Austria close up 2015 guide Vyacheslav Stupnikov "Artex"
My fun group and I set off on this exciting journey in mid-August, and as it turned out, Austria is the perfect place to spend a holiday at any time of the year, because this beautiful country with a great history can really offer a variety of holidays ...Thanks for thought out to the smallest detail and interestingly planned route, I think this is the only tour that offers us to see only one country - Austria, and indeed a very close-up, not transit ...- we managed to visit all regions of Austria. Here we had a unique opportunity to enjoy a peaceful view of the amazing untouched nature and enchanting views of the Alps, as well as sightseeing of Austrian cities, castles and monasteries, and relax twice in thermal parks surrounded by enchanting nature in the mountains.
Two weeks of our unforgettable adventure flew by in one breath, every day was full and filled with new vivid impressions. Our acquaintance with Austria began, of course, with Vienna - three happy days ... ! ! ! ! ! It was the first time I had seen Vienna in the morning so clean, quiet, empty and free of tourists. Our whole group was happy to visit all the historical monuments of the imperial city, Schö nbrunn Palace - the former summer residence of the Habsburgs, walked on Gloriette and admired the view of the city, went on a strudel show, visited the Art History Museum, Vienna Opera, the house even had a look to the Viennese butterflies, we also had enough free time, and everyone chose what he was interested in. We ended our day at the traditional Viennese tavern Hoyriger, where we could taste local dishes and wine to Viennese music.
We had a wonderful day in Vienna! ! ! !!
We left for the Wachau region - one of the most beautiful regions of the country, which received the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we took a leisurely walk through the narrow streets of the charming town of Krems. Then we stopped in the town of Melk, where the most beautiful Baroque monastery is located, where we were lucky enough to be on duty and hear the enchanting bell. We moved to Salzburg - the city lies at the foot of the Alps. Thanks to our wonderful guide Ally, who was able to enchant and captivate our whole group - we walked around Mozart, saw Mirabelle Castle, Salzburg Cathedral, St. Peter's Monastery and were impressed by the musical atmosphere that prevailed this evening in the city.
The next day we went to the Salzkammergut region, where we visited Hallstatt - a wonderful city on the edge of the land between the mountain and the lake, sailed on a boat on the lake and climbed to the observation deck ...
moved to the resort town of Bad Ischl, where we had a little more free time for successful shopping ...Then we moved to the area of Zell am See, where you can feel all the power and grandeur of the mountains. We visited the city of Kaprun and the ice cave Icerisenvelt and salt mines Hallain. The famous alpine road in the Alps climbed to the highest mountain Grossglockner, where is the largest glacier in Austria, which melts right before your eyes at a catastrophic speed - hurry to see! Here we were lucky to see the annual take-off of retro cars. After such a busy day, we went to the AlpenTerme thermal complex, where we were able to relax and regain strength.
The next amazing region is Tyrol on the border with Italy, Switzerland and Germany, where we met Rattenberg - the smallest town with only 450 inhabitants.
We moved to Innsbruck - it was the residence of Emperor Maximilian, a tour of Ambras Castle, it was possible to climb the panoramic platform, which offers breathtaking views of the Alps and Innsbruck! ! ! ! ! In the evening we were at a fun performance Tyrolean Evening - national Tyrolean dances and traditional colorful yodel songs. The hall, which was attended by tourists from different countries and continents, had a joyful atmosphere, and everyone had the opportunity to perform a traditional song or anthem of their country. All tourists sang songs of their countries, our group proudly performed "Chervona Ruta"!
It was nice to see and hear that Austrian musicians sang with us - they already knew the words and music, because this tour is the third time coming to the Tyrolean evening, and our clever and prudent guide Vyacheslav managed to take care in advance and about this - they note already were! So passed another unforgettable Austrian evening!
Continuing our acquaintance with the wonders of nature in Tyrol, on the Independence Day of Ukraine on August 24, we visited the highest cascade of waterfalls in Western Europe - Crimea! We found ourselves in such a charming bright and clean energy place, where all our friendly group celebrated our holiday to the sound of falling water! Thank you, Slava, for the very warm and sincere greetings of our whole group! It was somehow very touching, emotional and harmonious - we all sat so comfortably by the waterfall!
I want to believe in the miraculous power and energy of water - this place was symbolic, and I think it's not a coincidence… After all, we all share the same values today - the desire and desire to live in peace in our peaceful country feel joy and happy moments in life…. Well, then we found ourselves in another cozy place - the mountain gorge Liechtensteinklam - the deepest in Europe.
Everything beautiful in the world has already been created by nature itself - so we would learn to at least preserve and preserve that originality, and be able to notice and admire this pristine beauty. Austrians take care of everything around them and are proud of their natural resources - the purest glacial water in the tap! We spent the evening in the thermal baths! It was a wonderful day! Moving to Carinthia - the southern region of Austria, it is also called the land of thousands of lakes, because there are 1300 of them, and some of them are considered drinking water!
Excursion to Klagenfurt, a boat trip in the light rain on Lake Wethersee in the lovely town of Maria Wert. And at the end of our unforgettable trip we visit Styria, which already borders Slovenia. Let's get acquainted with the romantic city of Graz, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walking in the evening Graz, we were able to listen to a bit of jazz in one of the cozy courtyards, where again there was an atmosphere of lightness and freedom - and all the townspeople just with a glass of wine could enjoy life and spend a musical evening. Then we visited the mysterious castle of the Counts of Herberstein - made wishes and still continue to believe in their fulfillment! We moved to the pass and got to the village of Pellau, where we visited the bakery and independently, showing imagination, well, who could - painted honey gingerbread, which they took with them in the form of souvenirs.
Various delicacies, beer, strudel and apples were tasted on the Styrian farm. There we were able to buy a traditional Austrian souvenir - pumpkin oil and much more. . . And finally - already my favorite, Hartberg! I was fascinated by this stylish and bright town at first sight, back in the "Alpine Rondo" tour!
Here is a small church, which has preserved an extremely beautiful fresco! It was another bright and delicious memory of the trip! I do not want to compare these two rounds, they both deserve only exclamation points! ! ! ! ! We need to take both! I'll just say that these two trips were some of the best on my immodest list of countries ...and this is my second review I've ever written. Who is interested - the first you can read about the tour "Alpine Rondo" on the site "Artex", there you can find many other interesting and unusual routes.
Thank you for our unforgettable experience and desire to travel with you! Thank you, Natalia Sirenko and Nadezhda Velychko, for your inspiration and desire to invent new and unknown routes for us, honest attitude to their work and patience to all of us such different tourists! I am sure you will be able to surprise and delight us with new tours, and perhaps even countries.
wonderful and irreplaceable guide Stupnikov Vyacheslav! ! ! ! ! THANKS! ! ! ! !