers of clothing and jackets, because the cave is 0 Celsius.

As we entered the cave, it is like going into the freezers in town where our families stored their meat and frozen vegetables. The wind rushes out of the cave in the summer, and we briefly feared we would be very cold for an hour. However, after a few feet, we were out of the wind and with our warm clothes, we were quite comfortable. To see so much ice in a cave in the middle of a hot summer day is surprising, and the formations are beautiful.


We walked up 700 steps and back down 700 steps, but it didn't seem to be as difficult as we had expected. There are no lights in the cave, so each couple had a lantern with a small flame, and the guide lit a brighter light to show the formations better. For more pictures & information on the cave go to http://www.eisriesenwelt.at/site/content/CB_ContentShow.php?coType=photos
We had some lunch at a cafe near the cable car entrance and Don fed some of his bread to the black birds who landed on the ledge by our table and begged for food by puffing up their feathers and hopping around.
We had forgotten to close the patio doors and drapes and expected our room to be unbearable again when we returned, but clouds and possible rain had cooled the air, and the maids had closed the room up while we were gone, so we were comfortable for the evening.