There are so many gorgeous places in Austria! We decided to spend one day driving through Austria's mountain areas, another driving along Austria's lakes, and a third day relaxing in Hallstatt, a quaint town near Salzburg. On June 16, 2025, we headed northwest from Villach, heading into the mountains. It was only as the road kept circling higher and higher that I noticed signs advertising "Gross Glockner". I knew the name from when I drove with my parents, as a little girl, through the Alps of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. My father loved each Alpine pass, and Gross Glockner was one of his favorites.
We soon were driving through green valleys, filled with wildflowers, steep-roofed Alpine homes, and mountains high above us.
We passed stone walls, waterfalls, and signs for "gasthofs," or guest houses. Again, I remember my dad driving through little towns, watching for signs for "zimmer frei," where we stayed in private homes in a "free room," under down coverlets. Sometimes we could faintly smell manure from the animal stalls just outside the house!
We drove higher and higher, stopping to look down at the green valleys far below.
Finally, we were up in the clouds, nearing Austria's megamountain, Gross Glockner itself!
Time out for one of those great European Magnum ice cream bars.
As we drove back south to Villach, we looked towards the Dolomites of Southern Austria and northern Italy. They were as beautiful as the Alps!
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