Many Austria-goers have heard of it or have already visited it themselves, the Großglockner. Or rather, the Großglockner strasse, because you cannot just visit the Großglockner itself. You can look at it from a distance. Also beautiful 😉 .
No sooner said than done. After the list of beautiful experiences that we have looked at in recent days, today it was the turn of the Großglockner, the high mountains in the heart of the Hohe Tauern.
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De Großglockner measures 3798 meters high, making it the highest mountain in Austria. As mentioned, you cannot go up the mountain itself. The Großglockner strasse ensures that you eventually come to the point from which you can view this mountain very well. But not only this mountain itself is worth seeing, the ride itself is also very beautiful.
Enthusiasts will even say… 48 kilometers of unforgettable driving pleasure! Now I'm not much of a driver myself, so I'm a little less lyrical about that, but that shouldn't spoil the fun. Of course I cannot deny that the route over this part of the Alps is a phenomenal one.
Read also: the Krimml waterfalls, the highest waterfalls in Europe
The alpine street itself was opened in 1935, but has been nicely refurbished since then. You will not find any unpleasant, unsafe mountain roads here. No, the Großglockner Hoghalpenstrasse is one that you can drive without the heart in your throat. You don't even have to be a fantastic driver for this.
Although… it is important that you know how to drive in the mountains. In no time you 'fly' from about 1100 meters to the highest point of 2571 meters above sea level. That rise of hundreds of meters does demand some of your riding skills, of course. And not only the increase, but also the decreases 😉 . The typical smell that comes from braking, you can smell it already when you arrive at the checkout, at the very bottom of the route! All those cars that come down 'on their brakes' create a certain 'smell' that you encounter when you drive up the Großglockner strasse.
Tip:Do not forget to take a pill against driving sickness if you are sensitive to it. The 36 hairpin bends ensure a restless stomach!
There are many different exit points along this route. Huts where you can find information about, for example, the glacier and the birds of prey present. But also about the ecology of the high mountains with its marmots.
Read also: overwhelming Weissee glacier world in summer
As far as I'm concerned, not all these facilities are equally interesting. The advantage is… you don't necessarily have to do them, you can also just drive past them. Especially if you are going to drive this route with children, I think it is wise not to go through all the information points and exhibitions. You would rather stop every now and then to take a short walk, enjoy the view or visit one of the four themed playgrounds.
Not driving the entire route is not an option! The Großglockner is the ultimate goal, even if the environment towards it is also beautiful.
At the end of the route is the Kaiser-Franz-Jozefs-Höhe at 2369 meters altitude. You can't go any further. You can drive (for free) into the parking garage. Is the weather nice? Then you drive up to the top deck, from there you can continue with your short walk to the Wilhelm-Swarovski watchtower. A glass tower where you stand on the highest vantage point. By the way, you don't take the best pictures here, because if you don't look out, you also have the parking lot itself in every photo. At the bottom of this tower you will find the opportunity to take a picture of some wild marmots up close 😉 . They dug their 'burgt' there.
At the bottom of the parking garage you will find the visitor center where, among other things, a film is shown about the flora and fauna present in the high mountains. At the edge, at the promenade, you can take the best pictures of the Großglockner. No more parking spaces that stand in the way, just mountain and ice. Beautiful!
What I do regret -and now that I'm writing it down that feeling comes back even more intense- is that we didn't walk all the way to the mouth of the glacier. The possibility is certainly there and if you are there, calculate extra time for that, it seems so cool! You then go down with a lift and then walk at the bottom over a path to the mouth of the Großglockner glacier. I estimate a walk of a good hour.
Ps… We also had wonderful weather here. Take warmer clothes with you just to be sure, because it can also turn around here!
Read also: Baumzipfelweg Hinterglemm, an expensive outing
However, we had promised our kids that we would go to the play park at the bottom of the Großglockner Hoghalpenstrasse. And we couldn't escape that promise, you understand 😉 .
At the ticket office, at the bottom of the Hoghalpenstrasse, you will find the Wild &Erlebnispark Ferleiten. It took us a lot of effort to convince the children that we really went to see the Großglockner first, because this park has a considerable attraction for children. Children can easily enjoy themselves for a few hours in the Erlebnispark and admission is free.
If you want to enter the Wildpark, you have to pay an entrance fee (see prices below). We also really enjoyed walking through the Wildlife Park, but you should not expect too much from it. If we had to pay for it separately, I don't think we would have done it. However, the entrance was free for us because of the Salzburgerland Card, which is a nice bonus!
TIP:We are staying this holiday in Viehhofen, at Landal Greenparks
Rehrenberg. An excellent location with perfect apartments and, in our opinion, really centrally located for the many trips we want to make. We drove for a maximum of an hour to the furthest locations we've been to, so it's very doable!
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