Day 8 - Dachstein Rieseneishöhle near Hallstatt, Austria and back to Kusel (24 June 2019)

Okay. The church was darling. Except not the bells tolling once for a quarter past, twice for half past, three times for quarter till, and ringing on the hour, every hour. All. Night. Long. That wasn’t my favorite. But it made for a memorable experience!





We knew we wanted to go to the giant ice caves this morning, so after breakfast and repacking the car for the last time, we drove back towards Hallstatt. 

A little out of town, there is a parking for the cable car and Giant Ice Caves, called Dachstein Rieseneishöhle. It was a pretty gorgeous view from the cable car!  









When we got to the drop off, we walked to the counter to get a time for the group guided tour of the ice caves. The worker told us it was a 15 minute walk. What he didn’t tell us that it was straight up the mountain with switchbacks.  Whoa. 

So, every time I needed a breather, I took pictures of flowers and nature. It helped remind me that we live in a beautiful world. 





















The hike was a little intense, but still really beautiful. 









We waited for about 10 minutes for our group’s starting time. It was pretty impressive and worth the hike. 





















There was a free audio app that explained all of the major rooms, which was great. The guide explained everything in German, and gave a brief overview in English. 





















Some places were lit up with different colored lights, that kept changing color, which was helpful to see. Othertimes they added music with the changing lights, which may have been a little over the top, but it was all in good fun. 





















We took a few minutes to appreciate the view before we hiked back down the mountain. Beautiful!





















We needed to drive back by Hallstatt on our way back to Kusel. So, we snatched a few more glimpses of the cute town and gorgeous lake, then it was through the countryside all the way back to Laura’s house. 





















What was supposed to be a 7 hour drive turned out to be a little longer, as there was a stau that lasted about an hour. However, we made it back safe and sound!

What a full trip it was!  We experienced and saw a lot of interesting, new things. Including some of the cultures and the food!  It is always a blessing to spend time with loved ones and create new memories. The ones from this trip have been wonderful!  I sure am blessed to have such good people in my life.  💕

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